How to make a pareto chart
- Enter each cause or category with its count or cost. The order doesn’t matter.
- The bars are sorted from largest to smallest automatically and the cumulative % line is drawn on the right axis.
- Adjust the reference line (80% by default) in Customize → Chart options.
- Toggle bar values and cumulative % labels, and set the line color.
- Download the chart.
Data format
| Column | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Text | Required |
| Count or cost | Number (zero or positive) | Required |
Up to 100 rows. One row per cause or category with its frequency (or cost). Order does not matter — bars are sorted from largest to smallest automatically and the line shows the cumulative percentage.
Customization options
- Automatic sorting and cumulative percentage calculation.
- Adjustable reference line (for example 70%, 80% or 90%), or none.
- Dual axes: counts on the left, 0–100% on the right.
- Labels for bar values and cumulative percentages.
Downloading and exporting
- PNG: best for slides, documents and the web. It supports transparent backgrounds, and you can choose standard, 2×, 4× or slide-sized (1920 × 1080) output.
- JPEG: a smaller file with a solid background.
- SVG: a true vector file. It stays sharp at any size and can be edited in Illustrator, Inkscape or Figma.
- PDF: vector PDF sized to the chart, A4 or US Letter. If your labels use characters outside the standard PDF fonts (for example Chinese, Arabic or emoji), the PDF uses a high-resolution image instead and tells you.
- CSV and .json: your data, or the whole chart with its settings, to re-open later.
When to use a pareto chart
- Quality improvement: which defect types cause most rejects?
- Customer service: which complaint categories should be fixed first?
- Cost analysis: which expense lines make up most of the spend?
When to choose a different chart
- Categories have a natural order (months, sizes). Sorting would destroy it, so use a bar graph.
- Values can be negative.
- You are showing change over time. Use a line graph.
Common mistakes to avoid
A huge “Other” bar
If “Other” is one of the largest bars, break it down further; it is hiding causes you need to see.
Treating 80/20 as a law
The Pareto principle is a rule of thumb. Your data might show 60/40 or 90/10. The chart tells you which.
Counting frequency when cost matters
A frequent but cheap problem may matter less than a rare, expensive one. Consider a Pareto of cost as well as count.
Practical examples
Customer complaints
372 complaints in seven categories. Late delivery and damaged packaging account for about 64%, and adding wrong items reaches 79%.
Manufacturing defects
Defect counts by type on a production line to prioritise root-cause analysis.
IT incidents
Help-desk tickets by category to plan self-service documentation.
Reading the cumulative line
The line’s value above each bar is the share of the grand total accounted for by that category and every category to its left. Draw your attention to where the line crosses the reference line: the bars to the left of that point are your “vital few”. The summary below the chart tells you exactly how many categories are needed to reach 80%.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to sort my data first?
No. The tool sorts categories from largest to smallest automatically.
Can I change the 80% line?
Yes. Set the reference line anywhere from 5% to 100%, or 0 to hide it.
What is the right axis?
It shows the cumulative percentage of the total, from 0% to 100%, for the line.
Can I use costs instead of counts?
Yes. Any non-negative value works. Rename the axis title and add a $ prefix.
What is the Pareto principle?
The observation that, in many situations, roughly 80% of effects come from about 20% of causes. It is a heuristic, not a fixed rule.
Your data stays private
Charts are drawn by your browser. Your data isn’t uploaded to our servers; it is kept only in this browser’s storage, for autosave and saved charts, until you clear it. See our privacy policy.