How to Create a Pie Chart in Google Sheets (Step by Step)

Do you want to create a pie chart in Google Sheets? Pie charts are an excellent way to visually represent data as they are easy to create and analyze.

Creating your own pie chart on Google Sheets is very simple. Google Sheets also offers various editing features to customize your pie chart according to your needs.

Let’s see how to create a pie chart in Google Sheets.

How to Create a Pie Chart in Google Sheets in 2024?

We will look at the detailed steps on how to create a pie chart in Google Sheets. Then we will explore some additional steps that you can follow to further customize your charts.

Remember, a pie chart compares elements within the same broader category. In this example, we will create a fictional budget and compare the costs.

Our pie chart will show what portion of our monthly budget is allocated to different categories, such as food expenses, rent, and student loan repayments.

Here is the dataset we will use to create a pie chart:

You will notice that it is a two-column pie chart, and your data can be similar or you can use any data in the cells.

Here is our guide on creating a pie chart in Google Sheets:

1. Access the Google spreadsheet containing the data
2. Select the cells for which you want to create the pie chart

3. With the selected data, go to the top bar and click on the “Insert” option in the menu

4. Click on the “Chart” option
   • Note: Do not click on an empty cell as it will deselect the data you want to represent in the chart.

These steps will make Google Sheets make some assumptions and try to guess the type of chart you want to insert.

In this case, we got lucky, and we knew we wanted a pie chart. You will notice that our data is still selected, and there is now a large pie chart next to it.

The above image was taken right after clicking on “Chart” with my data highlighted. In other words, this is the default chart that was generated.

We can see that each category has a different color, a leader pointing to them with a label, and the chart is titled “Amount”.

But what if it doesn’t guess correctly or if you need to change the chart type? You have a few options.

By left-clicking on the chart, the entire chart area will be highlighted in blue, and you will see the “Ellipsis” (three dots) button in the top-right corner of the chart. When you click on the three dots, several options will appear.

Now you can edit the chart. By clicking on the “Edit chart” option, you will open the “Chart editor” pane on the right.

If the pie chart is not selected by default, you can change it by clicking on the “Chart type” option (in the “Customize” tab). When you scroll down, you will go through options such as Line, Area, Column, Bar, and Pie chart.

By clicking on “Pie chart”, your chart will be converted into a pie chart if it is not already.

Once you have inserted the default pie chart, you can edit and customize it to suit your needs.

Editing the Pie Chart

Now you know how to create a pie chart in Google Sheets, but what if the automatically generated pie chart doesn’t exactly match what you’re looking for?

Good news. You can customize and edit many options of your chart. Let’s see what we can do.

The way to start customizing is by left-clicking on your chart, clicking on the “Ellipsis” (three dots) button that appears in the top-right corner of the chart, and then clicking on “Edit chart”.

This will open the “Chart editor” window with a range of options, like this:

Modify the Data Range

If you made a mistake when creating the pie chart for the first time and selected the wrong cells, that’s not a problem.

Simply click on the box to the right of “Data range” and a pop-up box will open. You can now choose a new range by left-clicking and highlighting the cells in the workbook or you can enter it manually in the box. This will automatically change your pie chart.

Modify the Chart Label

Now that you know how to create a pie chart in Google Sheets, you will also notice the option to modify the label in the same menu.

In our example, it doesn’t make sense to change the label because there are only two columns, where one column has cost values that are represented by pie slices.

But if you need to change the labels (and perhaps use other labels in a different data range), you can do so from there.

How to Make the Pie Chart in Google Sheets More Appealing?

The last customization you should pay attention to is the ability to change the aesthetics of your pie chart.

What does that mean?

Well, you can change the colors, make it 3D, add a legend, modify the titles and labels, and even add a hole in the center.

You will find these options in the same sidebar menu we discussed earlier, but this time, we will click on “Customize”.

Change the Pie Chart Style

After clicking on the “Chart style” option, the arrow will open the category to show us some options that we can modify.

You can modify the following elements in the chart using these options:

• Background color of the pie chart
• Border color of the chart. If you don’t need a border for the chart, you can remove it by setting the border color to “none”
• Modify the font style of the text

How to Create a 3D Pie Chart in Google Sheets

To create a 3D pie chart:

1. Select the data range
2. Go to “Insert” > “Chart”
3. In the “Chart editor”, go to “Configuration” and click on the drop-down menu for “Chart type”
4. Scroll down to the “Pie” charts and choose the 3D pie chart

This will create a 3D pie chart based on the data you have selected.

There is also an option to convert the regular chart into a 3D pie chart. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the “Chart editor” by going to the menu and selecting “Edit”. You can also do this by double-clicking on your pie chart.
2. Go to “Customize” > “Chart style”
3. Check the “3D” checkbox

Your pie chart will become 3D. However, remember that a 3D pie chart is often misleading and difficult to read.

