On our four checks (account, watermark, free file formats and ads), NCES Kids' Zone Create a Graph scores highest. Five tools tie for second, including ours, which loses points for a credit line on free downloads; the other four show ads or download only PNG. Canva and Adobe Express make more designed charts but need an account.
By Ryan Doyle, who built Pie Chart Generator
We make Pie Chart Generator (pie-chart-generator.com, written with hyphens), one of the 15 tools on this list. How we compared: on September 29, 2026 we read each tool's own pricing, help and pie chart pages, and the page code where the pages didn't say, then scored four things about its free version the same way for every tool, ours included. For tools behind a sign-in, we checked the public pie chart page and didn't open the editor. Where tools tie, ours goes last. Our own data is why SVG and PDF each earn a point: about 3 in 10 downloads were one of them. Of 13,058 charts downloaded from our maker between January 29 and August 18, 2026, 51.2% were PNG, 19.0% JPEG, 17.1% PDF and 12.7% SVG (method).
Make your own chart, freeEach tool's free version got up to 8 points on four checks that decide whether a free pie chart maker is quick and free to use. We didn't score design quality or the number of chart styles; the notes on each tool cover those.
| Check | Points |
|---|---|
| Download with no account and no email | 2 (1 if only an email is asked for) |
| Nothing added to free downloads (watermark or credit) | 2 (1 if the tool's pages and code don't say) |
| Free download formats | 1 each for PNG or JPEG, SVG and PDF |
| No ads on the tool page | 1 |
Ties are listed alphabetically, with our own tool last in its group. We left out tools whose free plan can't download a chart (Infogram, Flourish, Visme), Piktochart, whose free plan allows two downloads per account, Lucidchart, which documents no pie chart built from data, and Chart.js, a code library.
Read from each tool's own pages and page code on September 29, 2026. Sources are listed at the end.
| Tool (score of 8) | Account to download | Watermark or credit on free downloads | Free download formats | Ads on the tool page | Main paid option |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. NCES Create a Graph (7) | No | Not stated | PDF, PNG, JPG, EMF, EPS, SVG | None | None; run by the U.S. Department of Education |
| 2= ChartGo (6) | No | None, says its FAQ | PNG, SVG | Yes, the IncreaseRev ad network | None; it says it's free |
| 2= piechartmaker.co (6) | No | None in its download code | PNG, JPEG, SVG | Yes, Google AdSense | None listed |
| 2= RapidTables (6) | No | None in its download code | PNG, SVG | Yes, Snigel and PubGuru ad slots | None listed |
| 2= Virtual Science Teachers (6) | No | None in its download code | PNG | None | None for the tool |
| 2= Pie Chart Generator (ours) (6) | No | Yes, a small credit line | PNG, JPEG, SVG, PDF | None | Pro, $7.99 once |
| 7= Canva (5) | Yes, a free account | Only on designs with paid Pro elements | PNG, JPG, PDF (SVG on paid plans and Canva Education) | None | Pro, US$144 a year |
| 7= Datylon (5) | Yes, a free account | Not stated | PNG, SVG, PDF | None | Illustrator plug-in, $22.50 a user a month billed yearly |
| 7= Google Sheets (5) | Yes, a Google Account | Not stated | PNG, SVG, PDF | None | Not needed; Workspace from $7 a user a month on an annual plan |
| 10= Adobe Express (4) | Yes, an Adobe account | Not stated | PNG, JPEG, PDF | None | Premium, $9.99 a month |
| 10= MakeChart (4) | No, but the first download in each visit asks for an email | None in its download code | PNG | Yes, a sponsor slot sold at $100 a month (showing its owner's Draxlr now) | $2 a month to remove branding from embeds; its code also lists a $2 high-resolution image |
| 10= Meta-Chart (4) | No | Yes, a meta-chart.com label in its chart code | PNG, JPEG, PDF | Yes, Raptive and Google | None listed |
| 13= Datawrapper (3) | Yes, a free account | Asks free users to keep a Created with Datawrapper credit on the chart or in citations; not stated for PNG files | PNG | None | Pro, $21 a user a month billed yearly |
| 13= LiveGap Charts (3) | No, for PNG | Yes, a Created by charts.livegap.com note | PNG (SVG on Pro) | Yes, for free users | Pro, $5 a month or $25 a year |
| 15. Excel for the web (2) | Yes, a Microsoft account | Not stated | No chart download listed for the web version | None | Microsoft 365 Personal, $9.99 a month |
"Not stated" means neither the tool's pages nor its page code said. Canva's two watermark points rest on its help, which mentions watermarks only for paid Pro elements. A tool can change its free plan at any time; check its own page before you rely on a row.
What each tool is good at, where it falls short, and what it costs.
Run by the National Center for Education Statistics, part of the U.S. Department of Education, Create a Graph needs no login and shows no ads. It downloads a finished graph as PDF, PNG, JPG, EMF, EPS or SVG and takes up to 50 slices, with 2D, 3D or shadow styles. Graphs are drawn on the NCES server, and saved projects are deleted 30 days after the last change. Its pages don't say whether downloads carry a credit, the one point it missed.
