Excel Basics · Interactive lesson 9 of 12
Charts
A chart turns a column of numbers into something you can read in two seconds. The chart type you pick should match the question you're actually asking — the same monthly sales below reads differently as a column, a line, or a pie.
Screens shown: Excel for Microsoft 365 for Windows. Practice works in any browser.
Written tutorialHow to Create a Chart in ExcelSkill check
Try these first:
- Turn a column of numbers into a column, line, and pie chart.
- Add a chart title and label the axes.
- Explain when a pie chart is a poor choice.
All familiar? Skip ahead to M10 — IF Statements.
Teach
What you're learning
- Column / bar chart
- Comparing amounts across categories — which month sold the most?
- Line chart
- Showing change over time — the natural fit for a run of months.
- Pie chart
- Parts of a whole — use sparingly, past 4–5 slices it gets hard to read.
- Chart title / axis labels
- Tell the reader what they're looking at without needing the surrounding data table.
- Changing chart type
- The data doesn't need to change — right-click the chart and switch type to see the same numbers a different way.
Where to find it in Excel
Insert›Charts
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Month | Sales | |||||||
| 2 | Jan | 1,200 | |||||||
| 3 | Feb | 950 | |||||||
| 4 | Mar | 1,480 | |||||||
| 5 | Apr | 1,310 | |||||||
| 6 | |||||||||
| 7 | |||||||||
| 8 |
Swipe sideways to see the whole window.
- 1Select the data, then open the Insert tab.
- 2Recommended Charts shows previews of charts that suit your data.
- 3Or pick a type directly: column, line, pie or bar.
- 4Click the chart to edit its title. Chart Design › Change Chart Type switches the type.
Rendered view of Excel for Microsoft 365 (Windows). Ribbon layout can differ slightly on Mac, Excel for the web or a narrow window.
Guided practice
Same six months of sales, three chart types — switch between them and see which tells the story best.
Monthly sales, January through June — column chart.
Real-world exercise
Chart your own data
Use six months of sales, expenses, or any other running series you have, and build a chart from it. Give it a title and label both axes. Then try it as a pie chart and decide: does it still make sense as parts of a whole, or was a column or line chart the better call?
Spot a mistake or have an idea for this lesson? Send feedback