How to Make a Bar Graph in Spreadsheet
Need to compare which marketing channels drive the most traffic or showcase your monthly sales figures in a clear, digestible way? A bar graph is one of the most effective and straightforward tools for the job. This guide will walk you through creating eye-catching bar graphs step-by-step in both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel, complete with pro tips to make your data presentations more professional and persuasive.
What Bar Graphs Are Good For (and When to Use Them)
Before we build one, let's quickly cover why bar graphs are so popular. Their primary function is to compare distinct categories of data at a glance. The length of each bar is proportional to the value it represents, making it incredibly easy for anyone to see which category is the biggest, smallest, or how they all stack up against each other.
Use a bar graph when you want to:
Compare categories: Show traffic sources (Organic, Social, Direct), sales by product, or marketing budgets across different campaigns.
Track changes in categorical data over time: Display quarterly revenue for the past four quarters or year-over-year user growth. Be careful here, though, if you have many time periods, a line graph might be clearer.
Show parts of a whole across different groups: A stacked bar graph can show the breakdown of revenue (e.g., product vs. service) for each month.
Simply put, if you can say "I want to compare [value] for each [category]," a bar graph is probably the right choice.
How to Make a Bar Graph in Google Sheets
Creating a bar graph (which Google Sheets often calls a "column chart" if it's vertical) is a very straightforward process. Let’s create a simple chart showing monthly user signups.
Step 1: Get Your Data Ready
The first step is always organizing your data. A bar graph needs at least two columns. One column is for your labels (the categories you are comparing), and the other is for the numerical values corresponding to those labels.
Arrange your information in two clean columns. For our example, Column A will be the month and Column B will be the number of signups.
Your data should look something like this:
Column A: Month
Column B: Signups
Row 1: Month, Signups (your headers)
Row 2: January, 150
Row 3: February, 210
Row 4: March, 185
Row 5: April, 250
This simple layout makes it easy for Google Sheets to understand what you want to chart.
Step 2: Highlight Your Data
Click and drag your mouse to select all the cells that contain your data, including the headers in the first row. In our example, you would select cells A1 through B5.
Step 3: Insert Your Chart
With your data selected, navigate to the menu at the top of the screen and click Insert, then select Chart from the dropdown menu.
Google Sheets will automatically analyze your data and create a chart it thinks is best - which is often a bar graph (or column chart) already. If it guesses wrong, don't worry, it's easy to change.
Step 4: Customize and Refine Your Bar Graph
Once your chart appears, the Chart editor sidebar will open on the right. This is where you can make your graph perfect.
Chart type: In the 'Setup' tab of the Chart editor, you can change the chart type. Scroll down to find various Bar chart or Column chart options if the default selection isn't what you wanted.
Titles and Labels: Switch to the 'Customize' tab. Here you can click on 'Chart & axis titles' to give your graph a clear title, like "Monthly Signups Q1" and label your horizontal (X-axis) and vertical (Y-axis) axes.
Colors and Style: Under the 'Series' dropdown, you can change the color of your bars to match your company's branding or to highlight a specific data point. You can also add data labels directly onto the bars, which can make the chart easier to read.
Gridlines and Ticks: Under 'Gridlines and ticks,' you can adjust or remove the background gridlines for a cleaner, less cluttered look.
How to Make a Bar Graph in Microsoft Excel
The process in Excel is very similar to Google Sheets, though the menus look a bit different. Let’s use the same example of monthly user signups.
Step 1: Organize Your Data Format
Just like in Google Sheets, you need well-structured data. Use one column for the category labels (Month) and an adjacent column for the values (Signups). Make sure to include header rows.
Step 2: Select the Data Range
Click and drag to select the data you want to visualize, including the headers. So, select cells A1:B5 in our signups example.
Step 3: Insert Your Bar Graph
Go to the Insert tab on the Ribbon at the top of Excel. In the 'Charts' group, you'll see several small icons representing different chart types. Click on the one that looks like a bar graph (it's officially called Insert Column or Bar Chart).
A dropdown will appear showing different chart options:
2-D Column: The standard vertical bar graph. This is what you'll want most of the time.
3-D Column: Adds a three-dimensional effect. Use this carefully, as 3-D effects can sometimes make data harder to compare accurately.
2-D Bar: A horizontal bar graph. These are great when you have long category labels.
3-D Bar: The horizontal version of the 3-D column chart.
Select the first option under 2-D Column for a standard bar graph. Your chart will instantly appear on your spreadsheet.
Step 4: Customize Your Excel Chart
When you click on your new chart, two new tabs will appear on the Ribbon: Chart Design and Format.
Adding Elements: On the 'Chart Design' tab, click Add Chart Element on the far left. This lets you add or remove axis titles, data labels, gridlines, a legend, and more.
Changing Colors and Styles: In the 'Chart Design' tab, you can use the 'Chart Styles' gallery to pick a pre-made design or click Change Colors to select a different color palette.
Editing Titles: Simply double-click on the "Chart Title" placeholder text directly on the chart to type in your own title. Do the same for axis titles if you've added them.
Fine-Tuning: For more detailed formatting, right-click on any element of the chart (like the bars, the axis, or the background) and select Format... from the menu. This will open a detailed sidebar with options for colors, borders, shadows, and more.
Tips for Making Your Bar Graphs More Effective
Creating a chart is easy, but creating an effective one takes a bit more thought. Here are a few best practices to elevate your graphs from basic to professional.
Clustered vs. Stacked: Know the Difference
When you have multiple data series - for example, comparing online sales vs. retail sales for each month - you have two main options:
Clustered Bar Graph: Places bars for each category side-by-side. This is ideal for directly comparing the performance of one series against another (e.g., "Did we sell more online or in-store in January?").
Stacked Bar Graph: Stacks the values for each category on top of each other. This is best for showing the total value for each category and understanding its composition (e.g., "What was our total revenue in January, and how much did each channel contribute to that total?").
Use Horizontal Bars for Long Labels
If your category labels are long (e.g., full campaign names like "Summer Sale 2024 - Facebook Outreach" or categories like "User Acquisition via Organic Search"), a standard vertical bar graph will scrunch up the labels, often forcing them to be written diagonally or abbreviated. Switch to a horizontal bar graph ("2-D Bar" in Excel). This gives you plenty of space for clear, readable labels on the vertical axis.
Keep It Clean and Simple
The goal of a chart is to communicate information quickly. Don't let your design get in the way. Avoid "chartjunk" by:
Removing unnecessary gridlines: A heavily gridded background can be distracting.
Avoiding 3-D effects: They can distort the perception of bar lengths, making accurate comparisons difficult.
Using data labels strategically: If you add the value directly onto each bar, you often don't need a thickly labeled y-axis.
Limiting colors: Don't use a different color for every bar unless each represents a completely different category. Stick to a simple, clean color palette.
Sort Your Data Intentionally
Before you even create the chart, consider sorting your data. Arranging your bars in a logical order - such as from largest value to smallest or in chronological order - makes it much easier for your audience to process the information and identify patterns.
Final Thoughts
You now know how to build a clear, informative bar graph in both Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel. From arranging your data to customizing the final design, these steps put you in full control of visually communicating your key metrics and making a more persuasive case for your business decisions.
While mastering spreadsheets is a valuable skill, much of this manual work - arranging data, selecting ranges, and customizing charts - can feel repetitive, especially when you need reports regularly. At Graphed, we built our tool to help you get straight to the insights without the busywork. By connecting your live data sources, you can ask questions in plain English, like "show monthly website traffic by source as a bar graph," and get a real-time visualization instantly. It’s like having a data analyst on your team, turning hours of reporting into a 30-second task.