How to Get the Degree Symbol on Mac: Every Method Explained

Whether you're typing a temperature reading, a geographic coordinate, or an angle measurement, the degree symbol (°) isn't sitting on any obvious key. On a Mac, there are actually several ways to insert it — some faster, some more flexible — and which one works best depends on how often you need it, what app you're using, and how you like to work.

The Quickest Keyboard Shortcut

The fastest method for most Mac users is a simple keyboard combination:

Press Option + Shift + 8

That's it. Hold Option and Shift together, tap 8, and ° appears instantly. This works in virtually every native macOS app — Pages, TextEdit, Notes, Mail — and in most third-party applications too.

This shortcut is baked into the standard macOS keyboard layout, so no setup is required. If you type temperatures or angles regularly, this is the one worth memorizing.

Using the Character Viewer

If keyboard shortcuts aren't your thing, macOS includes a built-in Character Viewer that lets you browse and insert special characters visually.

To open it:

1. Click the Edit menu in most apps
2. Select Emoji & Symbols (or press Control + Command + Space)
3. In the search bar, type degree
4. Click the ° symbol to insert it at your cursor

The Character Viewer also lets you add frequently used symbols to a Favorites section, which is handy if you regularly need not just ° but other special characters like ±, ™, or ².

🔍 One thing to note: the Character Viewer's availability depends on the app. It works in most text-editing environments, but some web forms or third-party tools may not support direct insertion this way.

Typing It Through the Numeric Code (Unicode Input)

For users who prefer a more technical route — especially developers, writers working across platforms, or anyone who wants consistency — you can input the degree symbol using its Unicode code point.

The degree symbol is U+00B0.

However, macOS doesn't natively support typing Unicode code points directly into text the way Windows does (Windows uses Alt + numpad codes). On Mac, the most reliable way to use Unicode input is either through a specialized text editor that supports it or by configuring a custom keyboard input method. This approach is more involved and typically only worth pursuing in specific professional or coding workflows.

Creating a Text Replacement Shortcut

If you type the degree symbol frequently across many different apps, macOS's built-in Text Replacement feature can automate it:

1. Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older macOS versions)
2. Go to Keyboard → Text Replacements
3. Click the + button
4. In the Replace field, type something like *deg
5. In the With field, paste the ° symbol

From that point on, every time you type your trigger phrase and press Space, macOS replaces it with °.

This method is especially useful if you share documents across platforms or use multiple input devices, because the replacement happens at the OS level.

How This Works Across Different Mac Setups 🖥️

Not every Mac user encounters the degree symbol the same way, and a few variables affect which method is most practical:

Keyboard layout matters more than most people expect. The Option + Shift + 8 shortcut is mapped to the US keyboard layout. If your Mac is set to a UK, European, or other regional layout, the key combination may produce a different character — or nothing at all. In those cases, the Character Viewer is the most reliable fallback since it's layout-independent.

macOS version also plays a role. The menu labels have shifted slightly across macOS versions — what's called "System Preferences" in older versions is "System Settings" in macOS Ventura and later. The underlying functionality is the same, but the path to find Text Replacement or keyboard settings differs slightly depending on whether you're on an older or newer system.

Copying and Pasting as a Fallback

It sounds basic, but copy-paste remains a legitimate method — especially for infrequent use. Searching "degree symbol" in a browser, copying the character from a search result, and pasting it works consistently across every app, every macOS version, and every keyboard layout. Some users keep a plain text file of frequently needed special characters open in the background for exactly this purpose.

What Actually Determines Which Method Works for You

The degree symbol itself is straightforward — the character exists, the shortcuts work, and macOS makes it accessible multiple ways. What varies is:

• How often you need it — once a month vs. dozens of times a day
• Which apps you use most — native macOS apps vs. browser-based tools vs. third-party software
• Your keyboard layout — US vs. regional layouts change what shortcuts produce
• Your workflow preferences — whether you favor keyboard efficiency, visual tools, or automation

Someone writing a science curriculum in Pages has a very different situation from a developer documenting API responses in a web-based editor. The symbol is the same; the best path to it depends entirely on the context surrounding your own setup.