AbstractResidual resistivities are calculated for dilute copper alloys with 4d and 3d transition metal impurities and sp impurities from the third, fourth, and fifth row of the periodic system. Finite cluster model (FCM) results are compared with values obtained from the simple Friedel formula, from the Gupta‐Benedek (GB) formula which accounts for backscattering, and from the formula by Coleridge, Holzwarth, and Lee (CHL), accounting in addition for Fermi surface effects. In the FCM the effect of lattice distortion is studied by placing the first shell of host atoms around the impurity at relaxed positions. Self‐consistent potentials are used for host and impurities. In general the FCM accounts for backscattering in a more sensitive way than the GB formula.