Create a Graph, read September 29, 2026
A family-run site whose FAQ says it puts no watermark on charts, needs no account and is free. It downloads PNG or SVG and offers donut and percent options for pies, plus save, share and embed links. Its pie page loads the IncreaseRev ad network, and its advertising page offers sponsors a Sponsored by tag under charts; the example chart we checked had none.
FAQ, pie chart maker, advertising page, read September 29, 2026
A single-purpose site that downloads PNG, JPEG or SVG with no account; its download code captures only the chart, and we found no credit added. Its code turns each value into a whole number, so 12.5 becomes 12. It shows Google AdSense ads, and each download click also opens another website in a new tab. Its terms say users must be over 18, which rules it out for most classrooms.
No sign-up: type the labels and values separated by spaces, pick percent labels, 3D or donut, and save a PNG or SVG. The saved image is the Google Charts drawing itself, with no mark in the code. The page runs Snigel and PubGuru ad slots.
A free tool from Virtual Science Teachers, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, with no sign-in and no ads. It saves a PNG holding the title, the pie with percent labels and a legend, and nothing else. It stops at 12 slices and downloads PNG only, and there's no paste or CSV import. Of 13,058 charts downloaded from our maker, the median had 5 slices and 77.9% had 6 or fewer, so the 12-slice cap rarely gets in the way.
Tool, membership page, read September 29, 2026
Type or paste your numbers, or upload a CSV, and download PNG, JPEG, SVG or PDF with no account and no ads. The chart is drawn and downloaded in your browser, so your numbers aren't uploaded to make it. Free downloads carry a small credit line, which costs us both watermark points; Pro removes it for $7.99 once and adds transparent backgrounds and 2x downloads, and it stays on in the browser you bought it in, with no account. It makes pie, donut, bar and line charts.
Canva puts the chart on a designed page with templates, text and images. You need a free account to download. Free downloads include PNG, JPG and PDF; SVG and transparent backgrounds need a paid plan or Canva Education, and a watermark applies only when a design uses paid Pro elements. Canva Education is free for eligible K-12 teachers and students. Pro costs US$144 a year for one person.
Pie chart maker, pricing, download help, Education eligibility, read September 29, 2026. More in our Canva comparison.
Datylon's online pie chart maker is on its free plan: sign up with an email or Google account, then download PNG, SVG or PDF, with pie, donut, semicircle and Nightingale styles. Its pages don't say whether free downloads carry a mark. Its cheapest listed paid plan is for its Adobe Illustrator plug-in ($22.50 a user a month, billed yearly).
Pie chart maker, pricing, export help, read September 29, 2026
Free with a Google Account. You chart data from a sheet, and the chart menu downloads SVG, PNG or PDF. Pie options include slice labels, a doughnut hole, a color per slice and pulling a slice out. Qualifying schools can get Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals at no cost, and in the US, 13 is the minimum age to manage your own Google Account.
Download help, pie chart help, age rules, Education Fundamentals, read September 29, 2026. More in our Google Sheets comparison.
Needs an Adobe account, even on the free plan. Free exports include PNG (with or without a background), JPEG and PDF; SVG isn't listed. Adobe's pages don't mention a watermark on free downloads. Premium is $9.99 a month. A personal Adobe ID requires users to be 13 or older, and schools can give it to younger students under Adobe's K-12 terms.
Pricing, free plan help, terms, read September 29, 2026
MakeChart, built by Draxlr, needs no account, but the first download in each visit asks for an email address and your role, and its code sends both to Draxlr's mailing list. The free download is a PNG with a transparent background and, going by its code, no mark. The page sells a sponsor slot at $100 a month, now showing Draxlr itself. Removing branding from an embedded chart costs $2 a month. It has a spreadsheet-style table and CSV upload.
Tool and FAQ, read September 29, 2026
No account needed to make or download, and 12 chart types, including Venn diagrams and scatter plots. Downloads are PNG, JPEG or PDF, and its chart code adds a meta-chart.com credit label. The page carries Raptive and Google ads. More in our Meta-Chart comparison.
Pie chart maker, privacy and terms, read September 29, 2026
You can build a chart without an account, but downloading or embedding needs a free one. The free plan downloads PNG only (SVG and PDF start on Pro, $21 a user a month billed yearly or $25 billed monthly), and free charts carry a Created with Datawrapper line. Pie and donut charts can convert values to percentages.
Pricing, PNG download help, read September 29, 2026
Free with no registration, over 50 templates, and import from CSV, Excel, ODS or a Google Sheet. Free users download PNG only, with a Created by charts.livegap.com note drawn into the chart, and see a Google ad slot. Pro removes both and adds SVG, for $5 a month or $25 a year.
Free with a Microsoft account. Desktop Excel makes pie, doughnut, 3-D pie, pie of pie and bar of pie charts and lets you drag slices out. Microsoft's help covers saving a chart as a picture in the desktop apps; we found no chart download listed for the free web version. Microsoft 365 Personal, with desktop Excel, costs $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year, and Office 365 A1 is free for eligible students and teachers.
