SK6812 is a variant of WS2812, it is very similar to WS2812B, they have the same interface and color order, so SK6812 LED strips and WS2812B LED strips can be chained together and used as a replacement in most applications.
*Note: When using SK6812 and WS2812B together, please make sure their wire sequences are the same first. If you connect an SK6812 RGBW LED strip to a WS2812B RGB LED strip, this is not correct. Because the SK6812 RGBW has four channels (Red, Green, Blue, and White), while the WS2812B has only three channels ( Red, Green, and Blue ).
Here are some specific differences between the SK6812 and WS2812B.
Both the SK6812 and WS2812B send data over a single wire, which is then read by a small microcontroller chip to generate a pulse-width modulated (PWM) signal that controls the brightness and color of each channel on the LED.
A big difference between them is that the SK6812 has more color selectivity than the WS2812B.
SK6812 RGB VS WS2812B RGB
WS2812B uses 5050LED to package, you can click here to review what the WS2812B LED looks like.
There are four RGB LED types of SK6812, the IC is built into 4020 LED/2020 LED/3535 LED/5050 LED to get addressable RGB led strips of different sizes.
Among them, 4020 SK6812 RGB is a side-emitting light strip. 2020 LED is used to make ultra-narrow led strip lights. The 5050 SK6812 RGB LED is a direct clone of the 5050 WS2812B RGB LED.
The SK6812 3535 LED is also known as SK6812 mini because it uses a smaller package than the normal 5.0×5.0mm² package with a footprint of 3.5×3.5mm², which allows for a denser matrix display. The SK6812 mini is worth noting that it uses a different packaging technology and seems to be very sensitive to heat.
SK6812 RGBW VS WS2812B RGB
SK6812 can not only be made into RGB but also into RGBW. This adds a white channel than the normal RGB version, with higher brightness and better color mixing options.
The WS2812B RGB and SK6812 RGB display white color by lighting up the three R, G, B channels at the same time, which is a bluish white light. However, the separate white channel of SK6812 RGBW can produce true white light.
The white channel of the SK6812 RGBW has three different white color temperatures, each of which mixes RGB colors to produce different light effects.
RGBWW=RGB+3000K Warm White RGBNW=RGB+4000K Natural White RGBCW=RGB+6000K Cold White
SK6812 White VS WS2812B RGB
The SK6812IC allows white LEDs and WWA LEDs to exist. 3000K warm white or 6000K daylight white 5050 LED strips can achieve each LED individually addressable on the strip through the built-in SK6812 IC, and change the on-off state and brightness. And each LED on the SK6812 WWA led strip can display a different color temperature.
SK6812 addressable white led strip lights and WWA led strips are available in 30, 60, and 144 LED densities.
SK6812 VS WS2812B Performance Comparison
Although SK6812 and WS2812B LEDs are driven by 5V, the brightness and color of the SK6812 LED are not affected by voltage drops like the WS2812B. This does not mean that the SK6812 has no voltage drop, but it has been optimized for this problem.
Also, the quality of the SK6812 LED is much better and more stable. WS2812B is more prone to damage than SK6812 under high temperatures.
| IC | LED | Color | Voltage | PWM Frequency | Data Transfer Rate | Color Resolution |
| WS2812B | 5050 | RGB | 5V | 400Hz | 800kbps | 8 bits |
| SK6812 | 4020/2020/3535/5050 | RGB+RGBW+White+WWA | 5V/12V/24V | 1.2kHz | 800kbps | 8 bits |
WS2812B is an upgraded version of WS2812, then SK6812 can be said to be an upgraded version of WS2812B.
All existing ws2812 libraries are compatible (often called “NeoPixel”) and are the most used addressable LED strips in the Arduino community.
Addressable LEDs are classified into different types according to the IC to meet the diverse application needs of users. Know the addressable LED knowledge and then choose the appropriate type for your needs.