What is the Alt code for the plus-minus symbol?

On Windows, hold Alt and type 0177 on the numeric keypad (Alt+0177). A shorter code, Alt+241, also works in many programs.

How do I type the plus-minus symbol on a Mac?

Press Option+Shift+= (Option, Shift, and the equals key together). This works in most macOS apps, including Pages, Safari, and Mail.

What is the HTML entity for the plus-minus symbol?

Use ± or the numeric entity ± in HTML. Both render as ±.

What is the Unicode code point for the plus-minus symbol?

The plus-minus sign is U+00B1 in the Unicode standard, the same code point used by Latin-1 and most legacy encodings.

How do I type the plus-minus symbol on Linux?

Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 00b1, then press Enter or Space. This works in GTK and many other Linux text fields.

Is the plus-minus symbol the same as two separate + and - characters?

No. Writing "+/-" is a plain-text substitute, but the actual plus-minus sign is a single character (U+00B1). Use the real symbol for correct rendering in print and search.

Plus Minus Symbol

Name: Plus Minus Symbol
Availability: InStock
Author: Nham Vu

Copy the plus-minus symbol (±) and find the exact keyboard shortcut, Alt code, or HTML entity for your operating system.

Plus Minus Symbol

Click the symbol to copy it

Formats

Character ±

Unicode U+00B1

HTML entity ±

HTML decimal ±

CSS escape \00B1

JS / JSON escape ±

Click any row to copy that exact string.

Keyboard Shortcuts

System	Shortcut	Notes
Windows		Hold Alt, type 0177 on the numeric keypad.
Windows (short)		Works in many legacy Windows apps.
Mac		Works in most macOS apps.
Linux (GTK)		Type the hex code, then press Enter or Space.
Microsoft Word		Type 00B1 then press Alt+X to convert it.

Try it

Enter a value and a tolerance to build a ready-to-paste plus-minus expression.

5.0 ± 0.2

Copied!

Summary

Copy the plus-minus symbol (±) and find the exact keyboard shortcut, Alt code, or HTML entity for your operating system.

How it works

Click the large plus-minus symbol to copy it to your clipboard.
Or click any format in the list (Unicode, HTML entity, CSS escape) to copy that exact string.
Use the shortcut table to type the symbol directly from your keyboard on Windows, Mac, or Linux.
Paste the symbol anywhere: documents, spreadsheets, code, or chat.

Use cases

Write measurement tolerances like 5.0 ± 0.2 mm in a spec sheet.
Show statistical margins of error, such as 48% ± 3%.
Add plus-minus signs to scientific notation or lab reports.
Insert the plus-minus symbol into code, CSS content, or HTML without breaking encoding.
Learn the Alt code or keyboard shortcut so you never need to look it up again.
Copy the correct HTML entity for a web page instead of pasting a raw Unicode character.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-07-22 · Reviewed by Nham Vu