How to make a pictograph
- Enter each category with its value.
- Choose an icon and set how much each icon represents in Customize → Chart options, for example 1 heart = 2 votes.
- Set the maximum icons per line so long rows wrap neatly.
- Pick colors, either one color for all rows or one per row, and show or hide values and the key.
- Download your pictograph.
Data format
| Column | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Text | Required |
| Value | Number (zero or positive) | Required |
Up to 30 rows. One row per category. Set how many units one icon stands for in Chart options; fractions are shown as partly filled icons (e.g. 2.5 icons), so the picture stays exact.
Customization options
- 12 original icons: person, circle, square, star, heart, house, drop, tree, car, book, coin and lightning.
- Units per icon, with exact partial icons for remainders.
- Icons per line and faded outlines for unfilled portions.
- Key (“1 icon = …”), values and colors.
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 pictograph
- Teaching data handling to younger students.
- Infographics and posters where engagement matters more than precision.
- Simple counts with a handful of categories.
When to choose a different chart
- Values are large or very different in scale, which produces hundreds of icons. Increase the unit, or use a bar graph.
- Values are negative or fractional in complex ways.
- Precise comparisons matter.
Common mistakes to avoid
Forgetting the key
Without “1 icon = 2 votes”, readers will count icons as single units. Keep the key on.
Scaling icon size instead of count
Making an icon bigger to show a bigger value exaggerates it, because area grows with the square. This tool varies the number of icons, never their size.
Rounding remainders away
27 votes at 2 per icon is 13.5 icons. The half icon is drawn as half, not rounded to 13 or 14.
Practical examples
Class pet survey
Votes for favorite pets with 1 heart = 2 votes. Cats at 27 show 13½ hearts.
Library loans
Books borrowed per month, with 1 book icon = 10 loans.
Population comparison
Population of five towns, with 1 person icon = 10,000 people.
How partial icons are drawn
The number of icons is value ÷ units per icon. Whole icons are drawn solid. The remainder is drawn by clipping the next icon to the exact fraction of its width, so 0.5 shows the left half, and an optional faded outline shows the empty part. Because the icon count is what carries the data, every icon is the same size.
Frequently asked questions
What is a pictograph?
A chart that uses repeated icons to represent quantities, with a key explaining what one icon is worth.
Can I upload my own icons?
Not currently. Choose from the built-in set of 12 icons, which export cleanly to SVG and PDF.
How are half icons shown?
The icon is cut at the exact fraction, so 13.5 icons shows 13 full icons and the left half of the 14th.
What if I get too many icons?
Increase “Each icon represents”. The tool stops at 400 icons per row and asks you to do so.
Is this suitable for kids?
Yes. It is simple, free and needs no account, which makes it handy for teachers and students.
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.