Excel for pie chart

Pie charts are a popular way to show how much individual amounts—such as quarterly sales figures—contribute to a total amount—such as annual sales.

Pick your program

(Or, skip down to learn more about pie charts.)

• Excel

• PowerPoint

• Word

• Data for pie charts

• Other types of pie charts

Note: The screen shots for this article were taken in Office 2016. If you’re using an earlier Office version your experience might be slightly different, but the steps will be the same.

Excel

1. In your spreadsheet, select the data to use for your pie chart.

   For more information about how pie chart data should be arranged, see Data for pie charts.

2. Click Insert > Insert Pie or Doughnut Chart, and then pick the chart you want.

   

3. Click the chart and then click the icons next to the chart to add finishing touches:

   • To show, hide, or format things like axis titles or data labels, click Chart Elements .

   • To quickly change the color or style of the chart, use the Chart Styles .

   • To show or hide data in your chart click Chart Filters .

     

PowerPoint

1. Click Insert > Chart > Pie, and then pick the pie chart you want to add to your slide.

   

   Note: If your screen size is reduced, the Chart button may appear smaller:

2. In the spreadsheet that appears, replace the placeholder data with your own information.

   

   For more information about how to arrange pie chart data, see Data for pie charts.

3. When you’ve finished, close the spreadsheet.

4. Click the chart and then click the icons next to the chart to add finishing touches:

   • To show, hide, or format things like axis titles or data labels, click Chart Elements .

   • To quickly change the color or style of the chart, use the Chart Styles .

   • To show or hide data in your chart click Chart Filters .

Word

1. Click Insert > Chart.

   

   Note: If your screen size is reduced, the Chart button may appear smaller:

2. Click Pie and then double-click the pie chart you want.

   

3. In the spreadsheet that appears, replace the placeholder data with your own information.

   

   For more information about how pie chart data should be arranged, see Data for pie charts.

4. When you’ve finished, close the spreadsheet.

5. Click the chart and then click the icons next to the chart to add finishing touches:

   • To show, hide, or format things like axis titles or data labels, click Chart Elements .

   • To quickly change the color or style of the chart, use the Chart Styles .

   • To show or hide data in your chart click Chart Filters .

   • To arrange the chart and text in your document, click the Layout Options button .

Data for pie charts

Pie charts can convert one column or row of spreadsheet data into a pie chart. Each slice of pie (data point) shows the size or percentage of that slice relative to the whole pie.

Pie charts work best when:

• You have only one data series.

• None of the data values are zero or less than zero.

• You have no more than seven categories, because more than seven slices can make a chart hard to read.

Other types of pie charts

In addition to 3-D pie charts, you can create a pie of pie or bar of pie chart. These charts show smaller values pulled out into a secondary pie or stacked bar chart, which makes them easier to distinguish. To switch to one of these pie charts, click the chart, and then on the Chart Tools Design tab, click Change Chart Type. When the Change Chart Type gallery opens, pick the one you want.

See Also

Select data for a chart in Excel

Create a chart in Excel

Add a chart to your document in Word

Add a chart to your PowerPoint presentation

Available chart types in Office

How to Make and Customize Pie Charts in Excel

Smartsheet Contributor

Diana Ramos

August 27, 2018

Excel has a variety of in-built charts that can be used to visualize data. And creating these charts in Excel only takes a few clicks.

Among all these Excel chart types, there has been one that has been a subject of a lot of debate over time.

…the PIE chart (no points for guessing).

Pie charts may not have got as much love as it’s peers, but it definitely has a place. And if I go by what I see in management meetings or in newspapers/magazines, it’s probably way ahead of its peers.

In this tutorial, I will show you how to create a Pie chart in Excel.

But this tutorial is not just about creating the Pie chart. I will also cover the pros & cons of using Pie charts and some advanced variations of it.

Note: Often, a Pie chart is not the best chart to visualize your data. I recommend you use it only when you have a few data points and a compelling reason to use it (such as your manager’s/client’s penchant for Pie charts). In many cases, you can easily replace it with a column or bar chart.

Let’s start from the basics and understand what is a Pie Chart.

In case you find some sections of this tutorial too basic or not relevant, click on the link in the table of contents and jump to the relevant section.

What is a Pie Chart?

I will not spend a lot of time on this, assuming you already know what it is.

And no.. it has nothing to do with food (although you can definitely slice it up into pieces).

A pie chart (or a circle chart) is a circular chart, which is divided into slices. Each part (slice) represents a percentage of the whole. The length of the pie arc is proportional to the quantity it represents.

Or to put it simply, it’s something as shown below.

The entire pie chart represents the total value (which is 100% in this case) and each slice represents a part of that value (which are 45%, 25%, 20%, and 10%).

Note that I have chosen 100% as the total value. You can have any value as the total value of the chart (which becomes 100%) and all the slices will represent a percentage of the total value.

Let me first cover how to create a Pie chart in Excel (assuming that’s what you’re here for).

But I do recommend that you go on and read all the things covered later in this article as well (most importantly the Pros and Cons section).

Creating a Pie Chart in Excel

To create a Pie chart in Excel, you need to have your data structured as shown below.

The description of the pie slices should be in the left column and the data for each slice should be in the right column.

Once you have the data in place, below are the steps to create a Pie chart in Excel:

1. Select the entire dataset
2. Click the Insert tab.
3. In the Charts group, click on the ‘Insert Pie or Doughnut Chart’ icon.
4. Click on the Pie icon (within 2-D Pie icons).

The above steps would instantly add a Pie chart on your worksheet (as shown below).

While you can figure out the approximate value of each slice in the chart by looking at its size, it’s always better to add the actual values to each slice of the chart.

These are called the Data Labels

To add the data labels on each slice, right-click on any of the slices and click on ‘Add Data Labels’.

This will instantly add the values to each slice.

You can also easily format these data labels to look better on the chart (covered later in this tutorial).

