Excel Tutorials
Every variant, every data label option, how to pull out a slice for emphasis, and the specific situations where a pie chart is actually the wrong choice. This lesson uses the Project Tracker workbook from Excel Foundations, free to download below.
Follow along in the same file used in the video. No email required.
A pie chart shows how a single total splits into parts, each slice's size representing its share of that whole. It only works with one column of categories and one column of values, and it only makes sense when those values genuinely add up to something meaningful, like a project's budget broken into categories, or a task list's statuses adding up to every task.
That single-whole requirement is also exactly what makes a pie chart the wrong choice for a lot of data people try to force into one, which the "when not to use it" section further down covers directly.
Step-by-step, matching the video above.
One column of category labels and one column of numeric values, headers included.
Click Insert on the ribbon.
In the Charts group, click the pie icon and choose a variant, 2-D Pie is the standard, most readable choice.
Click the default "Chart Title" text and type something specific, like "Project Budget by Category."
Click the chart, then the Chart Elements (+) button that appears beside it, and check Data Labels.
Click the arrow next to Data Labels and choose More Options to pick Value, Percentage, Category Name, or a combination.
Click once on the pie to select the whole series, click again on one specific slice to select just it, then apply a fill color or other formatting to that slice alone.
Drag a corner handle to resize, or click and drag the chart itself to reposition it anywhere on the sheet.
| Category | Budget | Share of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Development | 13,500 | 45% |
| Design | 9,000 | 30% |
| Testing | 4,500 | 15% |
| Marketing | 3,000 | 10% |
Total budget is 30,000, split across four categories that together account for the whole amount, exactly the shape of data a pie chart is built for. Sorted largest to smallest, Development's slice is visibly the biggest at a glance, and with Percentage data labels turned on, the 45%/30%/15%/10% split is readable without anyone doing mental math from slice angles.
The pie icon in Insert > Charts actually opens a dropdown with several distinct chart types, not just one.
The standard, flat, single-ring pie chart. The most accurate to read and the right default choice for most situations.
Adds visual depth and a tilted perspective, but that same tilt distorts how large each slice actually appears, slices further back look smaller than they really are. Looks more polished, reads less accurately.
A pie chart with a hollow center, which also unlocks something a regular pie can't do: showing more than one data series as concentric rings, useful for comparing this year's category breakdown against last year's in one chart.
Takes the smallest slices of a crowded pie and breaks them out into a second, smaller pie or bar chart next to the main one, useful when several tiny categories would otherwise clutter the main chart into unreadable slivers.
The default label often isn't the most useful one, worth deliberately choosing rather than accepting whatever Excel picks first.
Usually the most useful option, letting anyone instantly grasp proportion (45% of the budget) without doing division themselves from a raw dollar figure.
Shows the actual number, useful when the raw figures themselves matter as much as the proportions, like exact dollar amounts in a budget review.
Labels each slice with its category directly, which can replace needing a separate legend entirely on a chart with only a few slices.
More Options lets you check multiple boxes at once, category name plus percentage together is a common, highly readable combination.
A simple way to visually highlight one specific category without adding any extra formatting.
Click the pie once to select the entire series, then click again specifically on the slice you want to pull out, this second click selects only that slice.
Click and drag the selected slice a short distance away from the center of the pie, it detaches visually while the rest of the chart stays intact.
Dragging any slice outward while only the whole series is selected (one click, not two) pulls every slice apart evenly, a distinct look from exploding just one.
Just as important as knowing how to build one, since a pie chart used for the wrong kind of data actively makes it harder to understand, not easier.
Past that point, slices get thin enough that comparing their relative sizes by eye becomes genuinely difficult. Use a Pie of Pie, or switch to a bar chart entirely.
Independent survey ratings, scores out of 10 for different products, anything that isn't genuinely "parts of a single total" doesn't belong in a pie chart, even if it technically has categories and numbers.
A pie chart is a single snapshot. Tracking a trend across months or years calls for a line or column chart instead.
A pie chart only represents one whole. Comparing this year's total spending against last year's needs two separate charts, or a different chart type entirely, not one pie trying to hold both.
A pie chart with 12 slivers is harder to read than the table it came from. Keep it to roughly 5 to 7 categories, or use Pie of Pie to group the small ones.
The tilted perspective makes slice sizes genuinely harder to judge accurately, even though it can look more polished at first glance. Stick with 2-D unless there's a specific reason not to.
Sorting your source data from largest to smallest before charting makes the biggest category immediately obvious, rather than leaving viewers hunting across the whole pie for it.
Without labels, viewers are left estimating proportions purely from slice angle, which people are genuinely bad at. Turn on at least Percentage labels every time.
If the numbers don't genuinely add up to a meaningful total, a pie chart implies a relationship that isn't actually there. Use a bar chart for independent values instead.
A breakdown shouldn't need a chart built from scratch to be visible.
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Select a column of categories and a column of values, go to Insert > Charts, click the Pie Chart icon, and choose a variant like 2-D Pie.
One category column and one numeric value column, where the values represent parts of a single meaningful whole, like budget categories that add up to a total project budget.
Generally no more than 5 to 7. Beyond that, slices get thin enough that comparing their sizes by eye becomes genuinely difficult.
Usually not. The tilted perspective distorts how large each slice actually looks, making a 3-D pie chart less accurate to read than a flat 2-D one, even though it can look more polished.
A doughnut chart is a pie chart with a hole in the middle, which also makes it possible to show more than one data series as concentric rings, something a standard pie chart can't do.
Click the chart, then the Chart Elements (+) button, check Data Labels, then click the arrow next to it and choose More Options to select Percentage specifically instead of the raw value.
Click the pie once to select the whole series, then click the specific slice again to select just it, and drag it slightly away from the center.
Avoid it for data that doesn't sum to one meaningful whole, for showing change over time, for comparing two separate totals side by side, and for more than about 7 categories.
Sort your source data from largest to smallest value before creating the chart, or after creation, the slices follow whatever order the underlying data is in.
No, a standard pie chart only shows one series. To compare multiple series, use a Doughnut chart for concentric rings, or switch to a bar or column chart entirely.
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