How to Type the Degree Sign on Mac: Every Method Explained

Whether you're writing about temperature, angles, or geographic coordinates, knowing how to type the degree symbol (°) on a Mac is one of those small skills that saves real frustration. The good news: there are several ways to do it, and none of them require downloading anything.

The Fastest Method: Keyboard Shortcut

The quickest way to insert a degree sign on any Mac is with a single keyboard shortcut:

Option + Shift + 8

Press all three keys at once and ° appears immediately. This works in virtually every text field on macOS — Pages, Word, TextEdit, email clients, browsers, and most apps that accept typed input.

This shortcut is built into macOS at the system level, so it doesn't depend on your app or document settings.

Using the Character Viewer

If you don't want to memorize a shortcut, macOS includes a built-in Character Viewer that lets you browse and insert special characters visually.

To open it:

1. Click on any text field where you want the symbol
2. Go to the menu bar: Edit → Emoji & Symbols (or press Control + Command + Space)
3. In the search box, type degree
4. Double-click the ° symbol to insert it

The Character Viewer also lets you add symbols to a Favorites list, which is useful if you regularly use multiple special characters and want them grouped in one place.

Typing the Degree Sign in Specific Apps

Pages, Numbers, and Keynote

The Option + Shift + 8 shortcut works natively here. You can also go to Insert → Special Characters from the menu bar to open the Character Viewer directly within the app.

Microsoft Word on Mac

The keyboard shortcut works, but Word also has its own symbol insertion tool under Insert → Symbol → Advanced Symbol. From there, you can search by character name or Unicode value. The degree sign's Unicode is U+00B0, which is useful if you're working in environments that accept Unicode input directly.

Web Browsers and Online Forms

The shortcut works in most browser text fields. If you're working in a web-based tool that behaves unexpectedly, copy-paste from the Character Viewer is a reliable fallback.

Terminal

If you're working in the macOS Terminal and need to insert a degree symbol, the standard keyboard shortcut may behave differently depending on your shell and encoding settings. In most cases, pasting the character directly from the Character Viewer is the most reliable approach.

The Degree Symbol vs. Similar-Looking Characters 🔍

It's worth knowing that a few characters look similar to ° but are technically different:

For most everyday uses — writing 98°F, 45° angles, or 37°C — you want U+00B0, the true degree sign. The masculine ordinal indicator (º) is sometimes accidentally used in its place; it looks nearly identical but has different semantic meaning and may cause issues in data entry or scientific contexts.

Using Text Replacement as a Shortcut

If you type the degree symbol frequently, macOS has a Text Replacement feature that can automate it:

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

After saving, typing deg followed by a space or punctuation will automatically substitute the degree symbol. This syncs across your Apple devices via iCloud if you have that enabled.

macOS Version Differences

The Option + Shift + 8 shortcut has been consistent across macOS versions for many years. The Character Viewer interface has been updated periodically — on macOS Ventura, Sonoma, and later versions, it opens as a small floating panel rather than a full window. The core functionality remains the same regardless of which recent macOS version you're running.

On older Mac keyboards — particularly older MacBook models or external Apple keyboards — the physical key layout is identical, so the shortcut behaves the same way.

Factors That Affect Which Method Works Best for You

There's no single "right" method — it depends on a few things specific to how you work:

• How often you use the symbol. Casual users will find the keyboard shortcut sufficient. People who write scientific or technical documents regularly may benefit more from a text replacement rule.
• The app you're working in. Most apps honor the system-level shortcut, but specialized tools — particularly coding environments, terminals, or certain database interfaces — may intercept keystrokes differently.
• Whether you use multiple special characters. If the degree sign is just one of several symbols you need regularly, building out your Favorites in the Character Viewer or setting up multiple text replacements starts to make more sense than handling each one individually.
• Keyboard language settings. If your Mac is set to a non-English keyboard layout, the Option + Shift + 8 combination may produce a different character. Checking your input source under System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources will clarify what your keyboard is actually mapped to.

The method that feels frictionless in one workflow can be clunky in another — and that's shaped by your specific setup. 🖥️