{"id":1013,"date":"2026-10-23T17:32:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T17:32:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jfdi-blog-which-chart-should-i-use"},"modified":"2026-10-23T17:32:49","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T17:32:49","slug":"which-chart-should-i-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jfdi.pro\/blog\/which-chart-should-i-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Which chart should I use? A guide to 42 common charts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Choose a chart by the question it needs to answer. Comparing items? Use bars. Change over time? Use a line. Parts of a whole? Use a stacked bar or, for two or three parts, a pie. Relationship between two numbers? Use a scatter plot. Flows between stages? Use a Sankey.<\/strong> The rest of this guide covers the cases in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Try every chart with your own data<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Every chart below is in the JFDI chart maker<\/a>. Paste your data once and the gallery redraws all 130 chart types with it, putting the ones that fit your data’s shape first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Comparing items<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chart<\/th>Use it when<\/th>Avoid when<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Bar chart<\/td>Comparing a handful to a few dozen categories, especially with long names<\/td>Showing change over time<\/td><\/tr>
Column chart<\/td>Comparing a few categories, or a few time periods<\/td>Category names are long<\/td><\/tr>
Grouped bar or column<\/td>Comparing two or three series per category<\/td>More than about four series<\/td><\/tr>
Dot plot<\/td>Many categories with values close together<\/td>You need to show zero as a baseline<\/td><\/tr>
Lollipop chart<\/td>Like a bar chart, but lighter when bars are many<\/td>Values are negative and positive<\/td><\/tr>
Bullet chart<\/td>Actual against a target, with good\/bad bands<\/td>The audience hasn’t seen one before<\/td><\/tr>
Slope chart<\/td>Who rose and who fell between two points in time<\/td>More than two points in time<\/td><\/tr>
Diverging bar chart<\/td>Values above and below zero, or a midpoint<\/td>Everything is on one side<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sort bars by value unless the categories have a natural order (age groups, months).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Change over time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chart<\/th>Use it when<\/th>Avoid when<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Line chart<\/td>Continuous change, many time points<\/td>You have only two or three points<\/td><\/tr>
Column chart<\/td>A few periods, or totals per period<\/td>Dozens of periods<\/td><\/tr>
Step chart<\/td>Values that change in jumps, such as prices or interest rates<\/td>Change is gradual<\/td><\/tr>
Area chart<\/td>Emphasising volume over time for one series<\/td>Comparing several series that overlap<\/td><\/tr>
Stacked area chart<\/td>A total and its components over time<\/td>Readers need to compare the middle layers<\/td><\/tr>
Line with final dot<\/td>Highlighting the latest value<\/td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr>
Year-over-year line<\/td>Comparing the same months across years<\/td>Data isn’t seasonal<\/td><\/tr>
Fan chart<\/td>A forecast with widening uncertainty<\/td>You don’t have a range<\/td><\/tr>
Bump chart<\/td>Rankings rising and falling<\/td>The actual values matter more than ranks<\/td><\/tr>
Calendar heatmap<\/td>Daily values across a year, showing weekly patterns<\/td>Data is monthly<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Parts of a whole<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chart<\/th>Use it when<\/th>Avoid when<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Stacked bar or column<\/td>Parts of a total, compared across categories<\/td>More than about five parts<\/td><\/tr>
100% stacked bar<\/td>Shares, not totals, across categories<\/td>Totals matter<\/td><\/tr>
Pie or donut<\/td>Two or three parts of one whole<\/td>Parts are similar in size, or there are many<\/td><\/tr>
Waffle chart<\/td>Showing a percentage people can count, such as 37 in 100<\/td>Values need decimals<\/td><\/tr>
Treemap<\/td>Many parts, or parts within parts<\/td>Precise comparison matters<\/td><\/tr>
Sunburst<\/td>Hierarchies with two or three levels<\/td>More than three levels<\/td><\/tr>
Waterfall chart<\/td>How a start value becomes an end value<\/td>Values aren’t sequential changes<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Pie or bar? Bars win for anything but two or three slices, because people compare lengths far more accurately than angles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Distributions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chart<\/th>Use it when<\/th>Avoid when<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Histogram<\/td>The shape of one set of values<\/td>Comparing many groups<\/td><\/tr>
Box plot<\/td>Comparing medians and spread across groups<\/td>Audience isn’t used to them<\/td><\/tr>
Violin plot<\/td>Comparing the shape of distributions<\/td>Groups are small<\/td><\/tr>
Beeswarm plot<\/td>Showing every individual value, up to a few hundred<\/td>Thousands of points<\/td><\/tr>
Population pyramid<\/td>Two groups (such as men and women) by age band<\/td>Groups aren’t comparable<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5. Relationships<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chart<\/th>Use it when<\/th>Avoid when<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Scatter plot<\/td>Two numbers per item: is there a pattern?<\/td>Only a handful of items<\/td><\/tr>
Scatter with trend line<\/td>Showing the direction of a relationship<\/td>The relationship isn’t straight<\/td><\/tr>
Bubble chart<\/td>A third number shown by size<\/td>Bubbles overlap heavily<\/td><\/tr>
Connected scatter plot<\/td>How two numbers moved together over time<\/td>More than one or two series<\/td><\/tr>
Heatmap<\/td>Values across two categories, such as day \u00d7 hour<\/td>Precise values matter<\/td><\/tr>
Quadrant chart<\/td>Sorting items into four groups, such as impact \u00d7 effort<\/td>Axes have no natural midpoint<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

6. Flows and processes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chart<\/th>Use it when<\/th>Avoid when<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Sankey diagram<\/a><\/td>Quantities flowing between stages<\/td>More than about 20 nodes<\/td><\/tr>
Alluvial chart<\/td>How groups move between categories over stages<\/td>Categories change between stages<\/td><\/tr>
Funnel Sankey<\/td>A conversion funnel with drop-offs<\/td>Steps aren’t sequential<\/td><\/tr>
Income statement chart<\/td>Revenue flowing to costs and profit<\/td>\u2014<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

7. Ranking races and small multiples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chart<\/th>Use it when<\/th>Avoid when<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Bar chart race<\/td>An animated ranking over time, for social or presentations<\/td>Printed or static reports<\/td><\/tr>
Grid of line charts (small multiples)<\/td>Many series that would tangle on one chart<\/td>Series have very different scales<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Three rules that apply to every chart<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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  1. Title it with the finding.<\/strong> “Sales doubled after the price cut” tells readers what to look for; “Sales by month” doesn’t.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Start bars at zero.<\/strong> The length of a bar is the value, so a cut-off axis exaggerates differences. Lines can start elsewhere, if you say so.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Use colour for meaning.<\/strong> Highlight the one series that matters and grey the rest, rather than giving each its own bright colour.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Related<\/h2>\n\n\n\n