See all How-To Articles

How to Make Subscripts and Superscripts in Excel

In this tutorial, you will learn how to make subscripts and superscripts with text formatting in Excel.

 

format cells superscript 3

 

Make a Cell Subscript

To make the text in a cell subscript, follow these steps:

1. Select cell (e.g., B2) and right-click it, then choose Format Cells.

 

excel format cells

 

2. In the Format Cells window, check Subscript and click OK.

 

format cells subscript

 

As a result, all text in cell B2 is now formatted as a subscript.

 

format cells subscript 2

 

To apply the subscript or superscript format to just some of the characters in a cell, keep reading.

Make a Character Superscript

You can also make a part of the text subscript or superscript. Say you have “156 m2” in B2 and want to display the 2 as superscript (so “m2” reads as “square meters”).

1. Select just the number 2 in cell B2 and right-click. Choose Format Cells.

 

format cells superscript 1

 

2. In the Format Cells window, check Superscript and click OK.

 

format cells superscript 2

 

Finally, the 2 is now superscript, and the square meter symbol is appropriately displayed.

 

format cells superscript 3

 

Unfortunately, Google Sheets doesn’t provide a built-in solution for formatting subscripts and superscripts (but there is an over-complicated workaround solution using ASCII code we won’t go into here).

See all How-To Articles