How to Make a Circle Graph in Google Sheets

A circle graph is perfect for showing how individual parts contribute to a whole, turning rows of numbers into a simple, compelling visual story. This guide walks you through every step to create them in Google Sheets, from organizing your data to customizing the final design into a professional-looking chart. You’ll get comfortable creating both traditional pie charts and its more popular format, the modern donut chart.

First, a Quick Question: Do You Even Need to Use a Circle Graph at All?

First things first. You must select the right chart to get the desired result. Before you spend time working through complex data structures, be sure to use a circle graph format: If you plan on visualizing how different parts contribute up to a "whole," then this is the visual style you should probably use. Circle graphs, also called either a pie graph or a donut chart, excel at helping to simplify a dataset. Here are some examples of what that means in practical terms:

• How Revenue Breaks Down: Show the different revenue streams that contribute to your overall results. (e.g., Organic Revenue, Paid Advertising, Email Nurtures, or Returning Client Fees)
• Results by Demographics: Show the key attributes of the audience group when presenting on marketing results, demographic attributes, voting results. (Age, Location, etc.)
• Dividing the Company Budget by Division/Departments: See how company spending breaks down for each department as one whole. (such as: 45% for Marketing, Sales, 10% R & D, Product, etc.)

Essentially, any time your dataset adds up to 100%, a circle graph is likely the right type of chart visual to effectively showcase your numbers.

Are There Any Situations When Circle Graphs Are Not Ideal to Use?

Of course, this is certainly the case, especially for larger datasets and when you need to be very precise to the point where showing fractions matter in your end result. You probably need to be careful using a circle chart, since small changes within this graph style can easily get overshadowed, which often results in misleading insights about your numbers. Be careful when using donut charts to report on any of the below datasets:

• If You Ever Use More Than 5-6 Data Slices: The circle visual tends to get cluttered quickly. Too many pie slices will just confuse your audience, and it negates the benefit of using this chart style anyway: simplicity. Avoid this where possible.
• If a Timeline Should Be Shown: A line graph is your best friend whenever you need to show the results of a dataset over time to highlight trends better versus just a snapshot in time.
• Whenever Comparing Lots of Datasets: Another area where a typical bar chart is better, especially where many items should be evaluated with one another because it provides an easy-to-read comparison of the various datasets. The key takeaway? Choose the graph that fits the result of your story - not what is trending at the moment.

Set Up Your Data in Excel Format

To build out a circle chart, a key part of your success will be to have your numbers set up to easily be pulled from within Google Sheets. Keep a column on your left with data fields with category values and the numbers in the column just beside it, so that Google Sheets can easily pull both into a related chart. Let's look at this common setup below:

How to Create a Google Donut Chart: The Walkthrough from Scratch

With a properly set up dataset, it is easy to create a donut graph in just a few minutes.

Step 1: Start by Highlighting Your Data

Use your mouse to highlight the cells you need to use for your graph. Be sure to select not only your number values but also the fields they belong to and the header for each.

Step 2: Create Your Chart Visualization Inside the Editor

Now that your data is already selected, just click 'Insert' from your top-level menu and find 'Chart.'

Step 3: Selecting Your Style of Circle Chart

The sidebar that opens automatically from steps 1 and 2 will pull open your chart editor. This is a great tool to use because it offers a real-time preview of the chart, which dynamically updates when you make changes. Google often does an excellent job selecting the chart that works with your dataset - usually the donut chart for these numbers. But feel free to move between any chart visual styles if you want to. Just avoid the 3D donut graph, as it's outdated. The viewer may not take it seriously, but it's your choice here too.

Customizing Your Donut Chart in Google Sheets to Look Professional

The default chart can get the message across, but after some customization, you can look professional and provide just the info that readers would expect to see. The 'Customize' tab is where all the magical settings are.

Let's Start with Styles for Your Chart:

This section of the customize menu lets you quickly modify the overall design, look, and feel by giving you options to change the chart color, its font, and add a border to the outside edge. A good tip for newcomers to charts would be to be cautious. Remember that sometimes less really does mean more for visuals, as your audience might get overwhelmed with too much detail.

The Most Important Part of the Chart: Labeling Your Pie Slices

This one setting will have the most impact, especially on donut charts. You can overlay useful info over your chart, which is a huge time-saver to help viewers understand what they are seeing. Here are your options:

• None
• Label
• Value
• %

This option for your chart is how we recommend starting because the percentage will give your audience the most context, which is often what business people need to know. We highly encourage users of Google Sheets to always select the Percentage overlay, as it will be useful in nearly every situation where you need a clear visual of your "part to whole."

Edit the Individual Chart Slice Section:

That's right, you can even format a single piece of your chart visual to highlight one part of your overall results. For example, you can click on the 'Organic Results' slice, where you can choose to pull that slice away from the center for emphasis. You can also change just the background color for that specific piece on your chart. Cool, right?

Change the Chart Heading with Customize > Chart Title

The default titles will often pull in the names of columns, which can often confuse viewers. It's helpful to use words people would say - not necessarily the file name or headers. Click on the title text and write some better labels!

Best Practices You Should Use on Your Own Circle Graph

So, your new circle chart looks pretty nice now, right? We can always do better. Below is a good list for you to self-evaluate any future charting projects.

• Don't Go Nuts... Use Fewer Slices! Remind yourself that your audience wants a very quick view of the pie, so they probably just need the Top Few items shown. You might even want to consider regrouping any smaller items as just 'Other.' Keep in mind the ‘Rule of Four’ - donut charts with more than six to eight pieces will cause your viewer's eyes to bug out.
• Use Percentages in Your Labeling: It's the most important piece, which always adds context right where it's needed. Don't ever use a Legend for a donut graph.

Saving & Exporting Your Final Design

One amazing benefit of Google Sheets is that it's automatically updating for you, so you don't have to worry about saving your progress. You save tons of time because you will never need to worry about versions, which were huge issues for old Excel users.

How Do You Get Donut Graphs into Google Docs or Slides?

It is extremely easy to get the chart from Google Sheets into both a Doc and Slide because it will pop open with a popup message right away. You can choose to just link to the file, which is great since your chart updates will be seen by your viewers even in the older link. Or, you can copy it into a new doc as a static version - use cases depend on what you are looking to achieve. You can also edit within your Docs by jumping back into Sheets, make your changes, and then clicking the new 'Update' option that appears. You never need to paste new workflows again and again. You’ll also be able to download your chart in a JPG or PNG file so they are easy to embed into any tools where you do your reporting.

Final Thoughts

There you have it! Now you know how to make a circle chart just like the pros. By knowing the data structure and what customization tricks to try and use, Google Sheets has all the features you need to visualize the right information for others.

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