Convert text to Unicode superscript or subscript characters for exponents, footnotes, and chemical formulas. Runs entirely in your browser.
Calculator verified • Last updated: August 2026
Letters with no true Unicode superscript (like "q") are left unchanged, never dropped.
Superscript and subscript generators don't shrink or shift a font — they swap each character for a different character that already exists in the Unicode standard as a raised or lowered glyph. Superscript characters were added for math notation (exponents), footnote markers, and phonetic transcription; subscript characters were added mainly for chemistry (molecular formulas) and indexed math variables. Because both are ordinary Unicode code points rather than a font effect, any app that displays Unicode text can display them correctly, with no special support required.
Unicode defines a small-capital-style superscript character for nearly every lowercase letter, but only a short list of true subscript Latin letters — a, e, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u, v, and x. This isn't an oversight; the two sets were added to the standard for different, narrower purposes at different times, and the subscript set was simply never expanded to match the superscript set. Letters outside that list — b, c, d, f, g, q, w, y, and z — have no real subscript form anywhere in Unicode, and this tool leaves them unchanged rather than approximating with an unrelated symbol.
Switching to Superscript mode and typing "x2" produces a raised 2 next to the x, the standard way to write an exponent in plain text. Switching to Subscript mode and typing "H2O" converts the 2 to a lowered subscript digit while H and O stay as regular capital letters (capitals have no subscript form), producing the familiar water-molecule notation. Typing a word like "subscript" in Subscript mode is a good incomplete-coverage example: s, u, and t all have subscript forms, but b and c do not, so those two letters stay as regular lowercase in the middle of an otherwise-converted word.
Assuming both modes cover the same letters is the most common mistake — subscript's letter set is noticeably smaller than superscript's, so a word that converts fully in one mode may only convert partially in the other. Treating this as a font effect is another — since it's a character substitution, it looks identical regardless of the font on the receiving end, and can't be reproduced by simply making text smaller. A third: forgetting that capital letters have no superscript or subscript form at all in this tool's mapping, so an all-caps chemical formula like "H2O" typed with a capitalized element name will only convert the digit, not the letters — which is actually correct, since real subscript notation never lowers the element letters themselves.
Baseline — the invisible line text normally sits on; superscript characters sit above it, subscript characters sit below it.
Code Point — a unique number Unicode assigns to every character it defines, including every superscript and subscript character used by this tool.
Exponent — a superscript number indicating repeated multiplication, such as the 2 in x squared.
Molecular Formula — a chemical notation like H2O that uses subscript numbers to show how many atoms of each element are in a molecule.
Superscript characters sit raised above the normal text baseline (used for exponents like x squared, or footnote markers), while subscript characters sit lowered below it (used for chemical formulas like H2O, or indexed variables like x-one). Both are real Unicode characters, not a font effect.
Unicode simply defines far fewer subscript Latin letters than superscript ones. Subscript letters were historically added in small numbers for specific math and chemistry notation needs, while a fuller superscript alphabet was added for phonetic transcription, so the two sets were never intended to match.
Superscript is common for footnote markers, ordinal-style text, and math exponents. Subscript is common for chemical formulas, and indexed variables in math notation. Both are also used decoratively in chats and bios.
It's left exactly as typed. Neither mode drops or replaces unmapped characters with an unrelated symbol — a letter with no true superscript or subscript form simply passes through unchanged.