How to Make a Degree Symbol on a Keyboard (Every Method Explained)

The degree symbol — ° — is one of those characters that isn't printed on any key, yet comes up constantly: temperatures, angles, geographic coordinates, academic titles. Most people either copy-paste it from somewhere else or just skip it. But there are faster, more reliable ways to type it depending on your device, operating system, and how often you actually need it.

Why the Degree Symbol Isn't on Your Keyboard

Standard keyboard layouts follow designs rooted in typewriter-era conventions. There simply wasn't room — or perceived need — to give every special character its own dedicated key. Characters like °, ©, ±, and ™ are instead encoded in Unicode (U+00B0 for the degree symbol) and accessed through shortcuts, input methods, or character maps built into your OS.

That said, every major platform has at least one reliable method. Several have more.

Windows: Three Ways to Type °

1. Alt Code (Numpad Required)

Hold Alt and type 0176 on your numeric keypad (not the row of numbers above the letters). Release Alt, and ° appears.

• This only works with a full keyboard that has a dedicated numpad
• Num Lock must be on
• Laptop keyboards without a numpad typically cannot use this method natively

2. Character Map

Open Start → search "Character Map" → find the degree symbol → click Copy → paste where needed. Slow, but works on any Windows machine.

3. Windows Emoji & Symbol Panel

Press Win + . (Windows key + period) to open the emoji and symbols panel. Click the Ω Symbols tab, find the degree symbol under Latin characters, and insert it. This works on Windows 10 and 11 without any special hardware.

Mac: The Fastest Shortcut of All Platforms 🍎

On macOS, the degree symbol shortcut is simply:

Option + Shift + 8

That's it. No numpad needed, no menus. This works universally across macOS apps — text editors, browsers, email, spreadsheets. It's widely considered the cleanest implementation across desktop platforms.

If you forget the shortcut, Edit → Emoji & Symbols (or Ctrl + Cmd + Space) opens a character viewer where you can search "degree" and insert it.

iPhone and iPad: Built Into the Keyboard

On iOS and iPadOS, press and hold the zero (0) key on the standard keyboard. A small popup will appear with the degree symbol ° as an option. Slide to it and release.

No settings to change, no third-party app needed. This works in any app that uses the default iOS keyboard.

Android: Similar Tap-and-Hold Logic

On most Android devices with Gboard (Google's default keyboard):

• Press and hold the zero (0) key — the degree symbol typically appears as an option
• Alternatively, tap the ?123 key to switch to the symbol keyboard, then look for ° directly

Behavior can vary slightly depending on your keyboard app. Samsung's default keyboard, third-party options like SwiftKey, or custom manufacturer keyboards may place the symbol differently or require you to switch to a symbols panel first.

Chromebook: Similar to Windows, Simpler Workaround

Chromebooks don't support Alt codes. The most practical method:

• Use Unicode input: Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 00b0, then press Enter or Space — this works in many (though not all) ChromeOS apps
• Or use the Insert Special Characters tool in Google Docs: Insert → Special Characters → search "degree"

Typing ° in Google Docs, Word, and Excel

Each major productivity app has its own path:

In Word, you can also assign a custom keyboard shortcut to the degree symbol through the Symbol dialog, which pays off if you're writing scientific or engineering documents regularly.

A Note on the Degree Symbol vs. Similar Characters

It's worth knowing the degree symbol is distinct from two look-alike characters that can cause problems in technical writing:

• ° (U+00B0) — the actual degree symbol
• º (U+00BA) — masculine ordinal indicator (used in Spanish/Portuguese, e.g., 1º)
• ˚ (U+02DA) — ring above (a diacritic, not a degree symbol)

These look nearly identical on screen but are different characters. In scientific documents, databases, or code, using the wrong one can cause formatting errors or search mismatches. The Alt code 0176 and the Option+Shift+8 shortcut on Mac both produce the correct ° (U+00B0).

The Variable That Changes Everything

The "right" method depends heavily on what you're working with. A Windows desktop user with a numpad has instant access to Alt codes. A MacBook user has a clean two-key shortcut. A mobile user relies on long-press behavior that varies by keyboard app. Someone writing formulas in Excel has a completely different optimal path than someone drafting an email.

Frequency matters too — if you type temperatures or angles dozens of times a day, a custom shortcut or autocorrect rule (typing deg → °) is worth the one-time setup. If it's occasional, the symbol panel or a copy-paste from a reliable source is probably enough. Your setup, your workflow, and how often you actually need the character are what determine which method makes the most sense. 🎯