Hobby Connector Decision Guide

This table gets you into the right neighborhood; it doesn't pick the house. Identify the family, measure the pitch, and verify the exact part before you commit. Current ratings stay out of this table because they belong to the real contact, wire, and datasheet (power vs signal).

Choose from the load outward: signal and power paths may look similar on a bench, but current, contact resistance, wire gauge, keying, and fusing make them different connector problems.

You're wiring…	Start by looking at	The caveat that decides it
I2C sensors to a dev board	Qwiic / STEMMA QT (SH-style) ecosystem	stay inside one ecosystem; Grove is different
Breadboard / bench signals	Dupont 0.1 in jumpers	friction fit — bench only, not vibration
Small 1S battery to a board	JST-PH-class pigtail	verify polarity against the board silkscreen
3D printer harness repair	match the printer's existing family (often XH-class)	measure pitch; buy the same series, genuine if possible
Addressable LED string data	the string's existing inline connector (SM-style)	data direction; buy spare prewired pigtail pairs
LED power injection	rated power wiring — terminals, ferrules, Wago-style, XT-class	calculate current first; not the data pigtail
RC battery / high-current DC	XT30/XT60/XT90 class by calculated current (identify what you're holding first)	datasheet rating, genuine parts, no unplugging under load
Servos	the servo-lead ecosystem	stall current, wire gauge, pin-order convention
Field-serviceable power distribution	screw/spring (Wago-style) terminals	gauge range, ferrules on stranded wire, strain relief
Wall-adapter power inlet	barrel jack or USB-C	barrel sizes/polarity vary; USB-C needs resistors/PD to deliver
Anything leaving the bench for the field	→ When Hobby Connectors Are Not Enough, then rugged on a budget	sealing, vibration, current, and other people

For the family-by-family detail behind every row: Common Hobby Connector Families.