Subscript in Google Docs: the shortcut, and two guides that differ

The shortcut in Google’s list

Google’s page of keyboard shortcuts for Google Docs lists the formatting pair on each device. On Windows and Chrome OS, superscript is Ctrl + . and subscript is Ctrl + , (period and comma). On a Mac it is ⌘ + . and ⌘ + ,. The Android phone and tablet tab of the page prints the Ctrl keys, and the iPhone and iPad tab prints the ⌘ keys. To see the list inside the document, the page says to press Ctrl + / on Windows and Chrome OS or ⌘ + / on a Mac.

The same page lists Ctrl + k, ⌘ + k on a Mac, as Insert or edit link, which answers the people-also-ask question about Ctrl+K. In each section of Google’s list the subscript and superscript rows come right after the strikethrough row, which is Alt + Shift + 5 on Windows and Chrome OS and ⌘ + Shift + x on a Mac. The shortcut applies to selected text. Layerpath says to switch the formatting off by repeating the step, and Kanbanchi says it can be applied to highlighted text or switched on and off before and after typing.

Searches such as how to subscript in google docs, how to do a subscript in google docs and how to superscript in google docs end at the same pair of keys: the comma for the subscript and the period for the superscript, with the same two formats under Format, Text according to the expert and the guides.

The Format menu, and who says so

A thread in Google’s own Docs community, dated 13 November 2024 and locked, is the first organic result. A Diamond Product Expert answers that you cannot enter a number as subscript, but you can make it subscript after you enter it, by selecting the number and going to Format, Text, Subscript, or by using Ctrl + ,. Google labels such content as not necessarily verified or up to date. Kanbanchi, GeeksforGeeks and Layerpath all give the same menu path.

Google’s page “Change how paragraphs & fonts look” is the one the existing page on strikethrough in Google Docs uses for the Format, Text menu. The word subscript does not appear in the text we read of its Computer, Android and iPhone & iPad tabs, so the menu path rests on the expert’s reply and the guides.

In an equation, and with special characters

Google’s equation page says to click Insert, Symbols, Equation, then select symbols from the Greek letters, Miscellaneous operations or Math operators menus. For subscripts inside an equation, it says to type “\”, then press Shift + 6 or Shift + -. The people-also-ask boxes ask about H2O and CO2; the first two routes apply to those once the digit is typed, and the equation route is the one Google documents for formulas.

The special characters route is Insert, Symbols, Special characters in Docs or Slides, not in Sheets. Google says you can pick from categories, enter the character’s Unicode value, or write the character in the box on the right. GeeksforGeeks lists it as its third method. Google’s page does not say which character to look for, so we do not.

The shortcut that Google does not list

GeeksforGeeks, updated on 9 May 2026, says to press Ctrl + = on Windows or Command + = on a Mac. Layerpath gives Ctrl + = or Cmd + =, and presents it as the way to switch the formatting off. Kanbanchi gives Ctrl + comma for subscript, as Google does. Google’s lists for the computer, Android and iPhone & iPad tabs contain no shortcut with the = key. We did not try either shortcut in a document, so we give Google’s.