Charts in Excel - Tutorials

Learn how to use charts in Excel with real-life examples. Understand when to use each chart type in simple words. Perfect guide for beginners and analysts.

Table of Contents

What Are Charts in Excel?

Charts in Excel help visualize data. Instead of looking at plain numbers, charts let you see trends, comparisons, and patterns clearly.

For example:
Instead of saying “Sales in Q1 were 10,000, Q2 15,000, Q3 12,000, Q4 18,000”, a Column Chart shows this data in a bar format so you instantly see which quarter did best.

Step-by-Step: How to Insert a Chart in Excel

Step 1: Select Your Data

Start by selecting the data that you want to visualize. For example:

Quarter	Sales
Q1	10000
Q2	15000
Q3	12000
Q4	18000

Select both Quarter and Sales columns.

Step 2: Go to the “Insert” Tab

Click on the Insert tab from the Excel ribbon at the top.

Charts section inside Insert Tab — **Insert Tab > Charts** section

Step 3: Choose a Chart Type

In the “Charts” section, choose your chart:

Column or Bar Chart: Best for comparing categories
Line Chart: Shows trends over time
Pie Chart: Great for showing proportions or % share
Combo Chart: When you want to compare 2 different types of data
Scatter Chart: For scientific or correlation data

👉 Example: For our sales data, choose Insert Column Chart > Clustered Column

How to add Charts in Excel — Add Charts in Excel

Step 4: Customize Your Chart

Once the chart appears, you can:

Change the chart title – Double Click to change
Add data labels (click the “+” icon beside the chart)
Change colors or styles
Move or resize it easily by dragging

1. Column Chart

Best for: Comparing values across categories.

Example 1: Monthly Sales Comparison

Compare sales data from Jan to Dec.
Summary: This chart shows how sales figures vary each month, helping you identify high and low-performing periods.

Example 2: Number of Complaints per Department

HR, Sales, Tech Support, etc.
Summary: Helps visualize which department receives the most customer complaints for better resource allocation.

2. Line Chart

Best for: Showing trends over time.

Example 1: Stock Prices Over 12 Months

Plot closing prices per month.
Summary: Tracks how stock prices change over the year, making it easier to spot trends.

Example 2: Website Visitors Over a Week

Days on X-axis, number of visits on Y-axis.
Summary: Shows daily traffic to analyze peak website usage days.

Also Read: Pivot Table in Excel

3. Pie Chart

Best for: Showing proportions or percentage share.

Example 1: Market Share of Smartphone Brands

Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, etc.
Summary: Quickly understand how different brands divide the smartphone market.

Example 2: Expense Distribution

Rent, Salary, Travel, Internet
Summary: Helps you see which expense category takes up the most budget.
Practice this

4. Bar Chart

Best for: Comparing large categories horizontally.

Example 1: Employee Count by Department

HR, Sales, IT, etc.
Summary: Makes it easy to compare staffing across departments.

Example 2: Revenue by Region

East, West, North, South
Summary: Visualizes which region contributes most to total revenue.
Practice this

5. Area Chart

Best for: Displaying cumulative data trends over time.

Example 1: Cumulative Rainfall Over Months

Month vs Rainfall
Summary: Tracks how rainfall accumulates each month throughout the year.

Example 2: Website Traffic Growth

Compare organic vs paid traffic over time.
Summary: Shows which traffic source is growing faster over time.
Practice this

6. Scatter Chart

Best for: Showing relationship/correlation between two sets of data.

Example 1: Hours Studied vs Exam Score

To see if study time impacts results.
Summary: Shows correlation between study hours and exam performance.

Example 2: Ad Spend vs Conversions

Analyze effectiveness of marketing.
Summary: Helps marketers see if higher spending leads to better results.
Practice this

7. Combo Chart

Best for: Plotting two types of data on one chart.

Example 1: Revenue and Profit

Column for revenue, line for profit.
Summary: Displays two related metrics in a single visual for easy comparison.

Step 1:

Step 2:

Final Output:

Combo Chart in Excel — Revenue and Profit

Example 2: Budget vs Actual Expenses

Columns and lines to show comparison.
Summary: Quickly highlights differences between planned and actual spending.
Practice This

8. Stacked Column Chart

Best for: Comparing parts of a whole over different categories.

Example 1: Sales by Product Category by Quarter

Mobile, Laptop, Accessories per quarter.
Summary: Breaks down sales data to show category-wise contribution across quarters.

Stacked Column Chart in Excel — Sales by Product Category by Quarter

Example 2: Population Distribution by Age Groups

Children, Adults, Seniors in multiple states.
Summary: Compares how different age groups are spread across regions.
Practice This

9. Box and Whisker Plot

Best for: Statistical summary (min, max, median, outliers).

Example 1: Exam Scores Analysis

Identify outliers and medians for performance.
Summary: Provides a full statistical overview of students’ performance, including extremes.

Box and Whisker chart in excel — **Exam Scores Analysis by Box & Whisker** chart in excel

Example 2: Product Ratings on E-commerce Site

Display how varied customer ratings are.
Summary: Shows spread and central tendency of product reviews.
Practice This

10. Funnel Chart

Best for: Showing stages in a process.

Example 1: Sales Funnel

Leads ➝ Prospects ➝ Customers
Summary: Visualizes how leads convert into customers at each stage of the funnel.

Punnel Chart in Excel — **Sales Funnel**

Example 2: Job Application Funnel

Applied ➝ Interviewed ➝ Offered ➝ Hired
Summary: Helps HR teams analyze recruitment effectiveness across stages.
Practice This

Summary

Chart Type	Best Use
Column	Category comparison
Line	Time-based trends
Pie	Percentage breakdown
Bar	Horizontal category comparison
Area	Cumulative trend
Scatter	Relationship between variables
Combo	Two different types of data
Stacked Column	Part-to-whole across categories
Box & Whisker	Statistical distribution
Funnel	Sequential stages

Download Practice File

📥 Download Excel File

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right chart depends on what story your data is telling. A column chart is great for simple comparisons, while a scatter plot is ideal for correlation analysis. Use the examples above and try applying them to your own data.

You don’t need to memorize everything—just understand when to use which chart, and Excel will do the rest.

What’s Next?

In the next post, we’ll learn about the XLOOKUP in Excel

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