Where Is the Degree Sign on a Keyboard — And How Do You Type It?

The degree symbol (°) doesn't have a dedicated key on most standard keyboards. Whether you're typing 72°F, 45° angle, or 0°C, you've probably noticed it's nowhere obvious. The good news: there are reliable ways to insert it on every major platform — they just differ depending on your operating system, keyboard layout, and how often you actually need the symbol.

Why the Degree Sign Doesn't Have Its Own Key

Standard keyboards — whether physical or on-screen — are designed around the most frequently used characters. The degree symbol is common in scientific, culinary, and geographic contexts, but not common enough to earn a dedicated key on the QWERTY layout. It lives instead in the extended character set, accessible through shortcuts, special input methods, or copy-paste.

This is the same reason you won't find dedicated keys for ©, ™, ±, or ½. They exist in Unicode (the universal character encoding standard), but accessing them requires knowing the right method for your platform.

How to Type the Degree Symbol on Windows ⌨️

Windows offers several methods depending on your workflow:

Alt Code (Numpad required): Hold Alt and type 0176 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. The ° symbol appears. This only works if your keyboard has a dedicated numpad — it won't function on most laptop keyboards without Num Lock or a numpad layer.

Character Map: Open the Start menu, search for Character Map, find the degree symbol, and copy it to your clipboard. Useful as a one-time lookup, not practical for regular use.

Copy from a reliable source: For occasional use, many people simply copy ° from a trusted reference and paste it wherever needed. Simple, but not scalable.

Windows emoji/symbol panel: Press Windows key + . (period) to open the emoji and symbol panel. Navigate to the symbols section and search for "degree." Available on Windows 10 and 11.

How to Type the Degree Symbol on Mac

Keyboard shortcut: Press Option + Shift + 8. This is the cleanest method on macOS and works in virtually every app — text editors, browsers, email, spreadsheets.

Character Viewer: Go to Edit > Emoji & Symbols in most apps, or press Control + Command + Space. Search "degree" and double-click to insert.

The Mac shortcut is widely considered the most convenient cross-platform option because it doesn't require a numpad and works consistently.

How to Type the Degree Symbol on iPhone and Android 📱

Mobile keyboards handle this differently from desktop systems.

On iPhone (iOS): Tap and hold the 0 (zero) key on the number pad. A degree symbol ° appears as a pop-up option. Slide to select it.

On Android: The method varies slightly by keyboard app. On most stock Android keyboards, switch to the number/symbol layout, then tap and hold 0 to reveal the degree symbol. Some keyboards place it directly in the symbols panel.

Third-party keyboards like Gboard or SwiftKey may position symbols differently but generally follow the same tap-and-hold pattern on the zero key.

How to Insert the Degree Symbol in Specific Apps

Microsoft Word and Excel

Word has an Insert > Symbol menu where you can locate the degree sign (Unicode: U+00B0) and assign it to a custom shortcut. In Excel, the same Alt+0176 method applies, or you can use the CHAR(176) function to insert it inside a formula or cell.

Google Docs

Use Insert > Special Characters, search "degree," and click to insert. You can also use any OS-level shortcut — Option+Shift+8 on Mac, Alt+0176 on Windows with numpad — and it works directly in Docs.

HTML and Web Forms

If you're coding or writing web content, use the HTML entity ° or the numeric entity ° to render the degree symbol correctly across browsers.

The Unicode Reference Worth Knowing

The degree symbol's Unicode code point is U+00B0. On Windows, you can type it in some apps by entering 00B0 and pressing Alt+X (works in Word and some other editors). Knowing the Unicode value is useful if you work across multiple platforms or need to troubleshoot character encoding issues.

Variables That Affect Which Method Works for You

Not every method works in every situation. A few factors determine which approach makes sense:

• Keyboard type — Full desktop keyboards with a numpad open up the Alt code method. Compact and laptop keyboards without a numpad make that method impractical.
• Operating system — Mac's Option+Shift+8 is more accessible than Windows' Alt+0176 for most users.
• App context — Some apps intercept keyboard shortcuts. A gaming overlay or remote desktop session might block certain key combinations.
• Input frequency — If you type temperature data all day, a text expander (software that auto-replaces a trigger like #deg with °) may be worth setting up. If you need it once a month, copy-paste is fine.
• Mobile vs. desktop — The tap-and-hold method on mobile is intuitive once you know it, but it's invisible until someone tells you.

The method that feels effortless in one setup can be awkward or broken in another — which is why knowing two or three options puts you in a better position than memorizing just one.