How do I use a Caesar cipher wheel?

At shift 3, plaintext A aligns with ciphertext D. Move from plaintext to ciphertext to encode; read in reverse to decode. The same shift must be used at both ends.

What is included in the printable PDF?

A large ciphertext disk, smaller plaintext disk, marked centers, assembly instructions and the complete mapping for the chosen shift. Print in ink, cut out the disks and attach them at their centers.

Can I print a wheel with numbers?

The downloadable disks use only the 26 letters A to Z. The general calculator accepts a custom digit-containing alphabet, but the paper wheel does not.

Printable Caesar Cipher Wheel and Alphabet Chart

Set a shift to align the A to Z rings, then follow each pair to encode or decode. The on-screen wheel reads outer plaintext to inner ciphertext. Download the PDF for two separate paper disks: place the smaller plaintext disk over the ciphertext disk and rotate inner A to the selected outer letter. The PDF also includes all 26 mappings at your selected shift. Use the calculator below to check a message. This wheel uses A to Z; custom numeral or symbol disks are not provided.

Caesar cipher wheel and printable disks

Read from the outer plaintext ring to the inner ciphertext ring to encode; reverse that direction to decode. The downloadable paper disks use the opposite ring placement so the smaller plaintext disk can rotate inside the ciphertext disk.

Wheel shift: 3

Plain text6 characters

Cipher textCaesar, shift 3

DEFABC

encode A = 0 to Z = 25, wrapping after Z; case kept; spaces, digits and punctuation pass through

plain	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M
cipher	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P
plain	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T	U	V	W	X	Y	Z
cipher	Q	R	S	T	U	V	W	X	Y	Z	A	B	C

A0 + 3 = 3, D
B1 + 3 = 4, E
C2 + 3 = 5, F
X23 + 3 = 26, 26 mod 26 = 0, A
Y24 + 3 = 27, 27 mod 26 = 1, B
Z25 + 3 = 28, 28 mod 26 = 2, C

decode shift back 3, the same as shifting forward 23

Shift

Alphabet

Method: Caesar, shift 3

Letters shifted: 6

Passed through: 0

Decode: shift back 3, the same as shifting forward 23

Every letter moves the same number of places along the alphabet and wraps round after the last one. Type your own alphabet to shift digits or symbols as well.

Textbook checks, one per method

Each row is worked by the same code as the stage above. Load puts it in the workbench with its keys.

Caesar, shift 3ABCXYZ
DEFABC
Keyword KRYPTOSKNOWLEDGE IS POWER
DGHVETPST BM IHVTL
Polybius 5 x 5, I and J share cell 24JAM
24 11 32, which decodes as IAM
A1Z26, numbers separated by spaces1 26
AZ
Nihilist, square ZEBRAS, key RUSSIANDYNAMITE WINTER PALACE
37 106 62 36 67 47 86 26 / 104 53 62 77 27 55 / 57 66 55 36 54 27
Book cipher, a 40-word reference text3 17 52
error: word 52 is outside the 40-word reference, and nothing is guessed
One-time pad, key XMCKLHELLO
EQNVZ

Puzzles and teaching, not secrets. These are historical and puzzle ciphers. Caesar has only 25 shifts on A to Z, so the ranked list that Decode shows reads most messages without the key, and keyword, Polybius and A1Z26 text gives way to letter counting. The one-time pad mode shows the arithmetic of a key you type and nothing more: this tool does not make keys and makes no claim that a message stays secret.

Accuracy. Each method follows the convention shown beside it: Caesar shifts count from 0 at the first letter of the alphabet and wrap after the last, the 5 x 5 Polybius and Nihilist squares give I and J one cell, A1Z26 reads 1 26 as AZ, and a book number outside your reference is an error, never a guess. The ranked list of Caesar shifts is an estimate from English letter frequency. These are historical and puzzle ciphers, not modern secure encryption, and the one-time pad mode only shows the arithmetic of the key you type, with no claim that it keeps a message secret.

Common questions

How do I use a Caesar cipher wheel?: At shift 3, plaintext A aligns with ciphertext D. Move from plaintext to ciphertext to encode; read in reverse to decode. The same shift must be used at both ends.
What is included in the printable PDF?: A large ciphertext disk, smaller plaintext disk, marked centers, assembly instructions and the complete mapping for the chosen shift. Print in ink, cut out the disks and attach them at their centers.
Can I print a wheel with numbers?: The downloadable disks use only the 26 letters A to Z. The general calculator accepts a custom digit-containing alphabet, but the paper wheel does not.

Each method follows the convention shown beside it: Caesar shifts count from 0 at the first letter of the alphabet and wrap after the last, the 5 x 5 Polybius and Nihilist squares give I and J one cell, A1Z26 reads 1 26 as AZ, and a book number outside your reference is an error, never a guess. The ranked list of Caesar shifts is an estimate from English letter frequency. These are historical and puzzle ciphers, not modern secure encryption, and the one-time pad mode only shows the arithmetic of the key you type, with no claim that it keeps a message secret.