Formatting the Pie Chart in Excel

There are a lot of customizations you can do with a Pie chart in Excel. Almost every element of it can be modified/formatted.

Pro Tip: It’s best to keep your Pie Charts simple. While you can use a lot of colors, keep it to a minimum (even different shades of the same color is fine). Also, if your charts are printed in black and white, you need to make sure the difference in slice colors is noticeable.

Let’s see a few of the things that you can change to make your charts better.

Changing the Style and Color

Excel already has some neat pre-made styles and color combinations that you can use to instantly format your Pie charts.

When you select the chart, it will show you the two contextual tabs – Design and Format.

These tabs only appear when you select the chart

Within the ‘Design’ tab, you can change the Pie chart style by clicking on any of the pre-made styles. As soon as you select the style that you want, it will be applied to the chart.

You can also hover your cursor over these styles and it will show you a live preview of how your Pie chart would look when that style is applied.

You can also change the color combination of the chart by clicking on the ‘Change Colors’ option and then selecting the one you want. Again, as you hover the cursor over these color combinations, it will show a live preview of the chart.

Pro Tip: Unless you want your chart to be really colorful, opt for the monochromatic options. These have shades of the same color and are relatively easy to read. Also, in case you want to highlight one specific slice, you can keep all the other slices in dull color (such as grey or light blue) and highlight that slice with a different color (preferably bright colors such as red or orange or green).

Related tutorial: How to Copy Chart (Graph) Format in Excel

Formatting the Data Labels

Adding the data labels to a Pie chart is super easy.

Right-click on any of the slices and then click on Add Data Labels.

As soon as you do this. data labels would be added to each slice of the Pie chart.

And once you have added the data labels, there is a lot of customization you can do with it.

Quick Data Label Formatting from the Design Tab

A quick level of customization of the data labels is available in the Design tab, which becomes available when you select the chart.

Here are the steps to format the data label from the Design tab:

1. Select the chart. This will make the Design tab available in the ribbon.
2. In the Design tab, click on the Add Chart Element (it’s in the Chart Layouts group).
3. Hover the cursor on the Data Labels option.
4. Select any formatting option from the list.

One of the options that I want to highlight is the ‘Data Callout’ option. It quickly turns your data labels into callouts as shown below.

More data label formatting options become available when you right-click on any of the data labels and click on ‘Format Data Labels.

This will open a ‘Format Data Labels’ pane on the side (or a dialog box if you’re using an older version of Excel).

In the Format Data Labels pane, there are two sets of options – Label Options and Text Options

Formatting the Label Options

You can do the following type of formatting with the label options:

1. Give a border to the label(s) or fill the label(s) box with a color.
2. Give effects such as Shadow, Glow, Soft Edges, and 3-D Format.
3. Change the size and alignment of the data label
4. Format the label values using the Label options.

I recommend keeping the default data label settings. In some cases, you may want to change the color or the font size of these labels. But in most cases, the default settings are fine.

You can, however, make some decent formatting changes using the label options.

For example, you can change the placement of the data label (which is ‘best fit’ by default) or you can add the percentage value for each slice (which shows how much percentage of the total does each slice represents).

Formatting the Text Options

Text Options formatting allows you to change the following:

1. Text Fill and outline
2. Text Effects
3. Text box

In most cases, the default settings are good enough.

The one setting you may want to change is the data label text color. It’s best to keep a contrasting text color so it’s easy to read. For example, in the below example, while the default data label text color was black, I changed it to white to make it readable.

Also, you can change the font color and style by using the options in the ribbon. Just select the data label(s) you want to format and use the formatting options in the ribbon.

Formatting the Series Options

Again, while the default settings are enough in most cases, there are few things you can do with ‘Series Options’ formatting that can make your Pie charts better.

To format the series, right-click on any of the slices of the Pie chart and click on ‘Format Data Series’.

This will open a pane (or a dialog box) with all the series formatting options.

The following formatting options are available:

1. Fill & Line
2. Effects
3. Series Options

Now let me show you some minor formatting that you can do to make your Pie chart look better and more useful for the reader.

Formatting the Legend

Just like any other chart in Excel, you can also format the legend of a Pie chart.

To format the legend, right-click on the legend and click in Format Legend. This will open the Format Legend pane (or a dialog box)

Within the Format Legend options, you have the following options:

1. Legend Options: This will allow you to change the formatting such as fill color and line color, apply effects, and change the position of the legend (which allows you to place the legend at the top, bottom, left, right and top right).
2. Text Options: These options allow you to change the text color and outline, text effects, and the text box.

In most cases, you don’t need to change any of these settings. The only time I use this is when I want to change the position of the legend (place it on the right instead of the bottom).

Pie Chart Pros and Cons

Although Pie charts are used a lot in Excel and PowerPoint, there are some drawbacks about it that you should know.

You should consider using it only when you think it allows you to represent the data in an easy to understand format and adds value for the reader/user/management.

Let’s go through the Pros and Cons of using Pie charts in Excel.

Let’s start with the good things first.

What’s Good about Pie Charts

1. Easy to create: While most of the charts in Excel are easy to create, pie charts are even easier. You don’t need to worry a lot about customization as most of the times, the default settings are good enough. And if you need to customize it, there are many formatting options available.
2. Easy to read: If you only have a few data points, Pie charts can be very easy to read. As soon as someone looks at a Pie chart, they can figure out what it means. Note that this works only if you have a few data points. When you have a lot of data points, the slices get smaller and become hard to figure out
3. Management loves Pie Charts: In my many years of corporate career as a financial analyst, I have seen the love managers/clients have for Pie charts (which is probably only trumped by their love for coffee and PowerPoint). There have been instances, where I have been asked to convert bar/column charts into Pie charts (as people find it more intuitive).

