How to Make a Radar Chart in Excel

Radar charts are a fantastic way to display performance across several different categories in a single, compact visual. Sometimes called spider charts or web charts, they help you quickly spot strengths and weaknesses by comparing multiple variables at once. This guide will walk you through exactly how to set up your data and create a polished radar chart in Microsoft Excel.

What is a Radar Chart?

A radar chart is a two-dimensional chart used to plot one or more series of data over multiple common variables. It consists of a central point from which several axes, often called spokes, radiate outwards. Each spoke represents a different category or variable.

The value of each data point is plotted along its corresponding spoke, and the points are connected to form a polygon. When you plot multiple data series on the same chart, you get multiple overlapping polygons, making it easy to see which series performs "better" or has a larger coverage area across the categories.

Common Use Cases for Radar Charts

You can find radar charts everywhere, from video games displaying a character's stats to business reports comparing quarterly performance. Here are a few common business uses:

• Performance Reviews: Comparing an employee's ratings across key competencies like "Communication," "Teamwork," "Leadership," and "Problem-Solving" against team averages or their own past performance.
• Product Comparison: Evaluating several competing products based on a set of common features such as "Price," "Ease of Use," "Durability," and "Customer Support Score."
• Team Skill Gaps: Mapping out the skills of a team or department to identify collective strengths and areas that need improvement or training.
• Budget vs. Actual Spending: Visualizing actual spending against budgeted amounts across different departments like Marketing, R&D, and HR.

When to Use (and When Not to Use) a Radar Chart

While powerful, radar charts aren't the right choice for every situation. Knowing when to use one is just as important as knowing how to make one.

Go for a Radar Chart when you want to...

• Compare Profiles: Their greatest strength is in comparing the profile or shape of several different items. You can instantly see, for example, that Product A is stronger on features but weaker on price, while Product B has the opposite profile.
• Identify Outliers and Gaps: The shape of the polygon makes it obvious where a data series is outperforming or underperforming. A pointed spike indicates a strength, while an indent shows a weakness.
• Visualize Balance: They can show how balanced an item is across different categories. A more symmetrical, even shape suggests consistent performance, while a lopsided shape indicates varied strengths and weaknesses.

Avoid a Radar Chart when...

• You Have Too Many Variables: A radar chart with more than 8-10 spokes becomes cluttered and impossible to read. The more axes you add, the more complex the shapes get, and the harder it is to make meaningful comparisons. A bar chart might be better in this case.
• The Variables Use Different Scales: If one category is measured from 1-10 and another is measured from 1-1,000, the chart will be heavily skewed and misleading. All axes on a radar chart should share the same scale. If your data isn't uniform, you'll need to normalize it first (e.g., convert everything to a percentage or a 1-100 score).
• You Need Precise Comparisons: Human eyes are much better at comparing the length of bars than at comparing angles and area. If you need people to make precise value comparisons, a simple bar or column chart is a more reliable option.

Preparing Your Data for a Radar Chart in Excel

Excel needs your data to be structured in a specific way to create a radar chart correctly. A little prep work here will save you a lot of headaches later.

Your data table should be set up with your categories (the chart's spokes) in the first column. The subsequent columns should contain the different data series you want to compare (the polygons).

Here’s a practical example. Imagine a performance review for two sales team members, Sarah and Kevin. They are both rated on a scale of 1 to 5 across six core competencies. Your data in Excel should look like this:

An Essential Pro Tip: Close the Loop

One common issue with Excel's default radar charts is that the last data point doesn't connect back to the first one, leaving the polygon open. To fix this and create a closed "web," simply repeat the first category and its corresponding data as the last row in your table. This tricks Excel into drawing the final line segment.

Here’s our performance review data again, this time formatted to close the loop:

With your data structured this way, you're ready to create the chart.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Make a Radar Chart in Excel

Once your data is prepped and ready, making the chart only takes a few clicks.

Step 1: Select Your Data

Click and drag your cursor to select the entire data range you prepared, including the column headers and the repeated first row.

Step 2: Insert the Chart

Navigate to the Insert tab on Excel's ribbon. In the Charts section, find and click the icon that looks like a web, often labeled "Waterfall, Funnel, Stock, Surface, or Radar Chart."

Step 3: Choose Your Radar Chart Type

A dropdown menu will appear with three types of radar charts. Here’s a quick rundown of each:

• Radar: This is the simplest version. It shows only the outlines of the polygons for each data series. It's clean and great for comparing the overall shape of your data.
• Radar with Markers: This type adds distinct markers for each data point on the spokes. It makes it easier to see the exact value for each category and is generally the most useful and readable option for business dashboards.
• Filled Radar: This chart fills the entire polygon with color. It can be visually compelling but adds a challenge: if the polygons overlap, one can completely obscure another. You'll need to use transparency to solve this, which we'll cover in the customization section.

For most uses, Radar with Markers is the best starting point. Click it, and Excel will instantly generate your chart.

Customizing Your Radar Chart for Maximum Impact

Excel's default chart is functional, but a few quick customizations can make it much clearer, more professional, and easier for your audience to understand.

1. Add a Clear Chart Title

Your chart will probably have a generic title like "Chart Title." Click on it and replace it with something descriptive, such as "Q3 Sales Performance Review: Sarah vs. Kevin."

2. Adjust Styles and Colors

With your chart selected, two new tabs will appear on the ribbon: Chart Design and Format.

• Under the Chart Design tab, you can quickly change the overall aesthetic using the pre-built "Chart Styles."
• Click "Change Colors" to switch to a different color palette. For better readability, choose a palette with high-contrast colors.
• To change the color of a single data series, right-click directly on its line or polygon in the chart and select "Outline" (for standard radar) or "Fill" (for filled radar) to choose a new color.

3. Format the Axis Bounds

By default, Excel often sets the axis minimum to zero. However, our performance review data runs on a 1-5 scale. That empty space between 0 and 1 on the chart isn't serving any purpose. Adjusting the axis bounds makes your data fill the chart area more effectively.

• Right-click on one of the number labels on the axis lines (the concentric circles) and select Format Axis...
• A pane will open on the right. Under Axis Options, you'll see "Bounds." Change the Minimum value from 0.0 to 1.0. If you want space at the top, you could change the Maximum as well, but in our case, 5.0 is appropriate.

4. Tweak Filled Radar Transparency

If you chose the Filled Radar chart, you've likely noticed that one person's data is hiding the other. To fix this, you need to add transparency:

• Right-click on one of the filled polygons and choose Format Data Series...
• In the pane on the right, click the fill & paint bucket icon.
• Expand the Fill section and you'll find a Transparency slider.
• Set it to somewhere between 30% and 50% for both data series. Now you can clearly see both shapes, even where they overlap.

Final Thoughts

A radar chart is a compelling tool for comparing multiple data points in a way that is intuitive and instantly understandable. Mastering them in Excel gives you another powerful option for your reports and dashboards, helping you communicate complex information clearly and concisely.

Creating charts one by one in Excel works well, but it can be time-consuming if you're managing data across many different platforms. At Graphed, we've built a way to simplify this entire process. Instead of manually exporting data and building charts, we connect directly to your sources - like HubSpot, Salesforce, or Google Analytics - and let you create reports using simple, natural language. Asking "show me my sales team's performance by quarter" generates a live, interactive dashboard in seconds, letting you visualize performance without getting stuck in spreadsheets. You can sign up and start building in under a minute with Graphed.