How to Do Small Caps in Google Docs (3 Ways)

If you have hunted through the Google Docs menus looking for a small caps option, you are not missing it — there isn’t one. Unlike Microsoft Word, Google Docs has no native small caps feature. But there are three reliable ways to get the look, each with different trade-offs. Here they are, honestly compared.

Why Docs has no small caps button

Word exposes OpenType small caps directly (Ctrl+Shift+K). Google Docs simply never added that control to its Format menu. The Format → Text submenu has bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, superscript and subscript — but not small caps. So every method below is a workaround.

Method 1: A Docs add-on

The most “proper” small caps come from an add-on that applies real small-cap styling.

1. In Docs, open Extensions → Add-ons → Get add-ons.
2. Search for a formatting add-on that lists small caps (several exist).
3. Install it, then select your text and apply small caps from the add-on’s sidebar.

Pros: produces true typographic small caps inside the document. Cons: requires installing third-party software and granting it permission; the styling is document-only and will not survive copy-paste elsewhere.

Method 2: The manual fake

A quick, no-install trick:

1. Type your text in ALL CAPS.
2. Select the letters that should be “small” (everything except the ones you want full-height).
3. Reduce their font size by a few points.

Pros: no add-ons, works instantly. Cons: it is a visual fake — the strokes look too thin, spacing is off, and it breaks if the text reflows. Fine for a one-off heading, not for real typesetting.

Method 3: Unicode small caps (copy and paste)

If you want small caps that you can also paste out of Docs — into a filename, a form, a chat, a social bio — use Unicode small capital characters.

1. Open the Small Caps Generator and type your text.
2. Copy the ꜱᴍᴀʟʟ ᴄᴀᴘꜱ output.
3. Paste it straight into your Google Doc.

Pros: no add-ons, and the look travels everywhere because it is real characters, not styling. Cons: it is not true typographic small caps, so it will not match your document’s font perfectly, and (like all Unicode small caps) the letters q and x fall back to look-alikes because Unicode has no widely supported small-capital forms for them.

Which method should you pick?

• Writing a polished document that stays in Docs? Use the add-on (Method 1).
• Need it fast and only visually, once? The manual fake (Method 2) will do.
• Want small caps you can copy anywhere, including outside Docs? Use Unicode small caps (Method 3) from the Small Caps Generator.

A note on accessibility

Unicode small caps read awkwardly to screen readers, which may spell them out letter-by-letter. For long documents meant to be read aloud or indexed, prefer the add-on’s real styling or keep body text normal and use small caps only for short labels.

Summary

Google Docs has no small caps button, but you are not stuck: an add-on gives true small caps inside the document, a font-size trick fakes it in seconds, and Unicode small caps give you a version you can paste anywhere at all.