If you’re interested, you can also read this article by Excel charting expert Jon Peltier on why we love pie charts (disclaimer: he doesn’t)

What’s Not so Good About Pie Charts

1. Useful Only with fewer data points: Pie charts can become quite complex (and useless to be honest) when you have more data points. The best use of a Pie chart would be to show how one or two slices are doing as a part of the overall pie. For example, if you have a company with five divisions, you can use a Pie chart to show the revenue percent of each division. But if you have 20 divisions, it may not be the right choice. Instead, a column/bar chart would be better suited.
2. Can’t show a trend: Pie charts are meant to show you the snapshot of the data in a given point in time. If you want to show a trend, better use a line chart.
3. Can’t show multiple types of data points: One of the things I love about Column charts is that you can combine it with a line and create combination charts. A single combination chart packs a lot more information than a plain Pie chart. Also, you can create actual vs target charts which are a lot more useful when you want to compare data in different time periods. When it comes to a Pie chart, you can easily replace it with a line chart without losing out on any information.
4. Difficult to comprehend when the difference in slices is less: It’s easier to visually see the difference in a column/bar chart as compared with a Pie chart (especially when there are a lot of data points). In some cases, you may want to avoid these as they may be a bit misleading.
5. Takes more space and gives less information: If you’re using Pie charts in reports or dashboards (or in PowerPoint slides) and want to show more information in less space, you may want to replace it with other chart types such as combination charts or bullet chart.

Bottom line – Use a pie chart when you want to keep things simple and have to show data for a specific point in time (such as year-end sales or profit). In all other cases, it’s better to use other charts.

Advanced Pie Charts (Pie of Pie & Bar of Pie)

One of the major drawbacks of a Pie chart is that when you have a lot of slices (especially really small ones), it’s hard to read and analyze those (such as the ones shown below):

In the above chart, it might make sense to create a Pie of Pie chart or a Bar of Pie chart to present the lower values (the one shown with small slices) as a separate pie chart.

For example, if I want to specifically focus on the three lowest values, I can create a Pie of Pie chart as shown below.

So let’s quickly see how to create these charts in Excel.

Creating a Pie of Pie Chart in Excel

Suppose you have a data set as shown below:

If you create a single Pie chart using this data, there would be a couple of small slices in it.

Instead, you can use the Pie of Pie chart to zoom into these small slices and show these as a separate Pie (you can also think of it as a multiple level Pie chart).

Note: By default, Excel picks up up the last three data points to plot in a separate Pie chart. In case the data is not sorted in ascending order, these last three data points may not be the smallest one. You can easily correct this by sorting the data

Here are the steps to create a Pie of Pie chart:

1. Select the entire data set.
2. Click the Insert tab.
3. In the Charts group, click on the ‘Insert Pie or Doughnut Chart’ icon.
4. Click on the ‘Pie of Pie’ chart icon (within 2-D Pie icons)

The above steps would insert the Pie of Pie chart as shown below.

The above chart automatically combines a few of the smaller slices and shows a breakup of these slices in the Pie on the right.

This chart also gives you the flexibility to adjust and show a specific number of slices in the Pie chart on the right. For example, if you want the chart on the right to show a breakup of five smallest slices, you can adjust the chart to show that.

Here is how you can adjust the number of slices to be shown in the Pie chart on the right:

1. Right-click on any of the slices in the chart
2. Click on Format Data Series. This will open the Format Data Series pane on the right.
3. In the Series options tab, within the Split Series by options, select Position (this may be the default setting already)
4. In the ‘Values in second plot’, change the number to 5.

The above steps would combine the 5 smallest slices and combine these in the first Pie chart and show a breakup of it in the second Pie chart on the right (as shown below).

In the above chart, I have specified that the five smallest slices be combined as one and be shown in a separate Pie chart on the right.

You can also use the following criteria (which can be selected from the ‘Split Series by’ drop-down):

• Value: With this option, you can specify to club all the slices that are less than the specified value. For example, in this case, if I use 0.2 as the value, it will combine all the slices where the value in less than 20% and show these in the second Pie chart.
• Percentage Value: With this option, you can specify to club all the slices that are below the specified percentage value. For example, if I specify 10% as the value here, it will combine all the slices where the value is less than 10% of the overall Pie chart and show these in the second Pie chart.
• Custom: With this option, you can move the slices in case you want some slices in the second Pie chart to be excluded or some in the first Pie chart to be included. To remove a slice from the second Pie chart (the one of the right), click on the slice which you want to remove and then select ‘First Plot’ in the ‘Point Belongs to’ drop-down. This will remove that slice from the second plot while keeping all the other slices still there. This option is useful when you want to plot all the slices that are small or below a certain percentage in the second chart, but still, want to manually remove a couple of the slices from it. Using the custom option allows you to do this.

Formatting the ‘Pie of Pie’ Chart in Excel

Apart from all the regular formatting of a Pie chart, there are a few additional formatting things you can do with the Pie of Pie chart.

Point Explosion

You can use this option to separate the combined slice in the first Pie chart, which is shown with a break up in the second chart (on the right).

To do this, right-click on any slice of the Pie chart and change the Point Explosion value in the ‘Format Data Point’ pane. The higher the value, the more distance would be between the slice and the rest of the pie chart.

Gap Width

You can use this option to increase/decrease the gap between the two Pie charts.

Just change the Gap width value in the ‘Format Data Point’ pane.

Size of the Second Pie Chart (the one of the right)

By default, the second Pie chart is smaller in size (as compared with the main chart on the left).

You can change the size of the second Pie chart by changing the ‘Second Plot Size’ value in the ‘Format Data Point’ pane. The higher the number, the larger is the size of the second chart.

Creating a Bar of Pie Chart in Excel

Just like the Pie of Pie chart, you can also create a Bar of Pie chart.

In this type, the only difference is that instead of the second Pie chart, there is a bar chart.

Here are the steps to create a Pie of Pie chart:

1. Select the entire data set.
2. Click the Insert tab.
3. In the Charts group, click on the ‘Insert Pie or Doughnut Chart’ icon.
4. Click on the ‘Bar of Pie’ chart icon (within 2-D Pie icons)

The above steps would insert a Bar of Pie chart as shown below.

