Cent Sign (¢)
The cent sign ¢ is Unicode U+00A2, the sign for one hundredth of a dollar. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard, or type it with Alt + 0162 on Windows or Option + 4 on a Mac.
- Unicode
U+00A2- HTML
¢- Windows
Alt + 0162- Mac
Option + 4
How to type the cent sign (¢)
The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type ¢ yourself, use the method for your device below. On Windows the alt code is Alt + 0162. On a Mac it is Option + 4.
Windows
- Hold Alt and type 0162 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. Num Lock must be on. This uses the Windows-1252 code page, so it works in almost every Windows app.
- Hold Alt and type 155 on the numeric keypad. This older code (from code page 437) works in Notepad, Word and most desktop apps.
- In Word or Outlook, type 00A2 and press Alt + X. Alt + X converts the hex code before the cursor into the character, and back again.
- Press Win + R, type charmap and press Enter. Tick “Advanced view”, search for Cent Sign, then Select and Copy. Character Map is built into every version of Windows.
Mac
- Press Option+4. On the standard US and US-International layouts.
- Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for cent and double-click it.
Linux & ChromeOS
- Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type a2, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.
- Press your Compose key, then c /. Needs a Compose key set in your keyboard settings.
iPhone & iPad
- Tap 123, then touch and hold $ and slide to ¢.
- Copy ¢ from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;cent. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.
Android
- In Gboard, tap ?123, then =\<. ¢ is on that page.
- Copy ¢ here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.
Microsoft Word
- Type 00A2, then press Alt + X.
- Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 00A2 in “Character code” and click Insert.
- On a Mac, Option+4 works in Word too.
Google Docs
- Insert → Special characters, then search for “cent” or draw it in the box.
Excel & Google Sheets
- Enter
=UNICHAR(162)in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.
HTML
- Write
¢or¢in your HTML.
What does ¢ mean?
¢ stands for a cent, one hundredth of a dollar or of many other decimal currencies. Unlike the dollar sign, it goes after the number with no space: 99¢, 5¢. When an amount reaches a dollar or more, switch to the dollar format ($1.25) rather than writing 125¢.
Typewriters and early computer keyboards in the US had a ¢ key, usually on Shift + 6, but it was replaced by the caret ^ when ASCII was adopted in the 1960s. That is why most people now have to look it up. On Windows, hold Alt and type 0162 (or the older 155); on a Mac, press Option + 4.
The sign is also used for the cent of the euro in informal writing, although price tags in the eurozone normally write €0.50 or 0,50 €.
Common uses
- Low prices in the US and Canada: 49¢
- Price per unit: 12¢ per kWh
- Coin names in recipes and old ads: a 5¢ coin
Cent Sign codes for HTML, CSS and programming
Every code below produces ¢. Use the HTML entity in web pages, the CSS escape in content, and the escape sequence in source code.
| Unicode code point | U+00A2 | |
|---|---|---|
| HTML entity (named) | ¢ | |
| HTML decimal | ¢ | |
| HTML hex | ¢ | |
| CSS content | content: "\A2"; | |
| JavaScript | "\u00A2" | |
| Python | "\u00A2" | |
| Python (by name) | "\N{CENT SIGN}" | |
| Java / C# | "\u00A2" | |
| LaTeX | \textcent | |
| UTF-8 bytes | C2 A2 | |
| UTF-16 | 00A2 | |
| URL encoded | %C2%A2 | |
| Windows Alt code | Alt + 0162 | |
| Alt code (CP437) | Alt + 155 | |
| Mac shortcut | Option + 4 |
¢ vs look-alike characters
These characters look similar to ¢ but have a different meaning and code. Pasting the wrong one can break search, sorting and screen readers.
| Char | Name | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
CediU+20B5 | Cedi sign, the currency of Ghana. A C with a vertical stroke through it. | |
CU+0063 | The plain letter c. “99c” is common in handwriting, but ¢ is the correct sign. | |
CopyrightU+00A9 | Copyright sign, a c in a circle, sometimes confused in low-resolution text. |
Symbols similar to ¢
Click to copy, or open a symbol for its codes. See the full currency symbols collection.
¢ character properties
- Official Unicode name
- CENT SIGN
- Also known as
- cent symbol, cents
- Code point
- U+00A2
- Unicode block
- Latin-1 Supplement (U+0080–U+00FF)
- General category
- Currency symbol (Sc)
- Added in
- Unicode 1.1 (1993)
- Plane
- Basic Multilingual Plane (0)
- Emoji
- No, it is a text symbol
Frequently asked questions
Does the cent sign go before or after the number?
After, with no space: 99¢. Use the dollar format for amounts of a dollar or more, for example $1.50 instead of 150¢.
Why is there no cent key on my keyboard?
US typewriters had one, but ASCII keyboards replaced it with the caret (^) in the 1960s. Use Alt + 0162 on Windows or Option + 4 on a Mac.
What is the alt code for the cent sign?
On Windows, hold Alt and type 0162 on the numeric keypad to get ¢. The shorter code Alt + 155 also works in most desktop apps. On a laptop without a keypad, copy it from this page or use 00A2 then Alt + X in Word.
How do I type the cent sign on a Mac?
Press Option + 4. It works in every app on the US keyboard layout. You can also open the Character Viewer with Control + Command + Space and search for it.
What is the HTML code for the cent sign?
Use the named entity ¢ or the numeric reference ¢ (hex ¢). All three display ¢ in every browser.
What is the Unicode for the cent sign?
¢ is U+00A2, officially named CENT SIGN, in the Latin-1 Supplement block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).