How to Insert Symbols in Google Sheets (CHAR, Formats and Shortcuts)

How-To Guides · 2 min read · Published October 25, 2026

Quick answer: Google Sheets has no special characters menu, so use a formula. =CHAR(10003) gives ✓ and =CHAR(9733) gives ★, because in Sheets CHAR takes a Unicode number. You can also paste symbols into cells, type Windows Alt codes, or open your computer's symbol panel with Win+. or Ctrl+Cmd+Space.

Quick reference: every method

Every Alt code below is verified against the real Windows code pages — where none exists we say so, rather than list one that won’t work.

Method 1: CHAR with Unicode numbers

CHAR in Google Sheets takes the decimal Unicode number of any character, and UNICODE() gives the number back:

Each symbol page on this site lists the decimal number next to the Unicode value. If you have the hex value (U+2713), convert it with =HEX2DEC("2713"), which returns 10003.

Formula ideas

• Star rating: =REPT(CHAR(9733),B2)&REPT(CHAR(9734),5-B2) turns 4 into ★★★★☆.
• Up or down: =IF(C2>B2,CHAR(9650),CHAR(9660)).
• Done marker: =IF(D2,CHAR(10003),"") next to a checkbox column.
• Text progress bar: =REPT(CHAR(9608),ROUND(E2*10)) draws a bar of █ blocks for a percentage in E2.

Method 2: custom number formats

To add a symbol to the display of a number without turning it into text, choose Format → Number → Custom number format and enter, for example:

• 0.0"°C" → 21.5°C
• "▲ "0.0%;"▼ "0.0% → ▲ 2.5% or ▼ 1.0%

Use straight quotation marks in the format; curly ones copied from a document break it (why).

Method 3: typing and pasting

• Windows Alt codes work in Sheets in the browser: Alt+0176 °, Alt+0177 ±, Alt+0215 ×, Alt+30 ▲. They exist only for codes up to 255 (full list).
• Symbol panels: Win+. on Windows, Ctrl+Cmd+Space on a Mac.
• From Google Docs: Google's own advice is to insert the character in a Doc with Insert → Symbols → Special characters, then copy and paste it into the sheet (Docs guide).
• Emoji: Insert → Emoji, or type @emoji in a cell.

Checkboxes and icons

Insert → Checkbox adds a real tick box that stores TRUE or FALSE, which is better than a ✓ character when formulas need to count completed items, for example =COUNTIF(A2:A50,TRUE). Use ✓ characters when the sheet will be exported to CSV or pasted elsewhere as text.

Symbols survive downloads to Excel and CSV because they are ordinary Unicode text. Formulas using CHAR with large numbers need to become UNICHAR in Excel; see symbols in Excel.

Related: check mark symbols, star symbols and arrow symbols.

Frequently asked questions