How to Reverse Order in Excel Chart

Ever create a chart in Excel and find your data plotted in the exact opposite order you needed? Your spreadsheet lists months from January to December, but your bar chart shows December at the bottom and January at the top. This article will show you exactly how to fix that common frustration. We’ll cover several easy methods to reverse the order of categories, values, and legend items so your charts make sense every single time.

First, Why Does Excel Reverse Chart Order Anyway?

This "backward" plotting isn't a bug, it's how Excel is designed to read and display data, though it can feel incredibly counterintuitive. The logic behind it stems from how a standard Cartesian coordinate system works.

Imagine a typical chart's Y-axis (the vertical one). The zero point is at the bottom, and values increase as you move up. Excel applies a similar logic to your data table: it reads the first row of your data (e.g., January) and plots it first at the lowest point on the chart, then moves upwards with each subsequent row.

For a column chart, the horizontal axis (X-axis) reads from left to right. So, "January" appears on the far left, followed by "February," and so on. This usually looks correct and aligns with our natural reading direction.
For a horizontal bar chart, the roles are flipped. The categories (like months) are now on the vertical axis (Y-axis). Excel still plots the first data point ("January") at the "bottom" of the category axis, which in this orientation is the top-most position. It then reads down your list, placing "December" at the very bottom of the chart.

In short, Excel is consistent: it always starts categories from the bottom up. On a horizontal bar chart, "up" means from the origin line towards the top of the chart, which results in a flipped visual order compared to your source table. Luckily, reversing it is just a few clicks away.

How to Reverse the Category Axis Order (The Easiest Fix)

This is the most common solution, especially for horizontal bar charts, line charts, and area charts where your categories are listed vertically. This simple checkbox tells Excel to flip the order of the category axis entirely.

Let's use a common example: a bar chart showing website traffic by source for the last month. Your source data might be sorted with the highest traffic source (like "Organic Search") at the top, but the chart shows it at the bottom.

Here’s the step-by-step fix:

Click on your chart to select it.
Right-click the vertical axis (the one with the names of your categories, like "Organic Search," "Direct," "Social," etc.).
From the context menu that appears, choose Format Axis.... This will open up a formatting pane on the right side of your Excel window.
In the "Format Axis" pane, make sure you are in the Axis Options tab (it usually looks like a small bar chart icon).
Look for the section titled "Axis Options." Within this section, you'll see a checkbox labeled Categories in reverse order.
Click this checkbox.

Your chart's vertical axis will instantly flip. The category that was at the bottom will now be at the top, perfectly matching the order in your source data table. Quick and simple!

A Quick Side-Effect: Moving The Horizontal Axis Back to the Bottom

When you check "Categories in reverse order," you'll notice that Excel also moves the horizontal (value) axis to the top of the chart. While this can work for some visualizations, it often looks a bit strange. Fortunately, you can move it back down just as easily.

Keep the Format Axis pane open (or right-click the vertical axis again to reopen it).
Under "Axis Options," look for a section called Horizontal axis crosses.
It will likely be set to "Automatic" or "At maximum category." Change this by selecting the option for At minimum category.
Your value axis will immediately jump back to the bottom of the chart, giving you the natural, easy-to-read layout you were looking for.

How to Reverse the Value Axis Order

Sometimes you need to reverse the value (numerical) axis. A classic example is a chart that shows rankings. You'd want your #1 rank at the top and your #10 rank at the bottom, but by default, Excel starts with zero at the bottom and counts up.

Reversing the value axis can make charts showing ranks or scores much more intuitive. For instance, in a column chart of top-performing products, this would place the product with the highest sales at the top of the visual hierarchy.

Here’s how to do it:

Click on your chart, then right-click the value axis (the vertical Y-axis with the numbers on a column or line chart).
Select Format Axis... from the menu.
In the "Format Axis" pane, under Axis Options, find the checkbox for Values in reverse order.
Check this box.

Excel will flip the axis upside down, plotting the highest number at the bottom and zero (or the minimum value) at the top. This setting effectively makes the "top" of the chart represent a lower value and the "bottom" represent a higher value.

How to Reverse the Order of Legend Entries (Series)

What if your axes are correct, but the data series themselves are in the wrong order? This often happens with stacked charts (like stacked bar or stacked column) or charts with multiple lines or bars.

For example, in a stacked column chart showing sales by quarter for "Product A," "Product B," and "Product C," you might want "Product A" to be the bottom-most segment in each stack. If it's appearing at the top, you can easily change it without touching your source data.

Right-click anywhere on the chart area and select Select Data... from the pop-up menu.
A dialog box named "Select Data Source" will open. Look at the box on the left titled Legend Entries (Series).
This list shows the data series in your chart. The order here determines their plotting and stacking order. (Note: It can be a little counterintuitive. The item at the top of this list is often the bottom-most segment in a stacked chart.)
Click on the name of a series you want to move.
Use the small up and down arrows situated above the list to change its position.
Watch your chart in the background, it will update in real-time as you reorder the series, so you can stop when you have the visual arrangement you want.
Click OK to save your changes.

This method gives you complete control over how multi-series elements are layered, helping you tell a clearer story with your data.

The Manual Fallback: Reversing Your Source Data

If the built-in chart options aren't working as expected, or if you prefer having your source data table directly mirror the final chart order, you can simply reverse the data itself. A chart in Excel is just a visual representation of a table, so if you modify the table, the chart will immediately update.

This is the most straightforward method and provides a permanent fix at the data level.

How to Easily Sort Your Data in Reverse

Let's say you have a single table of data you want to flip.

First, insert a new column next to your data table. Let's call it "Sort Order."
In this new column, fill in a sequence of numbers from 1 to the end of your data (1, 2, 3, 4...). A quick way to do this is to type "1" in the first cell and "2" in the second, then select both cells and drag the small fill handle (the little square in the bottom-right corner) down to the end of your data.
Now, select your entire data range, including the new "Sort Order" column.
Go to the Data tab on the Excel ribbon and click the Sort button.
In the Sort dialog box, a window will pop up. Choose your "Sort Order" column from the "Sort by" dropdown menu.
Under the "Order" dropdown, select Largest to Smallest.
Click OK.

Your entire table will flip vertically, and your connected chart will instantly update to show this new, reversed order. This helper column also gives you a safe way to return to the original order if needed - just sort from Smallest to Largest.

Final Thoughts

Fixing the display order in an Excel chart is a problem most users run into, but it’s easily solved once you know where to find the right controls. Whether it’s checking a simple box in the "Format Axis" pane, reordering legend entries in the "Select Data" dialog, or just flipping the source data yourself, you have plenty of reliable options to make your visualizations clear, professional, and intuitive.

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