The above chart automatically combines a few of the smaller slices and shows a breakup of these slices in a Bar chart on the right.

This chart also gives you the flexibility to adjust this chart and show a specific number of slices in the Pie chart on the right in the bar chart. For example, if you want the chart on the right to show a breakup of five smallest slices in the Pie chart, you can adjust the chart to show that.

The formatting and settings of this Pie of bar chart can be done the same way we did for Pie of Pie charts.

Should You be using Pie of Pie or Bar of Pie charts?

While I am not a fan, I will not go as far as forbidding you to use these charts.

I have seen these charts being used in management meetings and one reason these are still being used is that it helps in letting you tell the story.

If you’re presenting this chart live to an audience, you can command their attention and take them through the different slices. Since you’re doing all the presentation, you also have the control to make sure things are understood the way it’s supposed to be, and there is no confusion.

For example, if you look at the chart below, someone may misunderstand that the green slice is bigger than the gray slice. In reality, the entire Pie chart on the right is equal to the gray slice only.

Adding data labels definitely helps, but the visual aspect always leaves some room for confusion.

So, if I am using this chart with a live presentation, I can still guide the attention and avoid confusion, but I wouldn’t use these in a report or dashboard where I am not there to explain it.

In such a case, I would rather use a simple bar/column chart and eliminate any chance of confusion.

3-D Pie Charts – Don’t Use these… Ever

While I am quite liberal when it comes to using different chart types, when it comes to 3-D Pie charts, it’s a complete NO.

There is no good reason for you to use a 3-D Pie chart (or any 3-D chart for that matter).

On the contrary, in some cases, these charts can cause confusions.

For example, in the below chart, can you tell me how much is the blue slice as a proportion of the overall chart.

Looks like ~40%.. right?

Wrong!

It’s 51% – which means it’s more than half of the chart.

But if you look at the above chart, you can easily get tricked into thinking that it’s somewhere around 40%. This is because the rest of the part of the chart is facing towards you, and thanks to the 3-D effect of it, looks bigger.

And this is not an exception. With 3-D charts, there are tons of cases where the real value is not what it looks like. To avoid any confusion better stick to the 2-D charts only.

You can create a 3-D chart just like you create a regular 2-D chart (by selecting the 3-D chart option instead of the 2-D option).

My recommendation – avoid any kind of 3-D chart in Excel.

You May Also Like the Following Excel Charting Tutorials:

• Advanced Excel Charts
• Bell Curve in Excel
• Waffle Chart in Excel
• Gantt Chart in Excel
• Area Chart in Excel
• Excel Sparklines
• Pareto Chart in Excel
• Step Chart in Excel
• Actual Vs Target Chart in Excel
• Excel Histogram Chart
• Milestone chart in Excel

At the beginning of 2021, I was tasked with an assignment: Create a pie chart showcasing which types of content performed best on the Marketing Blog in 2020.

The question was an undeniably important one, as it would influence what types of content we wrote in 2021, along with identifying new opportunities for growth.

But once I’d compiled all relevant data, I was stuck — How could I easily create a pie chart to showcase my results?

Fortunately, I’ve since figured it out. Here, let’s dive into how you can create your own excel pie chart for impressive marketing reports and presentations. Plus, how to rotate a pie chart in excel, explode a pie chart, and even how to create a 3-dimensional version.

Let’s dive in.

1. Create your columns and/or rows of data. Feel free to label each column of data — excel will use those labels as titles for your pie chart. Then, highlight the data you want to display in pie chart form.

2. Now, click «Insert» and then click on the «Pie» logo at the top of excel.

3. You’ll see a few pie options here, including 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional. For our purposes, let’s click on the first image of a 2-dimensional pie chart.

4. And there you have it! A pie chart will appear with the data and labels you’ve highlighted.

If you’re not happy with the pie chart colors or design, however, you also have plenty of editing options.

Let’s dive into those, next.

How to Edit a Pie Chart in Excel

Background Color

1. You can change the background color by clicking on the paint bucket icon under the «Format Chart Area» sidebar.

Then, choose the fill type (whether you want a solid color as your pie chart background, or whether you want the fill to be gradient or patterned), and the background color.

Pie Chart Text

2. Next, click on the text within the pie chart itself if you want to rewrite anything, expand the text, or move the text to a new area of your pie chart.

Pie Chart Border

3. Within the Format Chart Area, you can edit the border of your pie chart as well — including the border transparency, width, and color.

Pie Chart Shadows

4. To change the pie chart box itself (including the box’s shadow, edges, and glow), click on the pentagon shape in the Format Chart Area sidebar.

Then, toggle the bar across «Transparency», «Size», «Blur», and «Angle» until you’re happy with the shadow of your pie chart box.

Pie Chart Colors

5. Click the color paint palette, at the top left of excel, to change the colors of your pie chart.

Excel offers a range of complementary colors — including a few presets under «Colorful», and a few presets under «Monochromatic». You can click between the options until you find a color palette you’re happy with.

(Alternatively, if you want to change the colors of your pie chart pieces individually, simply double click on the pie chart piece, toggle onto the paint section of the Format Chart Area, and choose a new color.)

Chart Title

6. Change the chart title by clicking on the three bars graph icon in the top left of excel, and then toggling to «Chart Title > None», «Chart Title > Above Chart», or «Chart Title > Centered Overlay».

Change Location of Data Labels

7. On the same three bar graph icon, click «Data Labels» to modify where your labels appear on the pie chart. (For instance, do you want the pie chart pieces labelled in the middle of each pie chart portion, or on the outside?)

Switch Row/Column

8. If you’d prefer to switch which data appears in the pie chart, click «Switch Row/Column» to see alternate information aligned from your original data set.

How to Explode a Pie Chart in Excel

1. To explode a piece of your pie chart (which can help you emphasize or draw attention to a specific section of your pie chart), simply double-click on the piece you want to pull away.

