Pie Chart Maker

How to make a pie chart

Put one category on each row with its number. You don't need to work out percentages: the tool adds up the column and works out each slice's share, rounded so the percentages always total exactly 100. Rows that are empty or zero are left out, and a note above the chart tells you how many.

If you know the shares but not exact numbers, for a chart of how you spend your day, say, drag the dots on the edge of the pie. The two slices on either side of a dot trade size and the table updates as you go.

Will people read it right?

Under the chart, the tool checks the mistakes that make pie charts mislead. Survey percentages that add up to more than 100 usually come from a question where people could pick several answers, and a pie can't show that. Percentages that add up to less than 100 mean a slice is missing, and every other slice gets stretched to fill the gap. Two slices close in size can't be ranked by eye, and past about six slices people read the legend instead of the picture.

When none of that applies, it says so and offers a one-line caption you can copy, like “Rent is almost half of the monthly budget (48%).”

When a bar graph is the better choice

A pie chart is good for one thing: showing how a single whole splits into a few parts, especially when one part is clearly the biggest. If your slices are close in size, or there are more than five or six, use a bar graph. People compare lengths along a shared baseline far more accurately than they compare angles. Your data carries over when you switch chart type.

Downloading and sharing

Download PNG gives a sharp image at twice screen size for slides and documents; PNG 4× is for posters and print. SVG stays crisp at any size and opens in Illustrator, Figma, Inkscape and most browsers. Copy share link copies a web address that contains your data, so anyone who opens it sees the same chart and can edit their own copy.