How to Create a Funnel Chart in Google Sheets

A funnel chart is one of the best ways to visualize drops in a process, such as seeing where potential customers abandon your sales pipeline or where users get stuck during sign-up. This article walks you through exactly how to build a clear, effective funnel chart right inside Google Sheets, step-by-step.

What Exactly is a Funnel Chart Anyway?

A funnel chart shows how values progress through sequential stages. It gets its name because it’s usually shaped like a funnel - wide at the top for the initial stage and narrowing as it goes down through subsequent stages. Each section represents a stage in the process and its size reflects the value or quantity at that point.

You can use a funnel chart to track almost any multi-step process. Here are a few common examples:

• Sales Pipeline: Tracking leads as they move from first contact to a closed deal (e.g., Initial Leads → Qualified Leads → Demo Scheduled → Proposal Sent → Deal Won).
• Marketing Funnel: Visualizing the customer journey from initial awareness to purchase (e.g., Website Visitors → Added to Cart → Initiated Checkout → Purchase Complete).
• Recruitment Process: Monitoring candidates as they move through the hiring stages (e.g., Applications Received → Phone Screen → First Interview → Final Interview → Offer Extended).
• User Onboarding: Seeing how many new users complete key setup steps (e.g., Account Created → Profile Completed → Key Feature Used → Invited a Teammate).

The main benefit of a funnel chart is its clarity. You can immediately see the “leaks” in your process - the biggest drop-offs between stages. This helps you identify problem areas and focus your efforts where they’ll have the most impact.

Step 1: Get Your Data Ready

Before you build the chart, the most important step is to set up your data correctly. A funnel chart needs two columns: one for the stage names and one for the value at each stage.

Your data should be organized in a simple table, with the stages listed in chronological order from top to bottom. The values should generally decrease as you move down the funnel.

Here’s an example for an e-commerce checkout process:

Stage                | Value
---------------------|----------
Website Visitors     | 20,000
Product Page Views   | 8,000
Added to Cart        | 1,500
Reached Checkout     | 700
Completed Purchase   | 450

Enter your stages in one column (e.g., Column A) and their corresponding values in the next column (e.g., Column B). It's crucial that the first stage has the highest value and the stages are ordered logically.

Step 2: Create a “Helper” Column to Center the Funnel

Google Sheets doesn't have a built-in funnel chart option like some other programs. But we can cleverly create one using a stacked bar chart. To do this, we need an extra "helper" column that adds invisible padding on the left side of each bar, pushing the visible part into a centered, funnel-like shape.

1. In the column next to your values (Column C in our example), label the header something like "Helper" or "Spacer."
2. In the first cell below the header (C2), enter the following formula:

=(MAX($B$2:$B$6)-B2)/2

Let’s break this down:

• MAX($B$2:$B$6): This finds the largest value in your data set (your starting number). The $ signs lock the range, so it doesn't change when you drag the formula down. Make sure to adjust the range ($B$2:$B$6) to match your own data range.
• -B2: It subtracts the value of the current stage (in this case, the value in cell B2).
• /2: The result is divided by two. This gives us the size of the symmetrical padding needed on either side of the bar. Since we're making a stacked bar chart, we only need the padding on one side (the left).

After entering the formula in C2, click the small blue square in the bottom-right corner of the cell and drag it down to apply the formula to the rest of your stages. Your sheet should now look like this:

Step 3: Insert and Configure the Stacked Bar Chart

Now that our data is prepared, it's time to create the chart.

1. Highlight all your data, including the stage names and both numeric columns. In our example, you would select the range A1:C6.
2. Go to the menu and click Insert > Chart.
3. Google Sheets will likely suggest a chart type, but it probably won't be the correct one. In the Chart editor pane that appears on the right, go to the 'Setup' tab.
4. Under 'Chart type,' scroll down until you find the "Bar chart" section and select Stacked bar chart.

You should now see a chart with two colored sections for each stage.

Customize the Chart to Look Like a Funnel

With the basic chart in place, we just need to make a few tweaks to turn it into a true funnel.

1. Make the Helper Bars Invisible

• In the Chart editor pane, switch from the 'Setup' tab to the 'Customize' tab.
• Expand the ‘Series’ section.
• You'll see a dropdown menu that lets you select a series to format. By default, it might be on 'Value'. Find your helper series (e.g., 'Helper') from this dropdown.
• Once the helper series is selected, change its ‘Fill color’ to ‘None’.
• If there's an outline, change the 'Line color' to 'None'.

Your chart should now begin to look like a centered funnel!

2. Flip the Funnel Upright

• In the 'Customize' tab, find and expand the Vertical axis section.
• Check the box that says ‘Reverse axis order’.

Now your first stage is at the top, and the funnel flows downwards as expected.

3. Clean Up Labels and Titles

A few final touches will make your chart professional and easy to read.

• Add Data Labels: Go back to the 'Series' section, select your 'Value' series, and check the 'Data labels' box. This displays the actual number on each bar, which is incredibly useful for interpretation. You can adjust the position, font, and color here as well. 'Center' usually looks best.
• Remove the Legend: Since one of our series is invisible, the legend isn't very useful and can be confusing. Go to the ‘Legend’ section and set the position to ‘None’.
• Give it a Title: Double-click the chart title to edit it. Make it descriptive, like "E-commerce Sales Funnel" or "Q3 Hiring Pipeline." You can adjust alignment and font in the 'Chart & axis titles' section.
• Remove Gridlines: To give it an even cleaner look, go to the ‘Gridlines and ticks’ section, select Vertical axis, and uncheck 'Major gridlines'.

After these adjustments, you’ll have a polished and effective funnel chart created entirely within Google Sheets.

Advanced Tip: Adding Conversion Rates

A funnel chart shows you the absolute numbers at each stage, but what about the percentage drop-off? You often want to know the conversion rate from one stage to the next. For example, what percentage of people who added an item to their cart went on to complete the purchase?

It's challenging to add these labels directly onto the chart in Google Sheets. The cleanest way is to add a new column to your data table.

1. In Column D, create a new header called "Stage-to-Stage Conversion."
2. In cell D3 (the second stage of your funnel), enter a formula to calculate the percentage of the previous stage:

=B3/B2

1. Drag this formula down for the remaining stages.
2. Select this new column and format it as a percentage by clicking on the '%' icon in the toolbar.

This adds the context right next to your chart. When you present your visual, you can refer to both the absolute drop-off shown in the funnel and the relative conversion rates shown in your table.

Final Thoughts

While Google Sheets doesn't have a one-click funnel chart, the stacked bar chart method is a reliable workaround. By setting up your data with a simple helper column, you can create a clean, professional visual that clearly highlights bottlenecks and opportunities in any critical process.

Of course, manually building reports in spreadsheets and updating them weekly is exactly the kind of repetitive work that can bog down a team. That’s why we built Graphed. After easily connecting your live data sources like Google Analytics, Shopify, or Salesforce, you can simply ask for the reports you need in plain English - “show my sales funnel from the last 30 days as a funnel chart” - and get a real-time dashboard created for you in seconds. It saves you the time spent wrangling formulas so you can focus on acting on the insights.