Customization Options for the Pie Chart

The next option in our customization menu is “Pie chart”. Clicking on it will display a list of options.

Here again, you will find some interesting options:

• “Donut hole”: This is where you can turn this pie chart into a donut chart. Simply specify the value for the donut hole, which will add a hole of a certain size in the center of the pie chart.
• You can also change the border color of each slice using the “Border color” option.
• Then, there is an option to add a “label to each slice”.

How to Add Percentages to a Pie Chart in Google Sheets

When you create a pie chart in Google Sheets, you will notice that it is automatically accompanied by percentages. However, in case it doesn’t, here’s how you can create a pie chart with percentages in Google Sheets:

1. Open the “Chart editor” by double-clicking on the pie chart
2. Go to “Customize” > “Pie chart”
3. Access the drop-down list for “Slice label”
4. Choose “Percentage”

The percentage for each slice will appear in the pie chart.

Modifying the Pie Slice in the Pie Chart

With the pie chart, you can also highlight one of the slices by making it slightly protrude from the pie chart.

As shown in the image below, I made the car slice stand out a bit by making it (literally) pop out from the rest of the pie chart.

This can be done from the “Slice” settings in the “Chart editor”.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Click on the “Customize” tab in the “Chart editor”
2. Click on the “Slice” option. This will expand it and show more options
3. Click on the drop-down list and select the category you want to highlight
4. Optional: Change the color of the slice. You can use this option to make the color vibrant and something that stands out.
5. Select the “offset” from the center. In addition to selecting from predefined options, you can also manually enter a value (e.g., 10%).

Exporting a Pie Chart

To export your chart:

1. Click on the three dots menu on the chart
2. Click on “Download”
3. Select the file type in which you want to download the chart

How to Create a Double Pie Chart in Google Sheets?

There is no native double pie chart in Google Sheets. However, you can insert a smaller donut chart inside a larger one for a similar effect. Here’s how to create a double pie chart in Google Sheets:

1. Go to “Insert” > “Chart” > “Chart type” > “Donut chart”
2. Click on the “Customize” tab
3. In the “Chart Style”, choose “None” for the background color of the chart
4. In “Pie chart”, select “Donut hole 75%”
5. Repeat for the second donut chart, but set the “hole” to 25%
6. Adjust the sizes of the charts and place them together

How to Create a Pie Chart in Google Sheets on iPhone and Android?

You can also create pie charts using the Google Sheets mobile apps. Here’s how to create a pie chart on Google Sheets for mobile:

1. Select the cells for your chart
2. Tap on “Insert” > “Chart”
3. Tap on “Type”
4. Tap on “Pie chart”
5. Tap on “Done”

Frequently Asked Questions

How to create a pie chart in Google Sheets?

Creating a pie chart in Google Sheets is quite simple:

1. Select the data range
2. Go to “Insert” > “Chart”
3. Select “Pie chart”

How to show percentages on a pie chart in Google Sheets?

To show percentages on a pie chart in Google Sheets:

1. Open the “Chart editor” by double-clicking on the pie chart
2. Go to “Customize” > “Pie chart”
3. Access the drop-down list for “Slice label”
4. Choose “Percentage”

How to create a pie chart in Google Sheets with multiple columns?

To create a pie chart in Google Sheets with multiple columns, simply select the data range you want to use. Note: You can only represent one column of data at a time in a pie chart.

You have the option to create two donut charts for each column and combine them by placing the smaller one inside the larger one.

1. Create two donut charts for each data
2. Go to “Chart editor” > “Customize”
3. Go to “Chart style” > “Background color” and choose “None”. Do the same for the second donut chart.
4. Choose the pie chart you want to be on the outside and set its donut hole to 75% in “Customize” > “Pie chart”
5. Resize the inner donut chart and place it in the middle of the larger one

Conclusion

Now you know how to create a pie chart in Google Sheets. Creating a pie chart in Google Sheets requires only a few steps that we have discussed earlier. The customization options are much more interesting, and we have covered some of the most relevant options you have.

If you want to master creating a pie chart in Google Sheets and other functions, consider checking out our comprehensive training. When it comes to presenting data, a pie chart is an excellent choice.

However, there is still a lot more to learn. Check out our other guides on charts, such as:

• How to create a combo chart in Google Sheets
• How to create a funnel chart in Google Sheets (step by step)
• Easy step-by-step guide to Google Sheets radar chart
• The Google Sheets Pareto chart guide in 3 easy steps
• Creating a candlestick chart in Google Sheets (step by step)
• Easy guide to create a bubble chart in Google Sheets (free template)

Reference: Crawlan.com