How to Make a Degree Symbol in Excel: Every Method Explained
The degree symbol (°) is one of those small characters that comes up constantly — temperature readings, angles, geographic coordinates — yet Excel doesn't put it anywhere obvious. Here's every reliable way to insert it, along with what shapes which method works best for your situation.
Why Excel Doesn't Have an Easy Degree Button
Excel is built around numbers and formulas, not special characters. The degree symbol sits outside the standard keyboard layout on most Western keyboards, which means you have to go slightly out of your way to insert it. That said, there are at least five distinct methods — and the right one depends on how often you need it, what version of Excel you're running, and whether you're on Windows or Mac.
Method 1: Keyboard Shortcut (Windows)
The fastest route on Windows is the Alt code:
- Click the cell where you want the symbol
- Hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad (not the number row at the top)
- Release Alt — the ° symbol appears
This only works if your keyboard has a dedicated numeric keypad. Laptop users without a numpad often find this method unreliable or unavailable unless they activate a virtual numpad layer (usually via Fn + NumLk).
Method 2: Keyboard Shortcut (Mac)
On a Mac, the shortcut is simpler and works across virtually all keyboards:
- Press Option + Shift + 8
That combination inserts the degree symbol directly, no numpad required. It works in Excel for Mac as well as most other Mac applications.
Method 3: Insert Symbol Dialog
This method works on both platforms and doesn't require memorizing any shortcut:
- Click the cell where you want the symbol
- Go to the Insert tab in the ribbon
- Click Symbol (far right of the ribbon, in the Symbols group)
- In the dialog box, set Font to your current font and Subset to Latin-1 Supplement
- Find the degree symbol (°), click it, then click Insert
The Insert Symbol dialog also shows you the character code at the bottom — useful if you want to memorize the shortcut for next time. One limitation: this workflow is a few clicks deep, so it's better for occasional use than repeated entry. 🔍
Method 4: CHAR Function
If you're building formulas or want to combine the degree symbol with a number inside a cell, the CHAR function is your cleanest option.
- On Windows Excel:
=CHAR(176) - On Mac Excel:
=CHAR(176)(same code — Excel for Mac maps it consistently)
To display a temperature like "72°", you'd use a formula such as:
=A1&CHAR(176) This concatenates whatever value is in A1 with the degree symbol. The result is a text string, not a number — an important distinction if you need to do further calculations on that cell. If the value needs to stay numeric, consider formatting the cell instead (see Method 5).
Method 5: Custom Number Format 🎯
This is the most underused method, and often the most practical for data-heavy spreadsheets. It displays the degree symbol after a number without converting the cell to text, meaning the underlying value stays fully numeric and usable in formulas.
- Select the cells you want to format
- Press Ctrl + 1 (or Cmd + 1 on Mac) to open Format Cells
- Go to the Number tab, then select Custom
- In the Type field, enter:
0"°"or0.0"°"for one decimal place - Click OK
The cell will display, for example, 98° while storing the actual number 98. Sorting, averaging, and other calculations continue to work normally.
| Method | Platform | Keeps Cell Numeric | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alt + 0176 | Windows only | Yes (if typed directly) | Quick one-off entry |
| Option + Shift + 8 | Mac only | Yes (if typed directly) | Mac users, any frequency |
| Insert Symbol | Both | Yes (if typed directly) | Occasional use, no shortcut memory |
| CHAR(176) | Both | No — outputs text | Formula-based combinations |
| Custom Number Format | Both | ✅ Yes | Bulk data, repeated use |
Method 6: Copy and Paste
It sounds obvious, but it's worth naming: you can copy the symbol directly from this article — ° — and paste it into any Excel cell. For a one-time need, this is perfectly valid. For anything recurring, one of the methods above will save time.
The Variables That Change Which Method Works
Several factors push users toward different solutions:
Keyboard type is probably the biggest one. A full desktop keyboard with a numpad makes Alt codes effortless. A compact laptop keyboard makes them awkward or broken. Mac keyboards sidestep the issue with Option + Shift + 8.
How the data will be used matters almost as much. If you're building a temperature chart and need Excel to recognize the values as numbers — for averaging, conditional formatting, or chart scaling — the Custom Number Format approach preserves that. If you're typing a label or a text description, any method works.
Frequency of use shapes the cost-benefit of learning a shortcut. If you're entering degree symbols dozens of times a session, a custom format or memorized shortcut pays off fast. If you do it once a month, Insert Symbol is fine.
Excel version can affect where things live in the ribbon, though the core methods above have been stable across Excel 2013 through Microsoft 365. The CHAR function and custom number formats are especially consistent.
The gap between knowing these methods and knowing which one fits your specific workflow — the type of data you're managing, your keyboard setup, how downstream formulas depend on those cells — is where your own setup becomes the deciding factor. 💡