What chart to choose

Horizontal bars

Horizontal cluster bars

Horizontal stacked bars

Vertical bars

Vertical cluster bars

Line

Slope

Stacked area

Bar-line combo

Scatter

Bubble

Waterfall

Stacked 100% area(adding to 100%)

Vertical stacked bars

Vertical stacked bars (adding to 100%)

Horizontal stacked bars (adding to 100%)

Which Chart Should I Use?

Bubble When to use: Use to compare 2 or more values of 3 variables at a point in timeExample: Market share, market growth rate and total addressable market size for Meta in different regions, 2023

Scatter When to use: Use to show the relationship between 2 distinct variablesNote: Use when you want to show correlation between two variables and it's not important to show the trend over timeExample: Time spend vs. ad spend on major social networks (e.g. Facebook, Instagram), 2023

Bar-line combo When to use: Use to show the relationship between 2 or more distinct variables over 3 or more time periods Note: Use with caution: Different variables are competing for attention, and a secondary axis can make data difficult to interpretExample: Time spend vs. ad spend on Facebook, 2021-2025

Stacked area When to use: Use to show development in 2 or more variables, summing to a notable total, over 3 or more time periods Note: Better than vertical stacked bars when a large number of time periods are coveredExample: Amazon revenues by division (e.g. retail, media, AWS), 2016-2025

Slope When to use: Use to show development in 1 or more variables from one period to another Example: US social network ad spend by social network, 2016 vs. 2025

Line When to use: Use to show development in 1 or more variables over 2 or more time periods Note: Better than vertical (clustered) bars when you need to break the y-axis and/or when a large number of time periods are coveredExample: US social network ad spend by social network, 2016-2025

Vertical clustered bars When to use: Use to show development in 2 or more variables over 2 or more time periodsExample: Number of users of Meta vs. TikTok for 2016 vs. 2025

Vertical bars When to use: Use to show development in 1 variable over 2 or more time periodsExample: US social network ad spend, 2021-2025

Horizontal stacked bars When to use: Use to compare 2 or more values of 2 or more variables, summing to a notable total, at a point in time Note: Use when the sum of the variables is important Example: Time spend vs. ad spend on major social networks (e.g. Facebook, Instagram), 2023

Horizontal clustered bars When to use: Use to compare 2 or more values of 2 or more variables at a point in time Example: Number of users of Meta vs. TikTok for US vs. Canada, 2023

Horizontal bars When to use: Use to compare 2 or more values of a variable at a point in time Note: Consider adding a label "Total = 100%" if using as a replacement for a pie chart (showing % of a total summing to 100%)Example: US social network vs. TV ad spend, 2023

Vertical stacked bars When to use: Use to show development in 2 or more variables, summing to a notable total, over 2 or more time periods Note: Use when the sum of the variables is importantExample: Amazon revenues by division (e.g. retail, media, AWS), 2019-2023

Horizontal stacked bars (adding to 100%) When to use: Use to compare 2 or more values of 2 or more variables, summing to a notable total of 100%, at a point in time Note: Better than horizontal stacked bars when the relative size of variables more important than their absolute values Example: Share of users of major social networks (e.g. Facebook, Instagram) coming from different regions, 2023

Vertical stacked bars (adding to 100%) When to use: Use to show development in 2 or more variables, summing to a notable total of 100%, over 2 or more time periods Note: Better than vertical stacked bars when the relative size of variables more important than their absolute values Example: Amazon share of revenues by division (e.g. retail, media, AWS), 2019-2023

Stacked area (adding to 100%) When to use: Use to show development in 2 or more variables, summing to a notable total of 100%, over 3 or more time periods Note: Better than vertical stacked bars (adding to 100%) when a large number of time periods are covered Examples: Amazon share of revenues by division (e.g. retail, media, AWS), 2016-2025

Waterfall When to use: Use to show how the initial value of a variable is impacted by a 1 or more positive or negative changes Example: Potential impact of US TikTok ban on Meta's 2023 revenues