Then, drag your cursor until it’s the distance you want it, and you’re all set!

How to Create a 3D Pie Chart in Excel

1. To create a 3-dimensional pie chart in excel, simply highlight your data and then click the «Pie» logo.

2. Then, choose the «3-D Pie» option.

3. Finally, choose the design option you like at the top of your screen.

How to Rotate a Pie Chart in Excel

Finally, to rotate your pie chart, double-click on the chart and then click on the three-bar icon under «Format Data Point».

Then, toggle the «Angle of first slice» until you’ve rotated the pie chart to the degree you want.

And there you have it! You’re well on your way to creating clean, impressive pie charts for your marketing materials to highlight important data and move stakeholders to take action.

Ultimately, you’ll want to experiment with all of excel’s unique formatting features until you figure out the pie chart that works best for your needs. Good luck!

How to Make a Pie Chart in Excel: Step-By-Step Tutorial

How to Make a Pie Chart in Excel: Step-By-Step Tutorial

A pie chart is based on the idea of a pie – where each slice represents an individual item’s contribution to the total (the whole pie).

Unlike bar charts and line graphs, you cannot really make a pie chart manually. This is because it is hard to draw slices that accurately represent the weight of each item of a data set.

However, Excel allows you to create a wide variety of pie charts (simple, 2D, and 3D) easily and speedily.

To learn how to create and modify pie charts in Excel, jump right into the guide below. Download our free sample workbook here to tag along with the guide😎

How to create a pie chart

Creating a pie chart in Excel is super easy. For instance, take a look at the data below.

The data shows different grades achieved by students on a test.

Right now, we can see 12 students scored an A, 20 students scored a B, and so on.

But can we readily tell which grade was scored by most of the students? A pie chart will help us do that. See here how.

1. Select the data.

1. Go to the Insert Tab > Charts.

1. Select the pie chart icon.

What is that doughnut-like shape next to the pie chart icons? That’s a doughnut chart.

A pie or doughnut chart is just the same. The only difference is that a pie chart looks like a pie🥧 and a doughnut chart looks like a doughnut🍩

Kasper Langmann, Microsoft Office Specialist

1. From the drop-down menu, select the type of pie chart. For now, let’s go with a 2D pie chart.

1. And here comes a 2D pie chart.

Seeing the pie chart, we can clearly tell that most of the students scored a B grade.

That’s because Grade B is represented by red color and the biggest slice of the above pie is the red slice.

The next biggest is the blue slice (which means Grade A). Then comes the green slice (Grade C), the purple one (Grade D), and so on🔍

A Pie chart plots the data graphically and makes it so much easier to decipher it, doesn’t it?

Pro Tip!

Select the chart > Click on the Plus Icon on the top right of the chart > Add Legends.

This adds a quick color key to the pie chart that tells which color represents what. Like the small grade icons at the bottom of the chart above.

Each box tells which color represents which grade. You can add these to enhance the readability of your pie chart 🎉

How to modify a pie chart

Don’t like how the above chart looks like? No worries – there is a plenty of ways how you may edit it to fit your needs.

Chart Style

The easiest way to change the looks of your pie chart in Excel is to apply a different chart style to it. To do so:

1. Select the chart (you will see white circles on its corners and sides when selected).

After the chart is selected, two new tabs will appear on the ribbon. The ‘Chart Design’ and the ‘Format’ tab.

1. Go to the Chart Design Tab > Charts Styles.
2. Scroll through the chart styles that appear in the Chart Styles group to find the one for your chart.

1. Once chosen, click on that chart style to have it applied to your chart.

Just like we did here.

Note how each slice displays its percentage value under the chosen chart style.

Different styles offer different looks to your chart; you can apply any of them by simply clicking on them👆

Chart Colors

The charts’ colors are just too boring? We heard you and here’s how you can fix the colors of your pie chart in Excel.

1. Select the chart.
2. Go to the Chart Design Tab > Chart Styles > Change Colors.

Click on it and you will see a menu of color palettes before you.

1. Hover your cursor on any color palette to preview how it looks when applied to the chart.

Here’s how our pie chart looks in tones of blue and green.

1. Once you’ve chosen the right color palette for your pie chart, click on it and your chart would be recolored.

Data Labels

A chart without labels can not only be boring but hard to understand too.

To add data labels to your chart:

1. Select the chart by clicking on it.
2. Click on the plus sign appearing at the top-right corner of your chart.
3. From the Chart Elements drop-down menu, check the box for Data labels.

This adds data labels to each slice of the Pie Chart, as shown below.

Each slice now contains a number. This is the number of students who scored any particular grade. For example, the red slice tells that 20 students scored a B grade🅱

This is not it – to further format the data labels of your pie chart:

1. Right-click on the pie chart.
2. From the context menu, choose Format Data Labels.

This takes you to the Format Data Labels pane.

1. Choose from the variety of options for Data Labels from the “Label Options” as shown below.

Like do you want each slice to show the Grade along with the percentage proportion of students who scored that grade?

Chart Title

Every chart needs a title to tell the readers what’s coming their way. To add a title to your pie chart in Excel:

1. Select the Chart.
2. Click on the Plus sign that appears at the top right of the chart.
3. Check the box for “Chart Title”.

1. Give any name to your chart by typing it in the title box as shown below.

Chart Layout

Excel offers many in-built layouts for pie charts✌ To change the layout of your chart:

1. Select the pie chart.
2. Head to the Chart Design Tab > Chart Styles Group > Quick layout.

This launches a drop-down menu of options for the layout of your chart.

1. Hover your cursor around different layouts to have a quick preview of each.
2. Click on any layout to have it applied to your pie chart.

For example, here’s how the layout of our pie chart changes under the first layout style.

We now have each grade written inside the slice along with the percentage proportion of students who scored that grade.

