How-to guide

Star symbols to copy and paste

Need a star symbol for ratings, decorations, or emphasis? This page collects the most commonly searched Unicode star characters — black stars, white stars, sparkles, and emoji stars — ready to copy and paste into any document, website, message, or code.

Click to copy star symbols

Click any star to copy it instantly. Hover and select i for full encoding details.

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See the full collection: all 30 star and sparkle symbols.

Common star symbols and their codes

Popular star symbols with Unicode and HTML codes
SymbolNameUnicodeHTML
Black starU+2605★ ★
White starU+2606☆ ☆
⭐Glowing star (emoji)U+2B50⭐
✦Black four pointed starU+2726✦
✧White four pointed starU+2727✧
✩Stress outlined starU+2729✩
✪Circled white starU+272A✪
✴Eight pointed starU+2734✴

Text presentation stars vs emoji stars

Unicode includes two kinds of star symbols: text presentation characters and emoji presentation characters.

  • Text stars (★, ☆, ✦, ✧, ✩, ✪, ✴) render as monochrome glyphs in your current text color. They scale with font size, can be styled with CSS, and work reliably in user interfaces, code comments, and plain text contexts. These are ideal for rating systems, bullet points, and decorative typography.
  • Emoji stars (⭐ U+2B50, 🌟 U+1F31F) are color emoji that render with platform-specific styling — typically yellow and glowing. They appear larger and more decorative, but their appearance varies by operating system and app. Use emoji stars for expressive, eye-catching content in messages and social media.

How to type star symbols on different platforms

Windows

Enable Num Lock, hold Alt, and type 9733 on the numeric keypad for ★. Release Alt to insert the character. For other stars, open the Character Map app or copy from this page.

macOS

Press Cmd + Control + Space to open the Character Viewer, then search for "star" to browse and insert any star symbol.

iOS & Android

Tap the symbols or emoji button on your keyboard (often 123 or a smiley icon), then look for star symbols in the symbols panel. Most mobile keyboards include ★ and ⭐.

Tip: For consistent results across all platforms and applications, copying from this page or using HTML entities in web content is the most reliable method.

Using star symbols in HTML and CSS

Star symbols can be embedded in HTML using numeric or named entities, and styled with CSS like any other text character.

HTML example: rating stars

<div class="rating">
  <span class="filled">&#9733;</span>
  <span class="filled">&#9733;</span>
  <span class="filled">&#9733;</span>
  <span class="empty">&#9734;</span>
  <span class="empty">&#9734;</span>
</div>

CSS styling example

.rating .filled {
  color: #fbbf24; /* yellow */
}

.rating .empty {
  color: #d1d5db; /* gray */
}

/* Or use CSS content property */
.star::before {
  content: "\2605"; /* Unicode escape for ★ */
  color: gold;
}

Each star symbol on this page has a dedicated detail page with complete encoding tables. For example, see ★ black star (U+2605) for JavaScript escapes, Python literals, CSS content values, UTF-8 bytes, and more.

More Unicode symbols to explore

Looking for symbols beyond stars? Unicode Library catalogs thousands of copy-and-paste characters across dozens of categories.

Frequently asked questions

How do I copy and paste a star symbol?

Click any star symbol on this page to instantly copy it to your clipboard, then paste it anywhere using Ctrl+V (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+V (Mac). Star symbols are standard Unicode characters that work in all modern apps, browsers, and operating systems.

What is the difference between ★ and ☆?

★ (U+2605) is the black star, a filled five-pointed star commonly used for ratings, favorites, and emphasis. ☆ (U+2606) is the white star, an outlined star often used to show unselected or empty ratings. Both are text-presentation Unicode characters that render consistently across platforms.

What is the HTML code for the star symbol ★?

The black star ★ can be inserted in HTML using &#9733; (decimal entity), &#x2605; (hex entity), or &starf; (named entity). For the white star ☆, use &#9734; or &#x2606;. These HTML entities display correctly in all modern browsers.

How do I type a star symbol on my keyboard?

On Windows, enable Num Lock and hold Alt while typing 9733 for ★ on the numeric keypad. On Mac, you can use the Character Viewer (Cmd+Control+Space) and search for 'star'. On mobile devices, most keyboards include a star symbol in the symbols panel. For reliable cross-platform use, copy and paste from this page or use HTML entities in web content.

What is the difference between text stars and emoji stars like ⭐?

Text presentation stars (★, ☆, ✦, ✧) render as monochrome glyphs in the current font color and work well in text, code, and user interfaces. Emoji presentation stars (⭐ U+2B50, 🌟 U+1F31F) are color emoji that render with platform-specific styling — yellow and glowing on most systems. Choose text stars for consistent, colorable symbols and emoji stars for decorative, expressive use.

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