How to Make a Stacked Column Chart in Google Sheets

A stacked column chart is one of the best ways to show how different parts contribute to a whole over time or across categories. Instead of getting lost in rows of numbers, you can instantly see both the total performance and the breakdown of what’s driving it. This guide will walk you through exactly how to create and customize these powerful charts in Google Sheets, step by step.

What is a Stacked Column Chart? (And When Should You Use It?)

Imagine you have a basic column chart showing total monthly sales. Each month has one bar representing that month's total sales number. Now, what if you want to see which product categories contributed to that total each month? That's where a stacked column chart comes in.

A stacked column chart (or stacked bar chart) takes each bar from a standard column chart and segments it to show the relative contribution of individual sub-categories. The total height of the column still represents the overall total, while the colored segments within it show the individual parts.

It's the perfect chart for visualizing part-to-whole relationships across different categories or periods. You should use a stacked column chart when you want to answer questions like:

• What was our total website traffic each quarter, and which sources (Organic, Social, Referral) contributed the most?
• How has our regional sales performance changed over the last year, broken down by an East, West, and Central division?
• What are our total monthly expenses, and how much are we spending on salaries, marketing, and software?

Stacked Column vs. 100% Stacked Column Chart

It's easy to get these two mixed up, but they serve different purposes. While a regular stacked column chart focuses on showing the change in the total value and the parts that make it up, a 100% stacked column chart is designed to show the changing proportion of each category over time.

In a 100% stacked chart, every column is the same height (100%), and the segments within it represent the percentage contribution of each part. This chart type is ideal when you care more about the relative distribution of your data than the absolute total. For instance, you could use it to see if one marketing channel's share of lead generation is growing, even if the total number of leads fluctuates.

For this guide, we'll focus on the standard stacked column chart.

How to Create a Stacked Column Chart: A Step-by-Step Guide

Let's walk through an example. Imagine you're a marketing manager, and you want to visualize how many leads your team generated from different channels over the last quarter. Your data in Google Sheets looks something like this:

Step 1: Set Up Your Data Correctly

The layout of your data is the most important part of this process. For a stacked column chart, Google Sheets needs your data organized in a specific way:

• Your first column should contain the labels for your x-axis (the horizontal axis). In our case, this is the Month.
• The subsequent columns should contain the numeric data for each segment you want to stack. For us, these are the lead counts for Email, Social, and PPC. Each of these columns will show up as a different colored segment in your chart.
• Make sure you have clear headers for each column (Month, Email, Social, PPC). Google Sheets will use these headers for the chart’s legend.

A common mistake is trying to create a chart from poorly structured data. If your data isn't set up this way, take a moment to rearrange it before moving on.

Step 2: Select Your Data Range

Click and drag your mouse to highlight the entire data set you want to visualize, including the headers. In our example, you would select cells A1 through D4.

Pro-Tip: Be careful not to include any "Total" rows or columns in your selection. A stacked column chart calculates the totals automatically by adding up the segments, so including a total column will skew your chart and make it unreadable.

Step 3: Insert the Chart

With your data selected, navigate to the Google Sheets menu and click on Insert > Chart.

Google Sheets will automatically analyze your data and suggest a chart type. Sometimes it gets it right, but often it might default to a different chart, like a line chart or a standard column chart. That’s perfectly okay - we’ll fix it in the next step.

Step 4: Choose 'Stacked column chart' in the Chart Editor

When you insert a chart, the Chart editor sidebar will appear on the right side of your screen. If it doesn't, just double-click on the chart to open it.

In the editor, under the Setup tab, find the Chart type dropdown menu. Click it, scroll down to the Column section, and select Stacked column chart.

As soon as you select it, your chart preview will update to a properly stacked format. You’ve now created your basic chart!

Your chart should now show three columns (one for each month), with each column composed of three colored segments representing the leads from Email, Social, and PPC.

Customizing Your Stacked Column Chart for Clarity

Your chart is functional, but a few customizations can make it much more professional and easier to understand at a glance.

To access the customization options, open the Chart editor and click on the Customize tab at the top.

1. Chart & Axis Titles

Giving your chart a clear, descriptive title is crucial. Under the Customize tab, go to Chart & axis titles.

• Chart title: Replace the default "Email and Social and PPC vs. Month" with something more intuitive, like "Monthly Leads by Channel - Q1."
• Vertical axis title: It’s good practice to label your vertical (Y) axis. You can add a title like "Number of Leads" to give context to the numbers.

2. Series Formatting

The 'Series' section allows you to control the look of the individual segments in your columns. You can change their colors, add data labels, and more.

• Color Coding: By default, Google Sheets will assign colors, but you might want to use your brand's colors or make a certain channel stand out. Select a data series from the dropdown (e.g., 'Email') and choose a new color from the palette.
• Data Labels: This is one of the most useful features. If you want to show the exact value of each segment right on the chart, check the 'Data labels' box. This adds the raw numbers inside each colored block, so your audience doesn't have to guess or refer back to the table.

After checking 'Data labels,' you can further customize them by changing the font, color, and position to ensure they are easy to read.

3. Legend placement

The legend tells your viewers what each color represents. Under the Legend section, you can change its position. Placing it at the top or bottom often provides a cleaner look than having it on the side, especially if you have several categories.

4. Horizontal Axis and Vertical Axis Settings

These sections give you fine-grained control over your axes. For the Vertical Axis, you might want to set a minimum or maximum value if your data range is unusual, or change the number formatting (e.g., to currency).

Best Practices for Readable Stacked Column Charts

Creating the chart is only half the battle. Creating an effective chart is what truly matters.

• Don't Stack Too Many Segments: A stacked chart becomes cluttered and difficult to read if you have more than five or six segments per column. If you have too many categories, consider grouping smaller ones into an "Other" category.
• Order Your Segments Logically: Arrange the segment order consistently in each column. A good practice is to place the largest or most stable category at the bottom of the stack to provide a consistent baseline, making it easier to compare the segments above it. You can reorder the segments by reordering the columns in your source data table.
• Use Distinct Colors: Choose a color palette where each segment is easily distinguishable. Avoid using different shades of the same color, which can be hard to differentiate, especially for viewers with color vision deficiency. High-contrast colors work best.
• Keep it Simple: Remove any chart elements that don't add value. In most cases, you don't need gridlines or an overly complicated axis. The goal is to let the data tell its story with as little distraction as possible.

Final Thoughts

Mastering the stacked column chart in Google Sheets is a great way to elevate your data storytelling. By organizing your data correctly and taking a few moments to customize titles, colors, and labels, you can transform a simple table of numbers into a clear, compelling visual that instantly highlights key trends and contributions within your data.

Building charts manually for specific reports is empowering, but we know it becomes a grind when you need to track performance across different tools every week. That's why we created Graphed. We link directly to sources like Google Analytics, Shopify, and your CRM, so you can just ask in plain English - like "create a dashboard showing monthly sales broken down by product category" - and get a live, real-time dashboard in seconds, no more manual updates required.