Change Slice Angle

Changing the slice angle rotates the slices in the pie chart🍕 To do so:

1. Right-click on the pie (the pie itself and not the space around it).
2. From the context menu of options, click on Format Data Point.

This takes you to the Format Data Series pane.

1. Look out for the Series option > Angle of First Slice.
2. Increase the value of the “Angle of the first slice” by using the arrows. Or you can manually add a value to it.

As you increase the value, the slices of the pie chart start moving in an anti-clockwise direction.

For example, we have increased the angle value from 0 to 88, and the slices have accordingly rotated anti-clockwise.

Chart Area

Don’t want a simple and dull white background to your pie chart? Here’s how you can change it.

1. Right-click anywhere on the chart.
2. From the context menu that opens up, click on the “Format chart area” option.

This takes you to the ‘Format chart Area” pane.

1. Look out for several color-filling options under the Fill header. And choose the one that suits your needs.

For example, how do you like the icy-blue gradient fill look that we just tried below🥶

When to use a pie chart

Okay, it is really simple to make and edit a pie chart. But why would anyone even use a pie chart🤔

A pie chart is your go-to chart when you want to:

• Provide the readers with an easy-to-understand graph (like the breakup of financial figures).
• Show both value and proportion of different items in a dataset (pictorial representation of categories).
• Offer less explanation and a better graphical representation.

And most importantly, when your data set has a single variable to be plotted. Pie charts are meant to plot a single data series only.

Pro Tip!

A pie chart has slices that show the proportion of each item to the total. But what if the slices get too many and too thin? Such a pie chart will only be a mess with little value to offer.

A pie chart is ideal for data sets where you have at most seven categories to display7️⃣

That’s it – Now what?

Until now, we’ve learned to create a pie chart in Excel alongside several ways to modify it.

A Pie chart for sure is an easy and helpful graphic tool. But that’s only one chart type from the vast library of charts in Excel.

And to your good, in addition to charts, Excel has tons of other functions to offer too. Some of these functions include the VLOOKUP, IF, and SUMIF functions.

Those 3 functions are on my personal top 10 list of the most important functions in Excel. And IF is actually my favorite function of all time.

Want to learn them already? Enroll in my 30-minute free email course to learn these and many more functions of Excel😉

Kasper Langmann2022-12-26T15:42:22+00:00

Pie charts are used to display the contribution of each value (slice) to a total (pie). Pie charts always use one data series.

To create a pie chart of the 2017 data series, execute the following steps.

1. Select the range A1:D2.

2. On the Insert tab, in the Charts group, click the Pie symbol.

3. Click Pie.

Result:

4. Click on the pie to select the whole pie. Click on a slice to drag it away from the center.

Result:

Note: only if you have numeric labels, empty cell A1 before you create the pie chart. By doing this, Excel does not recognize the numbers in column A as a data series and automatically creates the correct chart. After creating the chart, you can enter the text Year into cell A1 if you like.

Let’s create one more cool pie chart.

5. Select the range A1:D1, hold down CTRL and select the range A3:D3.

6. Create the pie chart (repeat steps 2-3).

7. Click the legend at the bottom and press Delete.

8. Select the pie chart.

9. Click the + button on the right side of the chart and click the check box next to Data Labels.

10. Click the paintbrush icon on the right side of the chart and change the color scheme of the pie chart.

Result:

11. Right click the pie chart and click Format Data Labels.

12. Check Category Name, uncheck Value, check Percentage and click Center.

Result:

Note: right click the data labels and click Font to change the font size and font color of the data labels.

The design of standard Pie Charts in Excel is quite flexible using parameters. This allows us to present our reports at a higher level than what is offered by default. To show some of the possibilities for creative design in the Excel Chart Editor, here is a step-by-step example. So you can appreciate opportunities that you have not paid attention to before. You can create beautiful reports in Excel, and I’ll show you that it’s not difficult at all!



Create a beautiful Pie Chart in Excel step by step

It is worth noting right away that the possibilities of the chart designer in Excel are not unlimited, but they are essential not to use them. In some cases, imagination is needed for non-standard methods of constructing the desired visualization design for presentation. But the main advantage of tools for developing data visualization in Excel lies in the automated processing of table data. And this means that we can automate a large amount of work without the use of programming languages. The main function of programming is to automatically process the initial data and issue them in the desired form. The chart designer in Excel performs the same function to the best of its ability with a narrow specialization. But these opportunities are underestimated by users. See for yourself by downloading the template with a ready-made Excel dashboard example at the end of the article.



Step 1. Preparing tables for processing and presenting data in Pie Chart

The structure of the Pie Chart will consist of three shares. Therefore, the first table contains three columns with headers. In order not to waste time, immediately select the range of the table with the initial data B2: D3 and select the tool — Insert → Charts → Donut:

As a result, we got a Pie Chart with a default design, which already needs some work on at least the color scheme.

For further work, we need to clear the Pie Chart from auxiliary elements. We need a layout prototype, and from it we will create a new ready-made solution with a new design. To do this, select the diagram with the left mouse button and click on the plus button in the upper right corner of the object and disable all options in the drop-down menu that appears:

Now we have the source material as a template. It is convenient to work with him and we will sculpt a masterpiece out of him.

To demonstrate the possibilities of decorating a Pie Chart in Excel, let’s complicate the visualization structures a bit. To do this, we need another table with additional data:

The first column contains 90 cells with the same values — so we get 90 segments of the same size. And the second column contains 8 identical values.

We will add each column separately using the constructor. To do this, select a chart and an additional option will appear in the main menu — Chart Design (this is the name of the visualization designer in Excel). And then select the tool for editing the source data — Data → Select Data. In the “Select Data Source” window that appears, add new data in the correct sequence as shown in the figure below:

We need to arrange the order of the data series according to our design plan. Please note that we used the data from the Dia2 column 2 times. We arranged them so that the initial data of the first table was between two Dia2 series.

