How to Make a Degree Sign on a Keyboard (Every Method Explained)
The degree symbol — ° — is one of those characters that most people need occasionally but never quite remember how to type. Whether you're writing about temperature, geographic coordinates, or angles, it doesn't live on any standard key. How you produce it depends on your operating system, your device type, and how often you actually need it.
Why the Degree Sign Isn't on a Standard Keyboard
Standard keyboard layouts — QWERTY being the dominant one — were designed around the most frequently used characters in written language. Symbols like °, ©, or ™ simply didn't make the cut for dedicated keys. Instead, they're tucked into Unicode, the international character encoding standard that assigns every symbol a unique code point. The degree symbol's Unicode value is U+00B0, and every modern OS has at least one way to access it.
How to Type the Degree Symbol on Windows ⌨️
Windows offers several methods, and which one works for you depends on your keyboard and workflow.
Alt Code Method (Numeric Keypad Required)
Hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad (not the top-row number keys), then release Alt. The ° symbol appears.
This only works if:
- Your keyboard has a dedicated numeric keypad
- Num Lock is turned on
Laptop users without a full keypad often can't use this method without enabling a secondary Fn-based numpad, which varies by manufacturer.
Character Map
Search for Character Map in the Start menu. Find the degree symbol, click Select, then Copy, and paste it where needed. Slow for regular use, but reliable for one-off needs.
Copy-Paste from a Browser
Searching "degree symbol" in any browser surfaces a copyable ° character almost instantly. Simple and platform-agnostic.
Windows Emoji Panel
Press Win + . (period) to open the emoji and symbol panel. Switch to the Omega (Ω) symbols tab, search "degree," and click to insert. Works in most text fields on Windows 10 and 11.
How to Type the Degree Symbol on Mac
Mac makes this relatively straightforward.
Keyboard Shortcut
Press Option + Shift + 8. The ° symbol inserts directly. This is consistent across macOS versions and works in virtually every application.
Character Viewer
Go to Edit → Emoji & Symbols (or press Control + Command + Space). Search "degree" and double-click the symbol to insert it.
How to Type the Degree Symbol on iPhone and Android 📱
Mobile keyboards hide the degree symbol behind extra taps.
iPhone (iOS)
- Open any text field and tap the keyboard
- Tap 123 to switch to the numbers layout
- Press and hold the zero (0) key
- A popup appears with the ° symbol — slide to it and release
Android
The exact method varies slightly by keyboard app, but the general path:
- Switch to the numbers/symbols layout (tap ?123 or !#1)
- Press and hold 0 — on most keyboards (Gboard, Samsung, SwiftKey), this reveals the degree symbol
- Some Android keyboards require tapping a secondary =< or sym key to find it in an extended symbols list
If your default keyboard doesn't surface it easily, Gboard (Google's keyboard) reliably offers the hold-0 shortcut.
Degree Symbol in Specific Contexts
How you insert the character can also depend on where you're typing.
| Context | Best Method |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Word (Windows) | Insert → Symbol, or Alt + 0176 |
| Microsoft Word (Mac) | Option + Shift + 8 |
| Google Docs | Insert → Special Characters → search "degree" |
| HTML / Web Code | Use ° or ° |
| Excel | Alt + 0176 (Windows), or Insert → Symbol |
| LaTeX | Use $^circ$ or the degree command with a package |
In HTML, never paste a raw ° if you're unsure about encoding — the named entity ° is the safer, universally rendered option.
The Difference Between ° and Similar-Looking Symbols
A common mistake is substituting a masculine ordinal indicator (º) — which looks nearly identical — or a superscript zero (⁰) for the actual degree symbol. These are different Unicode characters and will cause issues in scientific, technical, or code contexts where the correct character matters. If you're working in data, code, or publishing, verify you're inserting U+00B0 specifically.
What Changes Based on Your Setup
The method that works best isn't universal — it shifts depending on several factors:
- Keyboard type: Full-size keyboards with numeric keypads open up Alt code options that laptop users don't always have
- Operating system: Windows and macOS use completely different shortcut systems
- Application: Some apps intercept keyboard shortcuts or have their own symbol insertion menus
- Frequency of use: Someone typing temperatures all day might benefit from setting up a text replacement shortcut (e.g., typing
degauto-expands to °) through OS-level settings or tools like AutoHotkey on Windows or Text Replacements on Mac - Mobile keyboard app: The hold-0 shortcut is common but not guaranteed across every Android keyboard
Whether the quickest method for your situation is a keyboard shortcut, a text replacement rule, or a copy-paste habit depends entirely on how often you need it and what you're working in. 🔧