Charts

The right chart makes a pattern obvious. The wrong one hides it behind decoration.

Data
  |
  | shaped by
  |
Chart Type
  |
  | determines
  |
What the audience notices first

Power BI includes dozens of visual types, but most reports only need a handful of them used well.

Bar and Column Charts

Bar and column charts compare values across categories.

Category A |████████
Category B |████████████
Category C |█████

Use column charts (vertical bars) for a small number of categories, and bar charts (horizontal bars) when category names are long or there are many categories to list.

Line Charts

Line charts show a value changing over a continuous axis, almost always time.

Sales
  |        *
  |     *     *
  |  *           *
  +------------------- Time

Line charts are the default choice for trends: monthly revenue, daily active users, year-over-year growth.

Combo Charts

A combo chart overlays a line and columns on the same axis, useful for comparing two related measures with different scales.

Columns: Sales
Line:    Target
  |   ██        ██
  |   ██  ─●─   ██  ─●─
  +----------------------

Common pairing: actual values as columns, target or budget as a line.

Pie and Donut Charts

Pie and donut charts show parts of a whole.

   ___
  /   \
 | 60% |  Category A
 | 25% |  Category B
  \15%/   Category C

They work well with 2-4 categories. Beyond that, the slices become too thin to compare accurately — a bar chart communicates the same data more clearly.

Scatter Charts

Scatter charts plot two numeric measures against each other, revealing correlation or clusters.

Profit
  |     *   *
  |   *   *     *
  |      *   *
  +------------------- Revenue

Adding a third measure as bubble size turns a scatter chart into a bubble chart.

KPI and Card Visuals

Cards and KPI visuals show a single number, optionally with a trend or target comparison.

┌─────────────┐
│  $1.2M      │
│  Total Sales│
│  ▲ 12% vs LY│
└─────────────┘

Best for the one or two numbers that matter most on a page — an executive summary metric, not a detailed breakdown.

Choosing a Chart Type

Adding a Chart

Steps:

1. Select a chart type from the Visualizations pane.
2. Drag fields into the appropriate wells (Axis, Legend, Values).
3. Adjust formatting under the paint-roller icon in the Visualizations pane.

Power BI also supports Q&A-driven chart creation — typing a question generates a matching chart automatically, which can be swapped to a different visual type afterward.

Best Practices

• Match the chart type to the question being answered, not to what looks most interesting.
• Limit the number of categories or series a single chart tries to show at once.
• Use consistent colors for the same category across every chart on a page.
• Avoid 3D and heavily decorated chart styles; they make values harder to compare accurately.
• Add clear titles that state the takeaway, not just the field names being plotted.

Common Mistakes

Using Pie Charts for Too Many Categories

Beyond four or five slices, a pie chart becomes difficult to read accurately. A bar chart handles more categories clearly.

Dual Axes That Mislead

Combo charts with two differently-scaled axes can visually suggest a relationship between two measures that doesn't actually exist. Label both axes clearly, or reconsider the pairing.

Too Many Chart Types on One Page

Mixing many different visual types on a single page increases the cognitive effort needed to read it. A consistent, limited set of chart types is easier to scan.

Chart Checklist

Before publishing a report page:

• Each chart type matches the question it's answering.
• Colors are consistent for the same category across all charts.
• Axes and legends are clearly labeled.
• No chart is trying to show more categories than it can display clearly.
• Titles communicate the takeaway, not just the underlying fields.

Next Steps

Continue exploring Power BI visuals:

• Tables
• Formatting
• Bookmarks & Interactivity