Plug and socket types, A to O
The letters come from the International Electrotechnical Commission's guide and are what adapters are sold by. Each drawing is to scale within its type, looking straight at the plug's pins and at the wall socket.
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Type A
Two flat parallel blades. Not earthed, 15 A.
53 countries as a main type, 10 more in places
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Type B
Two flat blades plus a round earth pin. Earthed, 15 A.
43 countries as a main type, 18 more in places
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Type C
Two round 4 mm pins, 19 mm apart. Not earthed, 2.5 A.
131 countries as a main type, 21 more in places
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Type D
Three large round pins in a triangle. Earthed, 5 A (6 A in India).
12 countries as a main type, 22 more in places
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Type E
Two round 4.8 mm pins and a hole for the socket's earth pin. Earthed, 16 A.
45 countries as a main type, 6 more in places
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Type F
Two round 4.8 mm pins and earth clips on the sides. Earthed, 16 A.
69 countries as a main type, 18 more in places
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Type G
Three rectangular pins in a triangle. Earthed, 13 A (fused plug).
47 countries as a main type, 12 more in places
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Type H
Three round pins in a y shape. Earthed, 16 A.
2 countries as a main type
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Type I
Two angled flat blades plus a vertical earth blade. Earthed, 10 A.
19 countries as a main type, 4 more in places
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Type J
Three round 4 mm pins, earth offset. Earthed, 10 A.
2 countries as a main type, 2 more in places
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Type K
Two round pins plus a half-round earth pin. Earthed, 13 A.
3 countries as a main type, 4 more in places
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Type L
Three round pins in a row. Earthed, 10 A or 16 A.
8 countries as a main type, 4 more in places
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Type M
Three large round pins in a triangle. Earthed, 15 A (16 A in South Africa).
7 countries as a main type, 9 more in places
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Type N
Three round pins, earth above the centre line. Earthed, 10 A or 20 A.
2 countries as a main type, 4 more in places
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Type O
Three round 4.8 mm pins, earth below. Earthed, 16 A.
0 countries as a main type, 1 more in places
Which plug fits which socket
Rows are plugs, columns are sockets. ● fits; ◐ fits with a caveat (no earth, or only some plugs of the type); blank: does not fit. Hover or tap a half-filled cell for the caveat.
| PlugPlug ↓ Socket → | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | ●yes | ●yes | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| B | no | ●yes | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| C | no | no | ●yes | ◐partial | ●yes | ●yes | no | ●yes | no | ●yes | ●yes | ●yes | no | ●yes | ●yes |
| D | no | no | no | ●yes | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| E | no | no | ◐partial | no | ●yes | ◐partial | no | no | no | no | ◐partial | no | no | no | no |
| F | no | no | ◐partial | no | ◐partial | ●yes | no | no | no | no | ◐partial | no | no | no | no |
| G | no | no | no | no | no | no | ●yes | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| H | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | ●yes | no | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| I | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | ●yes | no | no | no | no | no | no |
| J | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | ●yes | no | no | no | no | no |
| K | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | ●yes | no | no | no | no |
| L | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | ●yes | no | no | no |
| M | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | ●yes | no | no |
| N | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | ●yes | no |
| O | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | no | ●yes |
The two-pin Europlug (Type C) fits more sockets than any other plug. Nothing else fits a Type G (British) socket, and Type I sockets take only Type I plugs.
Adapter or converter?
A plug adapter only changes the shape of the plug. It does nothing to the electricity. A voltage converter (or transformer) changes 220–240 V to 110–120 V, or the other way. Most phone, tablet, camera and laptop chargers are labelled INPUT 100–240V and need only an adapter. Hair dryers, straighteners, kettles and many older shavers are made for one voltage. Using one of those on the wrong voltage needs a converter rated for its wattage, or a dual-voltage model.
The world splits into two voltage bands. North and Central America, Japan, Taiwan and parts of the Caribbean and South America use 100–127 V. Almost everywhere else uses 220–240 V.