How to Make A Bar Graph In Google Sheets
Quick Navigation
Bar graphs are a type of graph where the numerical values from your spreadsheet are represented by the length of horizontal bars.
They’re best used when you want to show the difference between the data points of one or more categories.
Google Sheets makes it quick and easy to generate bar graphs that update automatically when your data changes.
Every bar graph needs:
- A set of Y-Axis values for your categories
- And at least one data series to display in the bars. If you have multiple data series, they will each get their own bars for each of the categories in the Y-Axis
Be sure to include headers for each column as these headers will be used to label axes in the graph
Insert a Bar Graph in Google Sheets
To insert a bar graph in Google Sheets, follow these steps:
Step 1
Select the data range you want to graph, making sure to include the headers in the selection as these will be used for graph labels
Step 2
Open the Insert menu, and select the Chart option
Step 3
A new chart will be inserted as a floating element above the cells, and the Chart Editor sidebar will appear with options to edit the chart.
To turn this chart into a bar graph, click on the Chart Type dropdown menu and select the Bar Chart option
Step 4
Your chart will update to a bar graph
Step 5
You can also select the Stacked Bar Chart or 100% Stacked Bar Chart options to stack all your data series into a single bar per category on the Y-Axis
Editing Your Bar Graph
To edit a graph you’ve already created, first open the Chart Editor for that graph by selecting the chart and clicking on the 3 dot menu icon in the corner of the chart.
From the menu that appears, select Edit Chart. The Chart Editor for that graph will open.
You can then make edits to the chart type, data range, or any of the other chart settings available in the Chart Editor and your chart will update to reflect the changes
Deleting a Bar Graph
If you want to delete your graph, just select the Delete Chart option from the same menu and your graph will be deleted
Note that this action will not delete the associated data in your spreadsheet, only the graph itself
Summary
Example Spreadsheet: Make a copy of the example spreadsheet
In this tutorial, I covered how to make a bar graph in Google Sheets. Want more? Check out all the Google Sheets Tutorials.