Chart maker

Gauge Chart Maker

Show progress toward a goal on a dial

A gauge chart, also called a dial or speedometer chart, shows one number on a curved scale so readers can see how close it is to a maximum or a goal. InstaCharts is a free gauge chart maker that adds up or averages a column from your data and draws it as a filled arc or a needle dial, with an optional target line.

Make a Gauge Chart Free

Open the Demo

A live gauge chart example

An interactive gauge chart built and embedded with InstaCharts.

Templates

Gauge Chart templates

Choose the Templates tab when you create a new sheet in InstaCharts. Each template loads a sample dataset with a finished chart, so you can replace the sample rows with your own numbers.

Quarterly Sales Goal

Gauge chart

Closed won deals for one sales team over a quarter, added up and shown on a gauge against the team quota.

Close Date	Account	Sales Rep	Deal Amount
2026-07-02	Northwind Freight	Priya Shah	72000
2026-07-09	Blue Harbor Foods	Marcus Lee	38500
2026-07-15	Summit Dental Group	Priya Shah	54000
2026-07-22	Cedar Ridge Schools	Elena Novak	91000
2026-07-30	Lakeview Clinics	Marcus Lee	46500

Monthly Operating Budget Spent

Needle gauge chart

One month of operating expenses added up and shown on a needle gauge, with the monthly budget marked as the target.

Invoice Date	Expense Category	Amount
2026-09-01	Rent	18000
2026-09-02	Software subscriptions	6400
2026-09-04	Contractors	14500
2026-09-05	Cloud hosting	8200
2026-09-09	Travel	3900

Your data

What data you need for a gauge chart

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

Value

A numeric column, added up or averaged into one number for the dial

Scale

An optional Min and Max, such as 1 to 5 for a rating or 0 to 100 for a percent

Target

An optional goal, drawn as a line across the dial

Use cases

When to use a gauge chart

Best uses

Track sales against a monthly or quarterly quota
Show progress on a project or task list as a percent complete
Display an average customer rating on a 1 to 5 scale
Compare spending to date against a monthly budget
Add context to a headline KPI on a dashboard

When another chart fits better

Trends over time suit a line graph, since a gauge shows one number
Comparing many categories reads better as a bar chart
A plain total with no scale or goal reads better as a KPI number

How it works

How to make a gauge chart

Step 1
Add your data
Paste a spreadsheet, or upload a CSV, Excel, TSV, or JSON file with a numeric column to measure, or start from a gauge template.
Step 2
Pick the gauge chart
Choose Gauge from the chart type menu. Every row goes into one number, so only the Y-axis column is needed.
Step 3
Choose sum or average
Add up amounts such as sales or expenses, or average ratings, scores, and percents.
Step 4
Set the scale and target
Open Options for Specific Chart Types to set the Min, Max, and Target, switch to a Needle Dial, or change the Degrees and Band Thickness.
Step 5
Export or embed
Download as PNG or SVG, share a link, embed a live chart, or add the gauge to a dashboard next to your KPIs.

FAQ

Gauge Chart maker FAQ

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

What is a gauge chart?

A gauge chart shows a single value on a curved scale, like a speedometer. The colored arc fills from the low end of the scale up to the value, so readers can see at a glance how close the number is to its maximum or to a goal.

How do I make a gauge chart?

Upload your data, choose Gauge from the chart type menu, and pick the numeric column to measure. InstaCharts adds up or averages the column into one number. Set a Min, Max, and Target in the Chart Options panel to match your goal.

Can I make a speedometer chart with a needle?

Yes. Turn on Needle Dial in the Chart Options panel to draw a speedometer style dial with a needle and tick marks instead of a filled arc.

Can I add a target to a gauge chart?

Yes. Enter a Target value and InstaCharts draws a line across the dial at that value and writes the target under the number. You can keep the default target color or choose your own.

Can I show several gauges on one chart?

Yes. A grouped gauge chart draws up to 10 progress rings on one chart, with one ring per category or one ring per column, so you can compare teams, regions, or campaigns side by side.

Can AI make a gauge chart for me?

Yes. AI Chart Recommendations and the dashboard AI prompt bar suggest a gauge chart when one total or average is the main story, and build one when you ask them to track progress toward a goal.

Is the gauge chart maker free?

Yes. The free plan lets you create and export gauge charts with up to 500 rows per sheet, and charts include a small watermark. Paid plans starting at $10 per user per month remove the watermark.

Want the full reference?

Read the gauge chart documentation.

Explore

Related chart makers

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

Grouped Gauge Chart Maker

Compare progress across categories with rings

Semi Circle Pie Chart Maker

Fit a part-to-whole chart into half the height

Budget vs Actual Chart Maker

Compare planned spending with what was actually spent

Make your gauge chart in seconds

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