How to Create a Stacked Bar Chart in Google Sheets

A stacked bar chart in Google Sheets combines several data series into one horizontal bar for each category. Use it to compare both the total and its components. Choose a 100% stacked bar chart when you want to compare proportions regardless of the totals.

Prepare the data

Put category labels in the first column and each component in its own numeric column. Include a header row and use the same unit for every component. Here is a small illustrative dataset, not reported sales data:

Do not include a Total column as another stacked series: that would count the components twice. Avoid mixing currency with units or overlapping categories in the same stack.

Create the chart

1. Select the full source range, including its headers.
2. Choose Insert > Chart.
3. In the Chart editor’s Setup tab, select Stacked bar chart under Chart type. If your interface uses a Stacking control, choose the standard stacking option.
4. Confirm that the first row supplies headers and the first column supplies category labels.
5. Check the listed series. Remove any Total column or unrelated data.
6. If the categories and components are reversed, use Switch rows/columns and inspect the result.

For the example, North’s ordinary stacked bar totals 50 and South’s totals 40. Each product occupies its corresponding portion of the bar. A stacked column chart uses the same idea with vertical bars.

Choose standard or 100% stacking

Standard stacking keeps the numeric totals visible. A 100% stacked chart makes every category’s bar the same length, showing each component’s share. It is useful for composition comparisons, but hides differences in total size unless you provide that context separately.

If comparing each component precisely is the main goal, consider a grouped bar chart instead. Middle segments of a stack do not share a common starting point and can be harder to compare. See the chart selection and summary guide.

Make the result readable

Open Customize to edit the title, legend, axes and series colors. State the unit and period in the title or axis labels. Keep colors consistent across categories and avoid too many small segments.

For values on the bars, enable Data labels under the relevant series controls. The Google Sheets label and annotation guide explains further formatting.

If a series is missing, check the data range and whether its cells contain numbers rather than text. After adding rows or columns, confirm that the chart still includes the intended data.