How to Add a Break in Excel Graph

When an outlier value in your dataset is much larger than the rest, it can skew your Excel chart, shrinking the other data points until they're impossible to read. To fix this, you can add a "break" in the vertical axis of your graph. This article will walk you through a clear, step-by-step method to create a broken-axis chart in Excel to better visualize your data.

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Why Would You Add a Break to an Excel Graph?

Imagine you're tracking monthly product sales. For 11 months, sales are steady, ranging between $5,000 and $10,000. But in one month, a massive enterprise deal closes, a one-off event that brings in $150,000. When you plot this on a standard Excel column chart, the y-axis (the value axis) has to scale all the way up to $150,000 to accommodate the outlier.

As a result, the columns for the other 11 months look tiny and almost flat, making it impossible to see the subtle but important variations between them. You can't tell if sales in February were better than March because both are compressed at the bottom of the chart.

A graph break - also known as a broken axis or panel chart - solves this problem. It interrupts the y-axis to visually "skip" over the empty range where there is no data, allowing you to show both the small values and the large outlier clearly in the same chart.

It's important to note: while this technique is visually useful, it can also be misleading if not used carefully. A broken axis intentionally distorts the proportional representation of the data. Always label your chart clearly to let your audience know the scale is not continuous.

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How to Create a Broken Y-Axis in Excel: The Two-Chart Method

Excel doesn't have a built-in feature to create a broken axis chart with a single click. Instead, we'll use a widely accepted workaround that involves creating two separate charts and cleverly arranging them to look like one seamless visual.

Let's use a sample dataset of website traffic by source, where one source (Direct) is a significant outlier.

Here’s the sample data:

• Social Media: 4,200 visits
• Email Marketing: 5,100 visits
• Paid Search: 6,800 visits
• Organic Search: 8,300 visits
• Direct: 45,000 visits
• Referral: 3,500 visits

Step 1: Set Up and Separate Your Data

First, we need to split our dataset into two series: one for the lower values and one for the higher value (the outlier). This determines where the "break" will happen.

1. Enter your original data into two columns (e.g., Column A for Source and Column B for Visits).
2. Decide on a threshold for your break. Looking at the data, the smaller values are all below 10,000. A good place for a break would be just above that. Let's set our break to go from 10,000 up to 40,000. The first chart will show values from 0-10,000, and the second chart will show values from 40,000-50,000.
3. Create two new helper columns. Let's call them "Lower Range" (in Column C) and "Upper Range" (in Column D).
4. In the "Lower Range" column, we'll only show values below our threshold. In cell C2, enter this formula:
5. In the "Upper Range" column, we'll only show the outlier. In cell D2, enter this formula:

Your data table should now look something like this:

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Step 2: Create the Bottom Part of the Chart

Now, let's make the first chart that visualizes the lower range of data.

1. Highlight your data categories (A1:A7) and your new "Lower Range" data (C1:C7). Hold the Ctrl key (or Cmd on Mac) to select non-adjacent columns.
2. Go to the Insert tab and choose a 2-D Column Chart. A chart will appear showing an empty space for the "Direct" traffic source.
3. Right-click on the vertical (Y) axis and choose Format Axis.
4. In the Format Axis pane on the right, under Axis Options, set the Maximum bound to 10,000 (our threshold). This will cut the top of the chart off at that value.
5. Clean up the chart: delete the chart title and the legend for now, as we’ll make a new one for the final version.

Step 3: Create the Top Part of the Chart

Repeat the process, but this time for the upper data range.

1. Highlight your categories (A1:A7) and your "Upper Range" data (D1:D7).
2. Go to Insert > 2-D Column Chart. A new chart will appear, this time only showing the bar for "Direct" traffic.
3. Right-click the vertical (Y) axis and select Format Axis.
4. This time, set the Minimum bound to a value just below your outlier. Our outlier is 45,000, so let's set the minimum to 40,000. Set the Maximum to something just above it, like 50,000.
5. Clean up this chart as well. Delete the chart title, the horizontal (X) axis labels, and the legend. We need the X-axis from the bottom chart to serve for both.

Step 4: Combine the Charts and Add the Break Symbol

Now comes the visual trick: an expert combination of alignment and formatting to make the two charts appear as one.

1. First, shrink the vertical size of both chart areas to remove excess white space. To make careful adjustments, hold down the Alt key while resizing to snap the chart border to the cell grid.
2. Drag the top chart and place it directly above the bottom chart. Align them carefully so the plot areas line up perfectly. To help with this, you can select one chart, then hold Shift, select the other, and use the Format > Align > Align Center tool.
3. With a bit of resizing and alignment, you should have them looking like a single chart with a gap in the middle.
4. To show the axis break, go to Insert > Shapes and choose a line or a shape that fits your style. Jagged lines or two simple diagonal lines are common choices.
5. Draw your shape in the gap between the two charts, covering the area from one side of the plot area to the other. You can format the shape's color and thickness to match your chart's gridlines.
6. Once everything is positioned perfectly, hold Ctrl or Cmd to select both charts and all your added breakline shapes, then right-click and choose Group > Group. This combines everything into a single object you can move or resize together.
7. Finally, add a title back in using a text box (Insert > Text Box). Be sure your title clarifies that the chart uses a broken axis!

An Easier Alternative: Using a Logarithmic Scale

If the two-chart method feels too manual, Excel has a built-in alternative that might work for you: a logarithmic scale. This isn't a true "break," but it compresses the scale of the vertical axis based on orders of magnitude (e.g., 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000).

This approach is much faster and can make widely varying data visible on one graph.

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How to Apply a Logarithmic Scale:

1. Create a standard 2-D Column chart using your original complete data set (no helper columns needed).
2. Right-click the vertical (Y) axis and select Format Axis.
3. In the Axis Options pane, simply check the box that says Logarithmic scale. You can adjust the base if you'd like, but the default of 10 is usually fine.

Instantly, Excel will rescale your axis. Big values are compressed, making the smaller differences more visible. The downside is that log scales can be difficult for some people to interpret, and they cannot display zero or negative values. However, for a quick and mathematically valid way to handle ranges, it's an excellent option.

Final Thoughts

Creating a broken-axis chart in Excel takes a bit of manual formatting, but it's an excellent technique for clearly presenting data that contains significant outliers without losing detail. Whether you choose the two-chart method for a precise visual break or a logarithmic scale for a quick fix, you can now build reports that tell a more complete and honest story.

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