How to Make the Degree Symbol on Any Device
The degree symbol (°) is one of those small characters that comes up constantly — in temperatures, coordinates, angles, and measurements — yet it's not sitting anywhere obvious on a standard keyboard. Depending on your device and operating system, there are several reliable ways to produce it. The method that works best for you depends on your setup and how often you need it.
What the Degree Symbol Actually Is
The degree symbol is a standardized Unicode character: U+00B0. That matters because any method you use — keyboard shortcut, character map, or copy-paste — produces the same character, regardless of the path you took to get there. It's fully compatible across platforms, fonts, and applications.
It's worth distinguishing it from a couple of lookalikes:
- The masculine ordinal indicator (º) — looks almost identical but is a different character
- A superscript letter O — sometimes substituted in informal writing but not the true symbol
For formal documents, temperature notation, or geographic coordinates, using the actual degree symbol (°) matters.
How to Type the Degree Symbol on Windows
Windows offers multiple approaches, and which one is most practical depends on whether you have a numeric keypad and how frequently you need the character.
Alt code (numeric keypad required): Hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. This produces °. Note: this requires Num Lock to be on and a physical number pad — it does not work with the number row above the letters.
Windows Character Map: Open the Start menu, search for Character Map, find the degree symbol, and copy it. Reliable but slow if you need it repeatedly.
Copy from a previous use: Once you've typed it, keep it on your clipboard or paste it into a text file for easy reuse.
Windows emoji and symbol panel: Press Win + . (Windows key plus period) to open the emoji and symbol panel. Switch to the Omega (Ω) symbols tab and search for "degree" — it appears there for one-click insertion.
How to Type the Degree Symbol on Mac 🍎
Mac has the most straightforward shortcut of any major desktop OS:
Shift + Option + 8 — this inserts ° directly, in any application.
You can also go to Edit > Emoji & Symbols (or press Control + Command + Space) and search "degree" to find and insert it from the character viewer.
How to Type the Degree Symbol on iPhone and iPad
On iOS and iPadOS, the degree symbol is tucked inside the numeric keyboard:
- Tap the 123 key to switch to numbers
- Tap and hold the zero (0) key
- A popup shows the degree symbol (°) — slide your finger to it and release
It doesn't appear if you just tap zero — the long press is required. This works in any app that uses the standard iOS keyboard.
How to Type the Degree Symbol on Android
Android keyboard behavior varies by manufacturer and keyboard app, but the most common path is:
- Switch to the numeric/symbol keyboard (tap ?123 or similar)
- Long-press the zero (0) key — on most keyboards this surfaces the degree symbol
On some Android keyboards, you may find it under a symbols or special characters panel rather than via long press. Samsung's default keyboard, Gboard, and SwiftKey each handle this slightly differently.
How to Insert the Degree Symbol in Specific Applications
| Application | Method |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Word | Insert > Symbol, or Alt+0176 |
| Google Docs | Insert > Special Characters > search "degree" |
| Excel | Alt+0176 (numeric keypad), or paste from Character Map |
| HTML | Use ° or ° |
| CSS | Use the Unicode escape 0B0 |
| LaTeX | Use degree (with gensymb package) or ^{circ} |
For web developers and coders, using the HTML entity ° is generally preferred over pasting the raw character, since it guarantees correct rendering regardless of encoding.
Variables That Affect Which Method Makes Sense
Not every method works equally well across all setups. A few factors shape which approach is actually practical:
Keyboard hardware: Alt codes require a numeric keypad. Many laptops — especially compact and ultrabook designs — don't have one. On these, the character map, emoji panel, or copy-paste methods are more reliable.
Operating system version: The Win + . shortcut for the emoji panel is available on Windows 10 and later. Older Windows versions rely more heavily on Alt codes or Character Map.
Keyboard app (mobile): On Android especially, the keyboard app you're using — whether it's the manufacturer default, Gboard, SwiftKey, or another — determines the exact path. Third-party keyboards sometimes surface the degree symbol more prominently than stock options.
Use frequency: If you type degree symbols dozens of times a day in documents, setting up a text replacement shortcut (e.g., typing deg auto-expands to °) in your OS or app may be worth the two-minute setup. macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android all support custom text substitution.
Application context: In code, a raw Unicode character and an HTML entity are both correct — but which one fits depends on your encoding setup and the codebase conventions you're working within.
The Spectrum of Use Cases
A student typing a single temperature into an essay and a developer building a weather app are both looking for the degree symbol — but what "works" looks completely different for each. The student needs a quick one-time method; the developer may want to hardcode the Unicode value or entity. Someone writing scientific papers in LaTeX has a different answer again.
Even among everyday users, the gap between has a full keyboard with a number pad and typing on a phone means the practical solution differs significantly. The right method isn't universal — it's the one that fits how your device is set up and how often you actually need that little circle. ☑️