Line Chart
A line chart connects individual data points with a continuous line to reveal how a value changes over time or across an ordered sequence.
Line charts excel at portraying trends and changes over a continuous period.
An example of an embedded line chart
Creating an Effective Line Chart
Recommended data types for each axis:
- X-Axis Dates or ordered categories
- Y-Axis Numerical values
Description
- Data points - individual values plotted at specific positions along the X-axis
- Line - connects the data points to show the direction and rate of change
- X-Axis - typically represents time or a sequential category
- Y-Axis - represents the measured quantity
When to Use a Line Chart
- Show trends over time - see how a metric rises or falls across days, months, or years
- Highlight rate of change - the slope of the line makes it easy to spot periods of rapid growth or decline
- Track a single continuous series - ideal when you have one variable measured at regular intervals
When to Avoid a Line Chart
- Many categories without a natural order - use a bar chart instead when the X-axis is unordered categorical data
- Part-to-whole comparisons - use a pie or stacked bar chart when you want to show proportions
- Two or more groups - consider a grouped line chart to keep multiple series readable
- Distribution of values - a histogram or box plot is more appropriate for showing data spread
Further Reading
When to Use a Line Chart - a deeper look at line chart use cases, common mistakes, and alternatives.