Plus-Minus Sign
Reads as give or take. Use it for a tolerance such as 5mm ± 0.1, or a margin of error such as 42% ± 3. Unicode places the plus-minus sign at code point U+00B1, part of the math family. Copy the ± with a single click below, then scroll down for every way to type it: the HTML entities, the CSS content escape, the JavaScript escape and the Windows alt code where one exists.
| Symbol | ± | |
|---|---|---|
| Unicode | U+00B1 | |
| Name | Plus-Minus Sign | |
| HTML (named) | ± | |
| HTML (decimal) | ± | |
| HTML (hex) | ± | |
| CSS content | \00B1 | |
| JavaScript / JSON | \u00B1 | |
| UTF-8 bytes | 0xC2 0xB1 | |
| UTF-16 units | 0x00B1 | |
| Windows alt code | Alt 0177 or Alt 241 |
How do you type the plus-minus sign on each platform?
| Where | How to type it |
|---|---|
| Any device | Click the ± at the top of this page. It goes straight to your clipboard, and you paste it with Ctrl+V on Windows or Cmd+V on a Mac. This is the only method that behaves identically everywhere. |
| Windows | Hold Alt and type 0177 or Alt 241 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. The number row above the letters does not work for this. |
| macOS | Add Unicode Hex Input under Keyboard settings, switch to it, then hold Option and type 00B1. Without that input source, open the Character Viewer with Control+Command+Space and search for plus-minus sign. |
| Linux and ChromeOS | Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 00b1, then press Enter or the space bar. This works in GTK applications and with IBus. |
| Microsoft Word | Type 00B1 in the document, then press Alt and X together with the cursor immediately after the last digit. Word replaces the digits with ±. |
| Google Docs | Insert, then Special characters, then paste U+00B1 or type plus-minus sign in the search box. You can also draw the shape in the sketch pad on the right. |
| Excel and Google Sheets | Use the formula UNICHAR(177) in a cell. Copy the cell and paste it as a value if you want the character rather than the formula. |
| HTML | Write ±, or the numeric reference ±, or ±. On a page served as UTF-8 the character itself also works. |
| CSS | Use content: "\00B1" inside a ::before or ::after rule. Terminate the escape with a space if the next character is also a hexadecimal digit. |
| JavaScript | The escape \u00B1 produces this character inside a string literal, and the same escape is valid in JSON. |
More detail per platform: Windows alt codes, special characters on a Mac, special characters in Word and HTML entities.
Frequently asked questions
How do I copy the plus-minus sign symbol?
Click the ± above or the copy button and it is placed on your clipboard. Paste it anywhere with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V. It is a real text character, so it works in documents, chats and code.
What is the Unicode code point for plus-minus sign?
The plus-minus sign has the Unicode code point U+00B1. In HTML you can write it as ± or ±, or with the named entity ±.
What is the alt code for the plus-minus sign symbol?
On Windows, hold the Alt key and type Alt 0177 or Alt 241 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. Copying the ± from this page is quicker and works on any device.
Is the plus-minus sign an emoji or a text character?
It is a plain Unicode text character, not an image or an emoji sticker. That means the ± inherits the surrounding font, size and color wherever you paste it, and it works in places emoji often do not, such as usernames, file names and code.
Related symbols
Browse the full math symbols hub, or return to the searchable symbol grid.