IP65 vs IP68: What Is the Difference?

IP65 and IP68 are ingress protection ratings under IEC 60529 that sit at opposite ends of the water scale. Both start with 6, so both are dust tight. The second digit is where they differ: 5 is a low-pressure water jet test, and 8 is continuous immersion.

IP65 suits most wet indoor areas, splash zones and the fronts of panel PCs, where water arrives as spray or a hose. IP68 is for equipment that stays under water. Because the standard leaves the depth and duration of the IP68 test to the manufacturer, two IP68 products can be tested very differently, so the datasheet figures matter more than the code.

The two ratings are rarely alternatives for the same job. A site that only sees splashing does not need an immersion rating, and an IP68 housing designed for submersion is not automatically suited to hosing.

The table compares the two tests. The IP68 figures are examples, because each manufacturer sets its own.

Our IP rating chart fills in the ratings between the two: IP66 for powerful jets and IP67 for short immersion.

IP68 is the harder immersion test, but that does not make it the better choice for most equipment. The right rating is the one that matches the water the equipment will actually meet:

On panel PCs and monitors, IP65 often applies only to the front. A front IP65 panel PC is sealed at the screen and bezel so it can be hosed from the operator side, while the back sits inside a cabinet or machine enclosure and is protected by that. A fully sealed IP65 system is rated on every face and can stand on its own in a wet area.

That distinction matters more in practice than the jump from IP65 to IP68. Check whether the rating applies to the whole system or only the front, and whether connectors are sealed or need to be inside the cabinet. Our front IP65 panel PCs are built for cabinet and machine-door mounting, and our IP65 computers include fully sealed systems.

IP65 is the everyday rating for industrial equipment that gets wet but is never under water. It is common on HMIs in food packing and bottling areas, on machine-tool panels exposed to coolant spray, on covered outdoor kiosks and ticket machines, and on lighting and junction boxes. In each case water arrives as splashes, mist or a low-pressure hose, and the equipment drains freely afterwards.

IP68 is a specialist rating. It is found on submersible pumps and level sensors, underwater lighting, buried cable connectors and junction boxes, cameras in pipes and tanks, and some smartphones and handheld devices that may be dropped in water. The equipment either works under water or must survive long immersion without harm, so the depth and duration on the datasheet are part of the specification.

Between the two, most outdoor computers and displays sit at IP66 or IP67, which covers driving rain, hosing and the occasional flood.

Start with the water the equipment will meet, not the highest rating on offer. Ask whether it will be splashed, rained on, hosed, pressure-washed or submerged, and how often. Then check the other factors that decide whether a sealed system survives: operating temperature, condensation as it heats and cools, UV exposure outdoors, and the cleaning chemicals used.

Our guide to harsh environment computers covers those factors together, and our guide to what IP65 means explains the jet test in more detail.

We supply IP65 and sealed computers, panel PCs and monitors with the connectors and mounting matched to the site, and integrate and test each system before it ships. Tell us how the equipment will meet water, and we will recommend the rating to suit.