Excel has more than 20 chart types. Most reports need only five or six. This guide matches each chart to the question it answers, notes which Excel versions have it, and links to step-by-step tutorials.
Insert a chartSelect data → Alt + F1
Chart in its own sheetF11
Recommended ChartsInsert → Recommended Charts
Everyday charts
| Chart | Best for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Column | Comparing a few categories or periods | Sales by month |
| Bar | Comparing many categories, or long names | Sales by city |
| Line | Trends over time | Daily share price |
| Pie / Doughnut | Parts of one whole, with 5 slices or fewer | Expense split |
| Area | Trend plus the size of the total | Cumulative users |
| Combo (column + line) | Two measures, or actual vs target | Actual vs target |
For analysis
| Chart | Best for |
|---|---|
| XY (Scatter) | The relationship between two numbers, such as price and quantity |
| Bubble | Scatter plus a third measure as bubble size |
| Histogram (2016+) | How values are spread, such as marks in ranges |
| Box and Whisker (2016+) | Spread, median and outliers |
| Stock | Open–high–low–close prices |
| Radar | Comparing several measures for a few items |
| Surface | A value across two dimensions |
Newer charts (Excel 2016 and later)
| Chart | Best for |
|---|---|
| Waterfall | How a starting value becomes an ending value: profit bridges, cash flow |
| Funnel | Stages that shrink, such as a sales pipeline |
| Treemap | Parts of a whole across many categories |
| Sunburst | Parts of a whole with levels, such as region → city |
| Map | Values by country or state |
Charts built from other charts
- Gantt chart: a stacked bar chart with the first series hidden.
- Actual vs target charts: four ways, including one that turns red when a target is missed.
- Forecast Sheet: a line chart with forecast and confidence bounds.
- Sparklines (Insert → Sparklines): tiny charts inside a cell, one per row.
Tips for clearer charts
- Start column and bar axes at zero.
- Sort bars from largest to smallest unless the order means something, like months.
- Label the data directly and remove the legend when there's only one series.
- Use one highlight colour for the point you want people to notice, and grey for the rest.
- Make the data an Excel Table (Ctrl + T), so new rows join the chart automatically.