About the Bar Chart Maker
Create free 2D and 3D bar charts instantly — no account, no software, no limits. Customize colors, styles, labels, and orientation, then download as PNG or print.
What is a Bar Chart?
A bar chart represents categorical data with rectangular bars. Each bar's length or height is proportional to the value it represents. Bar charts are ideal for comparing values across categories — such as sales by region, scores by student, or counts by month.
How to Create a Bar Chart
Enter your category names in the first column and values in the next columns. Add more data groups with the + Column button. Click Calculate Chart to render the chart instantly.
Vertical vs Horizontal Bars
Use the Orientation dropdown to switch between vertical bars (best for time-series or ranked data) and horizontal bars (best for long category labels or ranked lists). Both orientations support 3D mode and all style presets.
Grouped vs Stacked Bars
When you add multiple data columns, bars are grouped side-by-side by default. Enable the Stacked toggle to stack bars on top of each other, making it easy to show part-to-whole relationships alongside totals.
Customizing Your Chart
Choose from six style presets — Classic, Transparent, Matte Metal, Brushed Metal, High Gloss, and Glass — using the style quick-switch strip above the chart. Adjust bar width, depth, opacity, rotation, colors, and data label positions from the Appearance section.
2D vs 3D Bar Charts
Toggle 3D Mode on or off in the Options section. In 3D mode, use Bar Depth % to control how deep bars appear, and Rotation X / Y to tilt the perspective. When using the Transparent style, adjust Opacity Front and Opacity Right Side to fine-tune depth shading.
💾 Saving Your Chart
Save chart as PNG · 
Print chart
Bar Chart FAQ
What is the difference between a bar chart and a histogram?
A bar chart compares separate categories — sales by region, votes by candidate — so the bars are drawn with gaps between them and can be reordered freely. A histogram shows the distribution of one continuous variable by grouping values into bins, so its bars touch and their order is fixed. If your first column holds names rather than numbers, you want a bar chart.
Should I use grouped or stacked bars?
Use grouped bars when readers need to compare individual values against each other — each bar starts at the same baseline, so the comparison is easy. Use stacked bars when the parts add up to a meaningful total and you want to show both the total and its composition. Stacked bars make everything except the bottom segment hard to compare precisely, so avoid them if the individual values matter most.
When should bars be horizontal instead of vertical?
Switch to horizontal bars when your category labels are long, when you have more than about ten categories, or when you are presenting a ranked list. Horizontal labels stay readable without rotating the text. Keep bars vertical for time-based data, where readers expect time to run left to right.
Does the value axis have to start at zero?
Yes, for bar charts. The length of a bar is what encodes its value, so cutting the axis at a higher number makes small differences look far larger than they are. If the interesting variation is tiny compared with the totals, a line chart or a dot plot is the honest alternative — those do not use length to encode value, so a non-zero baseline is acceptable there.
How many categories is too many for one bar chart?
Around fifteen is a practical ceiling for a vertical bar chart before the labels start colliding. Beyond that, switch to horizontal bars, group the smallest categories into an "Other" bar, or split the data across several charts. Sorting bars from largest to smallest also makes a crowded chart much easier to read, unless the categories have a natural order such as months.
How do I make a double bar graph?
Put your category names in the first column, then add a second and third column — one per data series — using the + Column button. Each extra column becomes another bar in every group, so two value columns produce a double bar graph. Give each column a header name and it will appear in the chart legend.
Is this bar chart maker really free?
Yes. There is no account, no sign-up, no watermark and no export limit. Your data is processed entirely in your browser and is never uploaded to a server, so you can use it with confidential figures. Finished charts can be downloaded as a PNG image or sent straight to your printer.
Does it work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. The data grid and the chart both adapt to small screens, and you can paste values in from a spreadsheet on any device. The 3D rotation controls work with touch as well as a mouse, though a larger screen is easier if you plan to fine-tune depth and perspective.