Stacked Bar Chart

This chart uses horizontal or vertical bars to compare values of two or more categories. Each bar is composed of an aggregation of values, showing the contribution of each to the total in the category, whether in absolute or percentual values.

The focus of the chart is to compare totals, with the added benefit of seeing the relative weight of secondary values to the total.

Usage guidelines

When to use

Questions you can answer

• How many are in each category?
• What is the composition of each category?

When not to use

• If you want to show the trend of each category section over time, opt for an area chart or a line chart.

Usage recommendations

Use a sequential color palette for numerical data, and divergent for categorical data.

Don't add too many segments. The more segments in each bar, the harder it will be to read the graph.

Only the bottom segment is aligned to a common baseline. Place values with lower variation at the bottom of the chart, to make it easier to compare differences data.

Don't add decorative or unnecessary colors.

Present ordinal data in ascending or descending order.

Related components