Six scenarios where a pie chart is the wrong choice — and the better chart type to use in each situation.
Pie charts are excellent for showing how parts contribute to a whole — but they are frequently used in situations where they do more harm than good. The circular format makes it difficult to compare slices of similar size, impossible to show negative values, and misleading when there are too many categories. Knowing when NOT to use a pie chart is just as important as knowing when to use one. The six scenarios below cover the most common situations where a different chart type will communicate your data more clearly and honestly. For each scenario, we recommend a specific alternative and explain why it works better.
Pie charts with 8 or more slices become an unreadable color wheel. Use a horizontal bar chart instead — it handles dozens of categories cleanly because bars are aligned on a common axis.
If slices are 22%, 24%, and 26%, viewers cannot tell them apart in a circle. A bar chart makes these differences obvious because humans compare lengths more accurately than angles.
Pie charts are a snapshot of one moment. They cannot show growth or decline. Use a line chart to display how values change across months, quarters, or years.
Pie slices represent positive proportions of a whole. Negative numbers (losses, deficits) cannot be shown. Use a bar chart with bars extending below the axis for negative values.
Comparing two pie charts side by side is unreliable because viewers must mentally align slices from different circles. Use a grouped or stacked bar chart to compare multiple datasets on the same axis.
If your audience needs to read exact values (not just rough proportions), a bar chart with labeled axes or a data table is more appropriate than a pie chart.
Ask two questions before choosing a pie chart: (1) Does my data represent parts of a meaningful whole? (2) Do I have 6 or fewer categories with clearly different sizes? If both answers are yes, a pie chart works. Otherwise, choose an alternative.
Use the interactive editor below to create your own pie chart. Customize colors, labels, and export to any format.