How to Create a 3D Pie Chart in Power BI
Looking to give your Power BI report some visual flair with a 3D pie chart? You're in the right place. While they come with a few caveats, 3D charts can be great for static presentations where visual appeal is important. This tutorial will walk you through exactly how to add and customize a 3D pie chart in Power BI using custom visuals and share some best practices for using them effectively.
First, a quick word: The Great 3D Pie Chart Debate
In the world of data visualization, 3D pie charts are a bit controversial. Experts often advise against them because the 3D perspective - the tilt and depth - can distort the viewer's perception of the slice sizes. A slice in the foreground can appear larger than a slice of an equal value in the background, which can lead to misinterpretation of the data.
So, why would you want to use one? The simple answer is aesthetics. For high-level presentations, non-interactive PDF reports, or dashboards where the goal is more about making a visual statement than performing granular analysis, a well-designed 3D chart can look more polished and engaging than its 2D counterpart.
Our recommendation? Understand the risks. If you use a 3D pie chart, make sure you label it clearly with values or percentages so your audience isn't just relying on visual size alone. For deep, interactive analysis, a standard 2D bar chart or column chart is almost always a better, more accurate choice.
Preparing Your Data for a Pie Chart
Before you build any visual, it helps to have your data structured correctly. Pie charts are designed to show a 'part-to-whole' relationship. For this, you need two basic things:
Categories: A text field that slices up the pie (e.g., Sales Region, Marketing Channel, Product Category).
Values: A numerical field that determines the size of each slice (e.g., Total Sales, Website Sessions, Units Sold).
Let’s say you have a simple dataset tracking online sales by region. It might look something like this:
Region, Total_SalesNorth America, 450000Europe, 320000Asia, 210000South America, 115000Australia, 95000
Here, 'Region' is your category, and 'Total_Sales' is your value. This is the perfect structure for a pie chart.
Power BI's Secret: No Native 3D Pie Chart
Now for the most important part of this tutorial: Power BI does not have a native, built-in visual for a 3D pie chart. If you look in the standard Visualizations pane, you’ll find a regular Pie chart and a Donut chart, but no 3D options included out-of-the-box.
But that doesn't mean it's impossible. We can get exactly what we need by tapping into Power BI's marketplace for custom visuals, called AppSource.
AppSource is where third-party developers create and publish visuals that extend Power BI's capabilities. It’s full of everything from specialized maps to advanced gauges, and, you guessed it, 3D pie charts.
Step-by-Step: Adding a 3D Pie Chart via Custom Visuals
Getting a 3D pie chart onto your report canvas is a straightforward, four-step process. Here’s how you do it.
Step 1: Get More Visuals from AppSource
First, we need to find and import the visual.
Navigate to the Visualizations pane on the right-hand side of Power BI Desktop.
Click the three dots (...) at the bottom of the visual icons.
From the pop-up menu, select Get more visuals. This will open the Power BI Visuals marketplace (AppSource).
In the AppSource window, use the search bar at the top and type in "3D pie chart".
You'll see a few options. A popular and effective one is called 3D Pie Chart AIV. Click on it to see the details.
Click the blue Add button to import it into your Power BI file. Once it’s successfully added, you’ll see a small message confirming the import.
Step 2: Add the New Visual to Your Report
Once imported, the custom visual will appear as a new icon in your Visualizations pane, separate from the default visuals. It will have a little badge on it indicating it’s a custom visual.
Simply click this new icon to add a blank 3D pie chart placeholder to your report canvas.
Drag the corners to resize it or click and drag to move it where you want on your page.
Step 3: Add Your Data to the Fields
Now, we need to tell the chart what data to display. With your 3D pie chart selected, look at the Visualizations pane. You'll see several data fields specific to this visual.
Category Group: This is where you drag your main category field. Using our earlier example, we'd drag the 'Region' column here.
Category Group Sub Category: This is optional, but it lets you create hierarchical or drill-down charts. We'll skip it for our basic example.
Measure: This is for your numerical value. We'll drag our 'Total_Sales' field here.
As soon as you drag those two fields into their respective slots, your 3D pie chart will come to life, displaying your sales data broken down by region.
Step 4: Customize and Format Your Chart
A default chart is nice, but the real power comes from formatting it to match your brand and make the data easy to read. Click on your chart, then go to the Format your visual tab (the paintbrush icon) in the Visualizations pane.
Here are some key settings you’ll likely want to adjust inside the custom visual’s options:
Chart Settings
Under a section likely named "3D View Options" or similar, you’ll find what makes this a 3D chart.
Tilt (x-axis) & Rotation (y-axis): Use these sliders to change the camera angle of the chart. You can find the perfect perspective that showcases the 3D effect without hiding smaller slices.
Slice Explode: This fun setting allows you to separate the slices from each other, making them stand out. You can often choose to explode the largest slice, smallest slice, or all of them. Use this sparingly so it doesn’t look too busy.
Inner Radius: Many 3D pie chart visuals also function as 3D donut charts. By increasing the inner radius, you can create a hole in the middle.
Data Labels
This is arguably the most important section for making your chart useful.
Show Labels: Toggle these on. A pie chart without labels isn't very helpful!
Label Style / Content: You can typically choose what to show. Options often include the raw value, the percentage of the total, the category name, or a combination. Displaying Percentage is almost always a good idea.
Font and Colors: Adjust the text size, font, and color to ensure your labels are easy to read against the slice colors.
Legend and Colors
By default, the legend will appear, but you can customize it.
Show Legend: Toggle it on or off. If you’re displaying labels with category names directly on the slices, you might not need a legend.
Position: Change its location (e.g., Top, Bottom, Right).
Colors: Here, you can manually assign a specific color to each slice. This is great for aligning the report with your company’s brand colors or using color psychology (e.g., green for good, red for bad).
Best Practices for Using 3D Pie Charts
Now that you know how to build one, here are a few tips to make sure your 3D charts are effective and not misleading.
Fewer slices are better. Pie charts become chaotic and hard to read with more than 5-7 slices. If you have more categories, a bar or column chart is a better choice.
Always use clear labels. Since the 3D perspective can be misleading, always include a data label showing the actual percentage or value. This removes any ambiguity.
Pick a sensible viewing angle. Don't tilt the chart so much that slices in the back become completely hidden or look comically small. A subtle 3D effect is better than an extreme one.
Use them for the right audience. A 3D pie chart might add a "wow" factor for a high-level executive slide deck but may be poorly received by a room full of data analysts. Know who you’re presenting to.
Final Thoughts
Creating a 3D pie chart in Power BI is a perfect example of its flexibility. While Power BI keeps its native visuals clear and simple, it empowers users to add nearly any chart type imaginable through community-created custom visuals. By diving into AppSource, you can add that extra layer of polish to your reports with just a few clicks.
Of course, building the perfect dashboard in a tool like Power BI takes time - navigating through menus to get visuals formatted just right. For times when you want to explore your data or get a report built instantly without all the clicks, we built Graphed. After connecting your data sources, you can ask questions in plain English like "Show me total sales by region as a pie chart" to get visualizations in seconds, letting you go from data to insight without getting stuck on setup and formatting.