How to Write the Degree Symbol on Any Device or Platform
The degree symbol (°) is one of those small characters that appears constantly — in temperature readings, geographic coordinates, angles in math and engineering, and even cooking instructions. Yet it's not sitting on any standard keyboard key, which leaves a lot of people hunting for it every time they need it. The good news: every major operating system and platform has at least one reliable method to produce it.
Why the Degree Symbol Isn't on Your Keyboard
Standard keyboards follow the QWERTY layout, which was designed around the most frequently typed characters in general writing. The degree symbol is useful but not frequent enough to earn its own dedicated key. Instead, it lives in the extended character set — accessible through shortcuts, special input methods, or character menus depending on your device and OS.
Understanding where it lives helps explain why the method varies so much between platforms.
How to Type the Degree Symbol on Windows
Windows offers several approaches depending on how comfortable you are with keyboard shortcuts.
Method 1: Alt Code (most reliable on Windows) Hold down Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad (not the top row numbers). Release Alt and ° appears. This requires Num Lock to be on and a full keyboard with a numeric keypad — which means it won't work on most laptop keyboards without an external numpad.
Method 2: Character Map Open the Start menu, search for Character Map, find the degree symbol, copy it, and paste it where needed. Slower but works on any Windows machine.
Method 3: Windows Emoji Panel Press Windows key + . (period) to open the emoji and symbol panel. Switch to the Symbols tab and look under the General Punctuation or Supplemental Symbols section. You can click to insert it directly.
Method 4: Copy-Paste Sometimes the fastest solution is copying ° from a browser search or document and pasting it into your work.
How to Type the Degree Symbol on Mac
Mac makes this notably straightforward.
- Press Option + Shift + 8 — the degree symbol appears immediately, no special mode required.
This shortcut works system-wide in virtually every Mac app: Pages, Word, Notes, browsers, code editors. It's one of the more user-friendly implementations across any platform.
Alternatively, Mac's Character Viewer (accessed via Edit > Emoji & Symbols in most apps, or via the menu bar if enabled) lets you search "degree" and insert the symbol directly.
How to Type the Degree Symbol on iPhone and iPad 📱
On iOS and iPadOS, the degree symbol is hidden in the keyboard's number layer.
- Tap the 123 key to switch to numbers.
- Press and hold the 0 (zero) key.
- A small popup appears with the ° symbol — slide your finger to it and release.
This works in any app that uses the standard iOS keyboard. If you're using a third-party keyboard app, the location may vary or the press-and-hold option might not appear.
How to Type the Degree Symbol on Android
Android keyboards vary by manufacturer and app, but the most common method is similar to iOS.
- Switch to the numeric/symbol keyboard (usually labeled ?123 or 123).
- Press and hold the 0 key — a degree symbol option typically appears as a pop-up.
On Samsung keyboards, Gboard, and most default Android keyboards, this method works consistently. Some third-party keyboards handle it differently, and a small number don't surface the symbol through long-press at all — in those cases, the clipboard paste method or switching to Gboard temporarily is a practical workaround.
How to Insert a Degree Symbol in Specific Software
| Platform / App | Method |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Word | Insert > Symbol, or type 00B0 then press Alt + X |
| Google Docs | Insert > Special Characters, search "degree" |
| Excel | Use the Alt+0176 shortcut or insert via Symbol menu |
| HTML / Web code | Use the entity ° or the Unicode value ° |
| LaTeX | Use degree (with the gensymb package) or ^circ |
| Python / coding | Use the Unicode escape u00B0 in strings |
The Unicode code point for the degree symbol is U+00B0, which is why methods like Word's Alt+X shortcut and HTML entities both reference the value 00B0 or 176 (the decimal equivalent).
Degree Symbol vs. Similar-Looking Characters ⚠️
One source of confusion is that a few characters look like the degree symbol but aren't:
- Masculine ordinal indicator (º) — used in ordinal numbers in some languages (e.g., 1º). Visually similar but a different Unicode character.
- Superscript letter O — sometimes substituted in informal writing.
If your content will be parsed by software, rendered in specific fonts, or used in technical documents, using the correct Unicode character (U+00B0) rather than a visual lookalike matters for accuracy and compatibility.
The Variable That Changes Everything
The "right" method for writing the degree symbol depends almost entirely on your setup: which operating system you're on, whether you have a full keyboard or a compact laptop layout, which app you're typing in, and how often you need the symbol. Someone who types temperature data constantly will benefit from learning their OS shortcut cold. Someone who uses it occasionally might find copy-paste or a symbol menu perfectly sufficient.
Platform, keyboard type, software environment, and frequency of use all point toward different practical answers — and only your own workflow tells you which one fits. 🔍