How to Graph Multiple Lines in Google Sheets

A simple line graph is great for showing a trend over time, but comparing multiple trends on a single chart is where the real insights are hiding. If you want to see how sales for different products stack up quarter-over-quarter, or how traffic from Google compares to traffic from Facebook, a multiple line graph is what you need. This guide will walk you through exactly how to graph multiple lines in Google Sheets, from setting up your data to customizing your chart so it looks clean and professional.

Data First: How to Structure Your Sheet for a Multi-Line Graph

Before you even think about inserting a chart, your data needs to be organized properly. Google Sheets is smart, but it needs a little help to understand what you’re trying to visualize. A clean data structure is the difference between a chart that works instantly and one that leaves you wrestling with settings for twenty minutes.

Your goal is to have a simple, logical table. Here are the core rules:

• Column A is for Your Timeline: Your very first column should contain the time-based data points you want to plot on the horizontal (X-axis). This could be dates, months, quarters, or years. Keep the intervals consistent.
• Each Additional Column is a New Line: Every column to the right of your timeline column will become a separate line on your graph. The header for each column will be used as the label for that line in the chart's legend.
• Keep it Numeric: The data in your "line" columns (from Column B onwards) should be numeric. Don't add text like "units" or currency symbols directly into the cells - you can format those later.

Example Data Structure

Imagine you're tracking quarterly sales for three different product lines: "Alpha Widgets," "Bravo Gadgets," and "Charlie Trinkets." Your data in Google Sheets should look like this:

By organizing your data this way, you're telling Google Sheets that "Quarter" is your X-axis, and the three product line columns are the individual series (lines) you want to compare against that timeline.

Creating the Multiple Line Graph: Step-by-Step

Once your data is neatly arranged, creating the graph itself takes just a few clicks. Follow these steps to bring your visualization to life.

Step 1: Select Your Data

Click on the top-left cell of your dataset (in our example, the cell containing "Quarter") and, while holding the mouse button down, drag to the bottom-right cell to highlight the entire table, including all headers and data points.

Step 2: Insert the Chart

With your data selected, navigate to the menu at the top of the screen and click Insert > Chart. A chart will instantly appear on your sheet, along with the Chart editor sidebar on the right.

Step 3: Choose the Right Chart Type

Google Sheets is usually pretty good at suggesting a line chart for this kind of data. If it does, you can skip to the next step. If it suggests a bar chart, a pie chart, or something else, it's easy to fix. In the Chart editor sidebar, under the Setup tab, find the "Chart type" dropdown and select Line chart from the options.

Step 4: Verify Your Data Configuration

The Setup tab is your command center. Let's make sure everything is pointing to the right place:

• Data range: This should match the cells you selected in Step 1.
• X-axis: Google Sheets should have automatically identified your first column ("Quarter" in our example) as the X-axis. If not, you can click on the box and specify the correct range.
• Series: This is where each of your lines is defined. You should see "Alpha Widgets," "Bravo Gadgets," and "Charlie Trinkets" listed here as individual series. If any are missing or incorrect, you can add or remove them here.

After a quick check, you should have a basic but functional multi-line graph on your screen, plotting the sales of all three product lines over time.

How to Customize Your Graph for Maximum Clarity

A default chart gets the job done, but a well-customized chart tells a much clearer story. The Customize tab in the Chart editor is where you can transform your graph from basic to brilliant.

Chart & Axis Titles

An untitled chart is useless. Give it context.

1. Click the Chart & axis titles section in the Customize tab.
2. For "Chart title," give it a descriptive name like "Quarterly Product Sales Comparison."
3. Use the Horizontal axis title to label your timeline, for example, Time Period.
4. Use the Vertical axis title to label your values, something like Revenue ($).

Series Customization

This is where you can customize each individual line. Under the Series dropdown, you can select which line you want to edit.

• Color: Change the color of each line to make them easily distinguishable. Consider using your brand colors for a more professional look.
• Line thickness: Bumping this up from the default 2px to 3px or 4px can make the lines much easier to see.
• Point shape and size: Add data markers (like circles or squares) to show the exact data points on your lines. This makes it easier to pinpoint values at specific intervals.

Legend Position

The legend tells your audience what each colored line represents. Under the Legend section, you can change its position. I usually find setting it to Top or Bottom works better than Right if you have a lot of categories, as it gives the chart itself more room to breathe.

Gridlines and Ticks

Fine-tuning the gridlines can improve readability. Under Gridlines and ticks, you can add more "minor gridlines" to an axis if you need more granular reference points. You can also change the color of the gridlines to a lighter gray to make them less distracting.

Advanced Tips for Your Multiple Line Graphs

Ready to level up your Google Sheets chart skills? These pro tips solve common data visualization challenges.

Dealing with Missing Data

What if one of your product lines has no sales data for a specific quarter? By default, Google Sheets will create a gap in the line. Sometimes that's what you want, but other times you might prefer the line to connect across the gap. You can control this behavior under Customize > Chart style > Plot null values. Choosing Connect will draw a line between the adjacent points, which can be useful for showing an estimated trend.

Adding a Secondary Axis to Compare Different Scales

What if you want to plot two very different metrics on the same graph, like Revenue (in the tens of thousands) and Number of social media posts (in the dozens)? If you plot these on the same vertical axis, the "posts" line will look like a flat line at the bottom, completely dwarfing the revenue trend.

The solution is a secondary axis. Let’s say you wanted to compare "Alpha Widgets" revenue with "Marketing Spend."

1. Go to the Customize > Series tab in the editor.
2. From the dropdown, select the series you want to move to a different axis (e.g., "Marketing Spend").
3. Under the options for that series, find the "Axis" dropdown and select Right axis.

A new vertical axis will appear on the right side of your chart, scaled specifically for the "Marketing Spend" data. Now you can easily compare the trend of two different types of data on a single graph, even with vastly different scales.

Final Thoughts

Creating a multiple line graph in Google Sheets is a powerful way to compare different data series over time. Once you know how to structure your source data correctly, the process is incredibly straightforward, and the customization options give you complete control over how you present your findings.

As you get comfortable building these reports, you may find that the biggest time-sink isn't making the chart itself, but rather the manual process of pulling data from tools like Google Analytics, Shopify, or your CRM just to get it into the spreadsheet. For that repetitive data wrangling, we built Graphed. It connects all your accounts in seconds and lets you create real-time dashboards automatically using simple natural language, so you can spend less time exporting CSVs and more time acting on your insights.