Comparison · Chart 2 of 11
Column chart
A vertical bar. Great for a handful of time buckets like months.
Live exampleSample data
Use it when
- Comparing across a few discrete time periods
- When category labels are short
- Side-by-side group comparison
Avoid it when
- Many categories with long names (go horizontal)
- Continuous trends with lots of points (use a line)
Common mistakes
- 1Truncated y-axis exaggerating tiny differences
- 2Too many series crammed into one group
- 33D columns — never
In business
Quarterly revenue, monthly signups, headcount by department.