Pie and doughnut charts in Excel - Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Pie and doughnut charts help you show parts of a whole in a simple circle shape. They make it easy to see how different pieces compare to each other in size. This is useful when you want to show percentages or shares visually.

When you want to show how sales are divided among different products in a simple picture.

When you need to display the percentage of expenses in a budget report.

When you want to compare the market share of different companies in a clear way.

When you want to highlight the biggest or smallest parts of a group quickly.

When you want to create a visual summary of survey results with categories.

Steps

Step 1: Select

- the cells containing your data and labels

The data range is highlighted on the worksheet

💡 Include both the category names and their values in your selection

Step 2: Click

- Insert tab on the Ribbon

The Insert tab options appear

Step 3: Click

- Pie Chart dropdown in the Charts group

A menu with pie chart types appears

Step 4: Select

- either '2-D Pie' or 'Doughnut' chart type

The chart is inserted into the worksheet showing your data as a pie or doughnut

Step 5: Click

- Chart Elements button (plus icon) next to the chart

Options to add or remove chart elements appear

💡 Use this to add data labels or a legend for clarity

Step 6: Click

- Chart Styles button (paintbrush icon) next to the chart

Style and color options appear for the chart

💡 Choose a style that makes your chart easy to read

Before vs After

Before

A table with product names in column A and sales numbers in column B, no chart present

After

A colorful pie or doughnut chart appears showing each product's sales share visually

Settings Reference

Chart Type

📍 Insert tab > Charts group > Pie Chart dropdown

Choose the shape and style of the pie or doughnut chart

Default: 2-D Pie

Data Labels

📍 Chart Elements button (plus icon) > Data Labels

Show values or percentages on the chart slices

Default: None

Legend

📍 Chart Elements button (plus icon) > Legend

Show or hide the legend and choose its position

Default: Right

Chart Styles

📍 Chart Styles button (paintbrush icon)

Change the look and color scheme of the chart

Default: Default style

Common Mistakes

Selecting only the numbers without the category labels

The chart will not show meaningful labels, making it hard to understand

Always select both the category names and their corresponding values before inserting the chart

Using too many categories in the pie chart

The chart becomes cluttered and hard to read with many small slices

Limit the number of categories or group smaller ones into an 'Other' category

Not adding data labels or legend

Viewers cannot tell what each slice represents easily

Add data labels or a legend using the Chart Elements button for clarity

Summary

Pie and doughnut charts show parts of a whole using circle shapes.

Select both labels and values before inserting the chart from the Insert tab.

Add data labels or legends to make the chart easy to understand.