Step 2. Set up a combo chart type in Excel

Now let’s make the Dia1 data series on the main axis, and all the rest on the secondary axis. To do this, select the tool – Chart Design → Type → Change Chart Type. In the soldered window, in the left list of the pen, select the “Combo” type and in the right block, define the settings as shown in the figure below:

Our row Dia1 has not disappeared. It is on the first layer. We use the secondary axis and now the Pie Chart has two layers:

1. On the first bottom layer is the main axis with the values Dia1.
2. On the second top layer there is an auxiliary axis with the values of the other series: Dia2, Data and again Dia2.

In the next step, we will see all the layers and series.

Step 3: Customize the Render Color Scheme

The hardest part is over, everything is beautifully decorated with a color scheme. But first of all we will display Dia1 on the bottom layer. To do this, let’s make one part of the data transparent. Click the left mouse button on the «Successfully» share and press the hot key combination (CTRL + 1). In the “Format Data Point” settings block that appears, select the Fill & Line button and check the “No fill” option in the Fill menu:

Now «Successfully» on the second layer has a transparent background, and through it we can see the first layer, where the beats of Dia1 are.

To access the first layer of the main axis and Dia1, use the «Series Options» menu and adjust its fill and outline colors:

Let’s fill with white and set the outline to dark blue #071D42.

There is another way to see Dia1 on the first bottom layer below the secondary axis layer. To do this, change the inner diameter of the donut in the settings. Since we have 2 layers of bagels, now for each of them you can set your own diameter and, accordingly, the thickness.

We will use the “Series Options” option again, but this time we will click on the third button with the icon of the schematic Bar Chart as shown in the picture:

As a result, we see a part of Dia1 in the inner diameter of the donut, since now they are different:

1. The bagel on the bottom layer has a hole diameter of 48%.
2. The bagel on the top layer has a larger inside diameter of 57%.

Next, we’ll continue setting up the color scheme for the middle Data row. Let’s color them with gradient fills as in the picture:

Result:

• Successfully share — transparent color;
• Unsuccessfully share — pink radial gradient;
• Undefined proportion — blue radial gradient.

It remains only to color all the Dia2 series in a turquoise gradient and make a transparent background for the visualization block:

Thanks to the transparent background, we will decorate the background with a rectangle shape with a color gradient from black to turquoise. And in the foreground, add a circle shape with a link to the value instead of the inscription:

Now changing the value in cell B3 will change the size of the share and the value of the label in the center of the circle shape.

A simplified method for decorating standard Pie Charts in Excel

If this example turned out to be too complicated for you, here is another short example of how to quickly and easily create a beautiful Pie Chart in Excel. Select the cell range B2:D3 again, but this time select a different type — Insert → Charts → 2D Pie. As in the first example, you need to clear the diagram from auxiliary elements. Change the colors of the beats and set a transparent background and place the background shape. But at the end, just put an oval in the center with a radial gradient type of two colors in the foreground:

1. The same color as the background (black in this example).
2. Semi-transparent color close to the edges (73% transparency in this example):

Overlaying an oval with a translucent gradient fill around the edges now creates a tunnel effect. Everything ingenious is simple. Play with your imagination and the possibilities of Excel for the presentation of data visualization will seem much wider than at first glance. And then, through simple combinations with colors and shapes, you can create stylish dashboards with a futuristic design for a call center presentation, etc.:

Download a dashboard with examples of beautiful Pie Charts in Excel

Thanks to Excel, these dashboards have a big plus — interactive features. They can be implemented without programming or macros. It is enough to use the constructor and its settings. You can also expand the functionality using formulas, functions, pivot tables and controls in the developer section.

A pie chart in Excel is a pictorial representation of data. It is generally used to show the composition of an individual item. Categorical data is best represented using a pie chart, as it makes each slice represent a different category. The main purpose of the pie chart is to show part-whole relationships.

A pie chart can only be used if the sum of the individual parts adds up to a meaningful whole, and is built for visualizing how each part contributes to that whole. This can be the representation of a pie chart. The pie chart is a circular-shaped chart with one or more than one divisions in it, and each division represents some portion of a total circle or total value.

Pie Chart Example: 

This is the data of students present (out of a total of 60 students) in the class in a particular week. 

Creating a Pie Chart in Excel

Now, let’s see the steps involved to create a pie chart in Excel :

• Step 1: Open MS Excel in your system.
• Step 2: In the toolbar, go to the insert option.

• Step 3: Then check the pie chart icon for different pie chart segments.

• Step 4: Choose the type of pie chart you need.

There are really amazing pie charts according to different needs and properties. Before checking them, let’s create data for the pie charts.

Data is information, which has to be displayed pictorially in the form of a pie chart.

Let’s take a small data table that is related to a student’s marks obtained (out of 100 marks) in six subjects. Data is as follows:

So, here we can see, there are two types of data present: Subject name and Marks obtained. Following that, the values are filled. To create the pie chart of this data, select the data from the table. (Click on the upper-leftmost cell & drag the cursor to the bottom-rightmost cell and leave).

How to Create Different Pie Chart Types

Now go to the Pie chart options, which are already explained earlier. (Insert > Pie chart icon > Select pie chart) Select the type of pie chart you want to create.

In MS Excel, there are different types of Pie charts available. You can view that by clicking on a Pie chart drop-down option (as you have seen above).

• 2D Chart
• PIE of Pie Chart
• Bar of Pie Chart
• 3D Pie Chart
• Doughnut Chart

Let’s see them one by one.

2D Chart

After selecting a 2D Pie chart. We get a colorful Pie chart created with different divisions. At the bottom, there is a legend that determines which color represents which division on the chart.

Now after getting the pie chart. If you want to make some changes in the context of design and format, follow the below:

Step 1. Select the chart.

Step 2. Then select the “Design” and “Format” options that occur in the toolbar.

Different designs will be present there. Choose accordingly.

Different designs and other options (for changing layout, a combination of colors of divisions, etc.) will be present there as follows. Choose accordingly.

