Less Than or Equal To Symbol (≤)

Q: How do I write less than or equal to in Excel?

Type <= in the formula, for example =COUNTIF(A:A,"<=100"). The ≤ character is only text in Excel.

Q: Which way does the less-than-or-equal sign point?

The open side faces the larger value. In 3 ≤ 7 the small point of the sign is next to 3.

Q: What is the alt code for the less than or equal to symbol?

On Windows, hold Alt and type 243 on the numeric keypad to get ≤. On a laptop without a keypad, copy it from this page or use 2264 then Alt + X in Word.

Q: How do I type the less than or equal to symbol on a Mac?

Press Option + ,. 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.

Q: What is the HTML code for the less than or equal to symbol?

Use the named entity ≤ or the numeric reference ≤ (hex ≤). All three display ≤ in every browser.

Q: What is the Unicode for the less than or equal to symbol?

≤ is U+2264, officially named LESS-THAN OR EQUAL TO, in the Mathematical Operators block. It has been part of Unicode since version 1.1 (1993).

The less than or equal to symbol ≤ is Unicode U+2264, meaning “less than or equal to”. Press Copy to put it on your clipboard, or type it with Alt + 243 on Windows or Option + , on a Mac.

Unicode: U+2264
HTML: ≤
Windows: Alt + 243
Mac: Option + ,

How to type the less than or equal to symbol (≤)

The quickest way is to press Copy above and paste. To type ≤ yourself, use the method for your device below. On a Mac it is Option + ,.

Windows

Hold Alt and type 243 on the numeric keypad. This older code (from code page 437) works in Notepad, Word and most desktop apps.
In Word or Outlook, type 2264 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 Less-Than Or Equal to, then Select and Copy. Character Map is built into every version of Windows.

Mac

Press Option+,. On the standard US and US-International layouts.
Press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer, search for less-than or equal and double-click it.

Linux & ChromeOS

Press Ctrl + Shift + U, type 2264, then press Enter or Space. Works in GTK and IBus apps (GNOME, Firefox, Chrome, LibreOffice) and on ChromeOS.

iPhone & iPad

Copy ≤ from this page, then go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement and add it with a shortcut such as ;less. The shortcut then turns into the symbol as you type, in every app.

Android

Copy ≤ here, then open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary and add it with a shortcut.

Microsoft Word

Type 2264, then press Alt + X.
Insert → Symbol → More Symbols. Set “from” to Unicode (hex), type 2264 in “Character code” and click Insert.
On a Mac, Option+, works in Word too.

Google Docs

Type <= followed by a space; Google Docs substitutes ≤ automatically.
Insert → Special characters, then search for “less-than or equal” or draw it in the box.

Excel & Google Sheets

Enter =UNICHAR(8804) in a cell. It works in Excel 2013 and later and in Google Sheets.

HTML

Write ≤ or ≤ in your HTML.

What does ≤ mean?

≤ means “less than or equal to”, so x ≤ 5 allows 5 itself as well as every smaller value. In plain words it is “at most” or “no more than”. Its partner ≥ means “at least”. Read an inequality from the variable outward: 18 ≤ age reads “age is at least 18”.

Code and spreadsheets cannot use the symbol and write <= instead, as in Excel’s =IF(A1<=10,…). On a number line, ≤ is drawn with a filled dot at the boundary, and in interval notation it becomes a square bracket: x ≤ 5 is (−∞, 5].

The slanted form ⩽ is the same relation drawn the way many European and French textbooks print it. ≦ with a double bar is common in Japanese typesetting.

Common uses

Inequalities and constraints: 0 ≤ p ≤ 1
Rules and limits: “bags ≤ 23 kg”
Algorithm analysis: f(n) ≤ c·g(n)