Chart maker

Donut Chart Maker

Show proportions with a clean center

A donut chart is a pie chart with a hollow center, where each ring segment is sized by its share of the whole and the empty middle can hold a summary value or label. InstaCharts is a free donut chart maker that switches between pie, donut, and semi-circle from the same data.

Make a Donut Chart Free
Open the Demo

A live donut chart example

An interactive donut chart built and embedded with InstaCharts.

Your data

What data you need for a donut chart

Paste your spreadsheet, upload a CSV or Excel file, or connect a Google Sheet, and InstaCharts detects your column types and builds the donut chart automatically.

C

Categories

A category column, the segment labels

V

Values

Numerical values that size each ring segment

Use cases

When to use a donut chart

Best uses

  • Show how a total splits across a few categories
  • Use the open center to display a total or KPI
  • Highlight one clearly dominant category
  • Fit a proportion chart neatly into a dashboard tile

When another chart fits better

  • More than five or six segments clutter the ring; use a bar chart
  • Similar segment sizes are hard to compare by angle
  • Changes over time suit a line or stacked bar chart
  • Donut charts cannot show negative values

How it works

How to make a donut chart

  1. Step 1

    Add your data

    Paste a spreadsheet, or upload a CSV, Excel, TSV, or JSON file.

    InstaCharts new sheet dialog with options to upload a file, connect a data source, or start a blank sheet

  2. Step 2

    Pick the donut chart

    InstaCharts auto-suggests a chart; switch to this type in one click.

    InstaCharts chart type menu listing line, grouped line, bar, stacked bar, scatter plot, area, and pie charts

  3. Step 3

    Map your columns

    Choose which columns drive each axis, or accept the smart defaults.

    InstaCharts chart tab with chart type, X-axis, and Y-axis selectors above an area chart of demo site earnings

  4. Step 4

    Customize styling

    Adjust colors, labels, and titles to match your brand or report.

    InstaCharts colors panel with a color scheme picker beside a grouped bar chart

  5. Step 5

    Export or embed

    Download as PNG, SVG, or PDF, share a link, or embed a live, auto-updating chart.

    InstaCharts export dialog with PNG, SVG, JPG, WebP, PDF, and PowerPoint image formats

FAQ

Donut Chart maker FAQ

Answers to common questions about making a donut chart with InstaCharts.

Is the donut chart maker free?

Yes. You can create and export a donut chart for free with no account. The free tier supports up to 500 rows and adds a small watermark; paid plans from $10 user/mo remove it.

What is the difference between a donut and a pie chart?

They are functionally identical. A donut chart is a pie with a hollow center, which many people find less cluttered and which can hold a summary value in the middle. InstaCharts switches between pie, donut, and semi-circle in one click.

What data do I need for a donut chart?

One column of category labels and one column of numbers. InstaCharts turns each value into a proportional ring segment and can label segments with percentages or absolute values.

Can I put a total in the center of the donut?

Yes. The hollow center is ideal for a headline number, such as the overall total or a key metric, so the chart communicates both the breakdown and the bottom line at once.

Want the full reference?

Read the donut chart documentation.

Explore

Related chart makers

Compare related chart types, or browse every InstaCharts chart maker below.

Pie Chart Maker

Show part-to-whole proportions

Bar Chart Maker

Compare values across categories online

Stacked Bar Chart Maker

Show totals and composition in one chart

All InstaCharts chart makers

See every option on the chart maker page.

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