Which chart type should you use?

When viewing your survey data, you can choose between different chart types. The default chart type for most single and multiple choice questions is the bar chart. For KPI questions, the default is a pie chart displaying the score in the center. Let's look at the different chart types and see when you should use which.

Before we start, you find the different options in the bottom left corner under each chart.

Bar charts

As mentioned, bar charts is the default for most questions. It's an easy way of getting an overview of the data, and compare between date periods or segments. When in doubt, use a bar chart.

If you are just using one date period and one segment, you can also choose to sort your bar chart from biggest to smallest, or the opposite.

Pie charts

When you have a question with few option, about two to five, a pie chart is a good alternative. Unlike a bar chart where you visually compare the length of the bars to each other, for a pie chart, you instead compare the size of the slice to the whole. That makes the pie chart a better visual tool for saying that two thirds of the visitors are first-time visitors, or using a smart phone, or have bought a product before, etc.

A downside of the pie chart is that it can become a bit difficult to read when the question has a lot of options, as the meaning of each slice is explained in the legend. If there are many options, it's easier to read a bar chart.

Line charts

If you want to see the development over time, or the trend, the line chart is your best option. Depending on your settings, you can see how the results change over days, months, or years. The line chart will only display one date range, and you can therefore not compare to previous periods when using a line charts.

Like a pie chart, the line chart can become difficult to read when there are more than a couple of lines, and should therefore mainly be used for the development of your KPI scores or a specific option, for example share of job seekers.

For questions with several options, you can use an area chart instead. You can also use a bar chart and compare with up to 3 periods. That way, you can see how all the roles have changed in the past 4 years, for example.

Area charts

The area chart is a combination of a line chart and a stacked bar or pie chart, in that it visually displays the share of each option in relation to the whole (100%), but also the development over days, months, years, or whatever date range you have selected. As for a line chart, you are not able to use a comparing date period for an area chart.

Just from viewing the area chart, it's difficult to tell the exact share of each option. However, the area chart is an alternative to the line chart for trends when you have questions with several options, as the lines will never cross over each other. It is therefore easier to read the area chart than a line chart with the same number of options.

Stacked bar chart

The stacked bar chart is basically a pie chart, but in a line instead of a circle. It too offers a visualization of the share compared to the whole.

Like a pie chart, the stacked bar works best for fewer options, and can become difficult to read with many or small options. Unlike a pie bar, the labels are placed on the bars, and if the bar is too short to fit the label, the chart will not display the label. In that case, the pie chart is a better option.

If your question has many options, a regular bar chart is probably better for displaying your results.

Knowledge base