Free web apps, pie chart help, plans, education, read September 29, 2026. More in our Excel comparison.
Eight of the 15 let you download with no account and no email: NCES Create a Graph, ChartGo, piechartmaker.co, RapidTables, Virtual Science Teachers, Pie Chart Generator, Meta-Chart and LiveGap Charts (PNG only on its free plan). MakeChart needs no account but asks for an email before the first download. Canva, Adobe Express, Datylon, Google Sheets and Excel for the web need an account, and Datawrapper needs one to download or embed.
Meta-Chart, LiveGap Charts and Pie Chart Generator do: Meta-Chart's chart code adds a meta-chart.com label, LiveGap draws a Created by charts.livegap.com note into free charts, and our free downloads carry a small credit line that Pro ($7.99 once) removes. Datawrapper asks free users to keep a Created with Datawrapper credit on the chart or in their citations, and its help doesn't say whether PNG downloads include it. Canva watermarks only designs that use paid Pro elements.
ChartGo's FAQ says it puts no watermark on charts, and going by their download code, RapidTables, Virtual Science Teachers, piechartmaker.co and MakeChart save just the chart. NCES, Adobe Express, Datylon, Google Sheets and Excel don't say either way on the pages we read.
Google Sheets is free and downloads charts as SVG, PNG or PDF, but it needs a Google Account, and your numbers have to be in a sheet first. Its pie options cover slice labels, a doughnut hole, a color per slice and pulling a slice out. Use Sheets when the data already lives there or your school runs Google Workspace for Education; use a no-account maker for a quick chart on a shared computer. Our Google Sheets comparison goes row by row.
For a class without student accounts, NCES Create a Graph, Virtual Science Teachers and Pie Chart Generator all work with no login and no ads. NCES comes from a government statistics agency and adds 3D and six file formats; Virtual Science Teachers, a nonprofit, keeps to PNG and 12 slices. ChartGo, RapidTables, piechartmaker.co, Meta-Chart and LiveGap also need no login, but their pages show ads.
If your school already uses Canva for Education, Google Workspace for Education, Adobe Express for K-12 education or Office 365 A1, students can use their school accounts. Personal Canva and Adobe accounts require users to be 13 or older, and Google sets 13 as the age to manage your own account. Skip piechartmaker.co for students: its terms require users to be over 18. Our own privacy page says Pie Chart Generator is not directed at children under 13, though it asks for no account or personal details.
Many US math classes say circle graph; our circle graph maker shows each slice's angle for drawing by hand. See also pie charts for teachers and for students.
For business reports, start with the tool your numbers already live in: Excel or Google Sheets keep the chart next to the data. Datawrapper suits charts published on a website, since it embeds them. Canva and Adobe Express suit branded slides with templates and fonts. A no-account maker like ours suits a one-off chart image.
If the numbers are confidential, check where they go. Our maker draws the chart in your browser and doesn't upload the numbers to make it, though its analytics can record text you select or click and a share link carries the chart in its web address (privacy page). NCES draws each graph on its server and deletes the project 30 days after its last change, ChartGo sends your chart settings to its server to build the chart, and account-based tools save your work to your account.
Download a PNG unless you have a reason not to: of 13,058 charts downloaded from our maker between January 29 and August 18, 2026, 51.2% were PNG, 19.0% JPEG, 17.1% PDF and 12.7% SVG. PNG and JPEG paste into slides and documents, PDF prints well, and SVG stays sharp at any size and opens in design tools.
Free SVG downloads come from Google Sheets, NCES Create a Graph, ChartGo, piechartmaker.co, RapidTables, Datylon and Pie Chart Generator. Canva, Datawrapper and LiveGap keep SVG for paid plans (Canva Education includes it), and Adobe Express, Meta-Chart, Virtual Science Teachers, MakeChart and Excel for the web don't list it.
Other tools beat ours on clean free downloads, free transparent PNGs, chart variety, 3D in the file, and design or embedding.
No credit on free downloads: ChartGo says it adds none, and RapidTables, Virtual Science Teachers, piechartmaker.co and MakeChart save just the chart. Ours carry a credit line until you buy Pro ($7.99 once).
Free transparent or larger PNGs: MakeChart's free PNG has a transparent background, Adobe Express's free plan exports transparent PNGs, and Datylon's free PNGs download at 3x size. Ours need Pro for a transparent background and 2x size.
More chart types: Meta-Chart makes 12 kinds, including Venn diagrams and scatter plots. We make four: pie, donut, bar and line.
3D in the file: NCES, Meta-Chart, RapidTables, piechartmaker.co and desktop Excel draw 3D pies into the chart itself. Our 3D switch only tilts the chart on screen, and the download is flat; our exploded pie chart page does keep pulled-out slices in PNG, JPEG and PDF downloads.
Design and publishing: Canva and Adobe Express put the chart on a designed page with templates, text and images, and Datawrapper and ChartGo embed a chart on a website. We make the chart file only, and we keep your chart history in one browser, with no online account.
Use the interactive editor below to create your own pie chart. Customize colors and labels, then download PNG, JPEG, SVG or PDF.