How to Choose the Right Chart for Your Data
Updated · 2 min read
Start with the question your audience needs answered, not with the chart type. Most questions fall into one of six families.
| Your question | Good charts |
|---|---|
| Compare: which is bigger? | Bar, Radar, Pictograph, Pareto |
| Composition: what is it made of? | Pie, Doughnut, Stacked bar, Treemap, Waterfall |
| Trend: how did it change? | Line, Area, Combination |
| Distribution: how are values spread? | Histogram, Box plot, Population pyramid, Heatmap |
| Relationship: are these linked? | Scatter, Bubble, Heatmap |
| Flow and process: where does it go? | Sankey, Funnel, Waterfall |
| Schedule and history: when? | Gantt, Timeline |
| Single KPI: are we on target? | Gauge, Doughnut |
Three follow-up questions
- How many categories? Pies and doughnuts handle a few; bars, treemaps and heatmaps handle many.
- How precise must the reading be? Position and length (bars, lines, dots) are read most accurately; angle, area and color less so.
- Who is the audience? Familiar charts (bar, line, pie) need no explanation. Box plots, Sankeys and radars may need a one-line guide in the subtitle.
Example: one dataset, three questions
Take monthly sales for three product lines. “Which line sold most in total?” calls for a sorted bar chart. “How did each line trend?” calls for a line graph. “How did the mix change?” calls for a 100% stacked area chart. Same data, three different charts.
Tools used in this guide
- Bar Graph MakerCompare categories with vertical or horizontal bars, grouped or stacked.
- Line Graph MakerPlot trends over time with one or many lines, markers and smoothing.
- Scatter Plot MakerExplore the relationship between two variables, with optional trendlines.
- Sankey Diagram MakerTrace how quantities flow between stages, sources and destinations.