Different formats which include (shape insertion, chart boundary color, shape fill etc.) will be present there for modifications as follows. Choose accordingly.

PIE of PIE Chart

Now with the same data, we will create a Pie of Pie chart. 

To create this chart, we will follow the same steps we followed for the 2D Pie chart. And then select the required PIE of PIE Chart option, as shown below.

In this type of chart (pie of pie chart), you will have two pie charts. The first one is a normal Pie chart and the second one is a subset of the main pie chart.

In the sub-chart part, we have only two categories which are representing the break-up of 99 (64 + 35 computer science and chemistry). To check the categories of sub chart part, we can add the labels.

To know more about PIE of PIE chart, click here.

Bar of PIE Chart

Now with the same data, we will Bar of the PIE Chart.

To create this chart, just select the Bar or Pie chart, then the below chart will be created.

It is almost similar to Pie of the pie chart with a small difference in that the sub-pie chart is a sub-bar chart. 

As of now, we have completed all the 2D charts, and now we will see a 3D Pie chart.

3D PIE Chart

To create this chart, just select the 3D PIE Chart, then the below chart will be created.

A 3D pie chart is similar to a 2D Pie chart, but it has a height in addition to length and breadth. To get a clear image of divisions in 3D, right-click on the chart and select the “Format data series”. 

Select the series option and increase the Pie explosion scale (for reference, see the figures).

To rotate the chart, change the “Angle of first slice” option. Rotation will take accordingly 

3-D Rotation options for 3-D pie graphs

There are more rotation choices for 3-D pie charts in Excel. Right-click any slice and choose 3-D Rotation, from the context menu to get the 3-D rotation functionality.

The Format Chart Area pane will open, where you can set the following 3-D Rotations options:

• X Rotation for Horizontal rotation
•  Y Rotation for Vertical rotation
• Perspective for the degree of perspective (the field of view on the chart)

Your Excel pie chart will instantly rotate to reflect the changes when you click the up and down arrows in the rotation boxes.

Note: The depth axis of an Excel pie graph (Z axis) cannot be rotated, only the horizontal and vertical axis can be rotated.

Doughnut Chart

To create this chart, just select the Doughnut Chart, then the below chart will be created.

The doughnut chart looks different from the other pie charts because this pie chart has a hole in the middle (looks like a ring). 

With that hole, it looks like a Doughnut, that is the reason it is referred to as a Doughnut chart.

To reduce the hole size, right-click on the chart and select the “Format Data Series“ and reduce the hole size. 

Different options like color change, soften edges, doughnut explosion (as we did earlier with 3D pie chart), etc. are there, use them as per requirements.

Features of Pie Chart

Now, let’s talk about more features for pie charts. To make some more changes for individual division or to some group of division. Select the chart. You will see three signs, named as 

• Chart Elements
• Chart styles
• Chart filters

Chart Elements (“+” symbol)

The chart area is divided into three parts: 

• Chart title
• Date series 
• Legend

In this option, we can add, remove or change chart elements such as title, legend, grid lines, and data labels. Select the Data labels to option ⇢ Data callout. 

Data Callout: By which each division on the chart represents its subject name and contributed percentage.

You can try more modifications in the Pie chart representation by these options given. Deselect mark, to remove that portion from the chart or etc…

In chart title, you can make changes like shifting the position of the title, different alignment.

In data labels, you can make changes like shifting the position of data values at different places.

In legend, you can make changes for the legend part of the chart. E.g. color, positions etc.

Chart Styles

In chart style, we get to see amazing different styles.

We can try different combinations of colors for the division of the pie chart. (earlier also saw it, in the design option)

Chart filters

This is one of the dynamic features, this allows you to easily click through your data to visualize different segments by just keeping the cursor on the required data.

Select the chart, then click the Filter icon to expose the filter pane.

When you have multiple charts to filter, that are based on the same range or table. The on-object chart controls in Excel allow you to quickly filter out data at the chart level, and filtering data here will only affect the chart – not the data.

We can also reduce the legend and chart title part. (refer to below data)

In case you want to add the expenses category to the division. Select the chart and right-click from the popup menu, and select “Format data labels”.

You can see different changes by selecting or deselecting some options. You can make changes according to your need.

• If we want to change the colors or other settings of the division, select the required division as below.

Right-click on the selected chart and select the “format data point” option.

Make changes according to your need.

Exploding the Entire Pie Chart in Excel

In Excel, selecting all the pie slices with a click and then dragging them away from the chart’s centre with the mouse will quickly explode the entire pie chart.

We can have more control over the pie chart separation, follow the steps below: 

1. Right-click on a slice within an Excel pie graph, and select Format Data Series from the context menu.
2. Drag the Pie Explosion slider to alter the distance between the slices in the Format Data Series pane by selecting the Series Options tab. You might also directly type the desired number into the % box.

Formatting a Pie Graph in Excel

You might wish to give an Excel pie chart a professional, attention-grabbing appearance before exporting it or using it in a presentation.

Right-click any section of your Excel pie chart and choose Format Data Series from the context menu to get the formatting options.

Now, as we have completed all the types of pie charts. Let’s make some common and important conclusions from all of them.

Excel Pie Chart Tips

• Never use negative values as it will not show any difference in the chart, and it may create confusion too. Hence, the amount should be of positive values because they well-defined and have a magnitude in the chart portion
• It is advisable to use less than 8-9 segments or divisions because more divisions will look more crowded and the clarity of the chart will become dull.
• Always try to use different and effective colors for each division to avoid confusion between little same colors because it may be difficult to differentiate divisions.
• Pie charts are useful for representing the nominal and ordinal data categories.

FAQs on Pie Chart in Excel

1. What is a step chart called?

A Step Chart is also known as Stepped Line Graph, it is useful while highlighting the change occurring at irregular intervals.

2. How do I create a step chart in Excel?

Select the desired data set, and Go to Insert>Charts>2-D Line Chart.