10 Steps to Make a Pivot Chart in Excel

Do you want to learn how to make a Pivot Chart in Excel? Pivot Charts in Excel are one of the easiest and best ways to visualize your data. Unlike regular charts, Pivot Charts are highly customizable and interactive, allowing you to stay on top of your data at all times with minimal maintenance required. In this article, we’ll walk you through the 10 steps of creating a Pivot Chart in Excel.

Steps to Make a Pivot Chart in Excel

This method works for both Windows and Mac versions of Microsoft Excel. However, the steps below were written for modern versions of Excel, such as Excel in Office 365, Excel 2021, Excel 2019, and Excel 2016. Some steps may vary on older releases. If you require any help, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Step 1. Open your workbook in Excel

First things first.

You need to open the Excel workbook you want to work with. If you don’t have one yet, simply create a blank workbook and get started on entering some data.

Step 2. Select a cell in your Pivot Table

To be able to create a pivot chart, you need to first have a pivot table. A pivot table allows you to extract data from a large, detailed data set. We’ll be using one of these sets to demonstrate how pivot charts work.

If you don’t have a pivot table, create one by following these steps:

Click on any single cell inside your data set.
Go to the Insert tab in your ribbon.
In the Tables group, click on Pivot Table.
Customize how you want your table to be created, and click OK.

Step 3. Navigate to the Insert tab

Use the Ribbon interface on top of the Excel window and switch to the Insert tab. You’ll see a plethora of features come up, as this tab houses most of Excel’s pre-made charts, graphs, tables, and even illustrations.

Step 4. Select Pivot Chart

Once you’re in the Insert tab, you should be able to see a button that says Pivot Chart. You can locate this near the other chart types. Once you’ve found it, click on it once to open the Create PivotChart dialog box in a new window.

Step 5. Select the range

The first “Choose the data that you want to analyze” part you’ll see in the dialog box prompts you to select the range of your pivot chart. By default, Excel will select a range for you, however, this is completely customizable. If you wish to expand or reduce the selection, simply modify the numbers.

You may also switch your selection to Use an external data source. Here, simply click on the Choose Connection button and select a compatible data set for Excel to work with.

Step 6. Select how your chart is placed

Next, choose where you want your pivot chart to be placed. You have two options:

New worksheet: Creates a new, blank worksheet for your pivot chart. You can switch between other worksheets in your workbook to stay more organized.
Existing worksheet: Select one of your already existing worksheets. Excel will place your pivot chart here as opposed to creating an entirely new workbook.

Step 7. Filter your Pivot Chart

If you wish to remove data from your pivot chart, use the filters provided by Excel. This allows you to break down the chart to show only one category at a time, making your data more dynamic and interactive.

Step 8. Change Pivot Chart type

You’re able to change the type of your pivot chart at any given moment after creation.

Select your pivot chart.
In the ribbon, go to the Design tab.
Click on the Change Chart Type button, found in the Type category.
Choose the type of chart you want to convert your pivot chart to then click OK.

Step 9. Customize the Pivot Chart

If you wish to change how your pivot chart looks, simply select it and choose a style from the Design tab in the ribbon. You may choose from a set of pre-made styles, or even customize colors and fonts yourself.

Step 10. Save your Pivot Chart

To save your pivot chart, all you have to do is save the workbook itself.

Click on File, then choose Save to overwrite your last save of the workbook.
Click on File and choose Save as… to create a new file of your workbook.

Office 2021: Learn Excel Pivot Tables in 3 Minutes!

Final thoughts

We hope this article has helped you learn how to create a Pivot Chart in Microsoft Excel. Want to learn more about Excel? Check out our The Most Useful Excel Keyboard Shortcuts article today and expand your knowledge of the world’s most used spreadsheeting application.

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