Chart maker

Stacked Bar Chart Maker

Show totals and composition in one chart

A stacked bar chart divides each bar into colored segments, so a single bar shows both the category total and how each sub-category contributes to it. InstaCharts builds one from your spreadsheet in seconds, including a normalized 100% variant when you care about proportions.

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Open the Demo

A live stacked bar chart example

An interactive stacked bar chart built and embedded with InstaCharts.

Your data

What data you need for a stacked bar chart

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

X

X-Axis

Dates or categorical data

Y

Y-Axis

Numerical values, the cumulative total of each bar

B

Breakdown

A category column; each unique value becomes a stacked segment

Use cases

When to use a stacked bar chart

Best uses

  • Compare totals and composition at the same time
  • Show each sub-category's share of the whole within every bar
  • Track how a mix shifts across time periods
  • Spot which component dominates inside each category

When another chart fits better

  • Many sub-categories blur together; group small ones into Other
  • Precise comparison of middle segments is hard, so use a grouped bar chart
  • Mixed positive and negative values can mislead a stacked layout

How it works

How to make a stacked bar 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 stacked bar 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

Stacked Bar Chart maker FAQ

Answers to common questions about making a stacked bar chart with InstaCharts.

Is the stacked bar chart maker free?

Yes. You can build and export a stacked bar chart for free, no sign-up needed. The free tier covers up to 500 rows and adds a watermark, which paid plans from $10 user/mo remove.

How do I make a 100% stacked bar chart?

Switch the chart to its normalized variant and every bar is rescaled to the same height, so each segment shows its percentage of the total instead of an absolute value. It is ideal for comparing composition across categories of different sizes.

What data do I need for a stacked bar chart?

A category column for the X-axis, a numeric column for the values, and a second category column to break each bar into segments. InstaCharts can pivot raw data into this shape for you.

Can I keep colors consistent across bars?

Yes. Each sub-category keeps the same color across every bar, and you can customize the palette to match your brand or report styling.

Want the full reference?

Read the stacked bar chart documentation.

Explore

Related chart makers

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

Bar Chart Maker

Compare values across categories online

Grouped Bar Chart Maker

Compare several series side by side

Mekko Chart Maker

Show size and composition at once

All InstaCharts chart makers

See every option on the chart maker page.

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