Area Chart: Definition, Examples, and How to Create One

An area chart is a popular data visualization tool that shows how values change over time and emphasizes the magnitude of those changes. It looks similar to a line chart, but the space beneath the line is filled with color to highlight volume.

In this guide, you’ll learn what an area chart is, see practical examples, and discover how to create one in Excel. We’ll also explore stacked area charts, proportional area charts, and related graphing tips to help you use them effectively.

What Is An Area Chart?

An area chart is a visual that shows how values change over time while also emphasizing the total amount represented by the shaded region beneath the line. Before looking at the details, it helps to think of an area chart as a line graph with added color that highlights volume, accumulation, or magnitude. This shading makes it especially useful for understanding not only how data trends move but also how much space they occupy relative to other points in the dataset.

Area charts are commonly used when you want to display both direction and intensity of change. The gradually filled-in space supports quick comparisons between periods, allowing viewers to see whether values rise, fall, or remain stable.

An area chart displays quantitative data over a continuous range, most commonly time. The filled area under the line helps viewers understand both the trend and the total magnitude of the data.

For example, if you’re tracking website traffic over a year, an area graph makes it easy to see not just how traffic changes but how much total activity occurs each month. This makes it ideal for cumulative or volume-based datasets.

Area Chart Example

Before creating your own chart, seeing how an area chart works makes the concept clearer. An example helps illustrate how values rise and fall and how the shaded region provides a visual sense of the total quantity over time. This introduction sets the stage for understanding how area charts communicate trends more effectively than raw numbers alone.

Suppose you’re analyzing monthly sales from January to June. The X-axis represents months, and the Y-axis represents revenue. When plotted as an area chart, the shaded region under the line highlights the total revenue trend over time.

This type of graph is especially useful for presentations where visual impact and total growth are more important than precise comparisons. The image shows an example of an area graph or chart.

How To Graph An Area Chart Step-By-Step

Creating an area chart follows the same general flow as building any chart, but the shading effect adds an additional layer of interpretation. Before you begin, it helps to understand that each step builds toward a graph that highlights totals, not just changes. The following method works in most spreadsheet applications.

You can easily create area charts using spreadsheet tools such as Microsoft Excel. A worked example follows the basic steps below.

Step 1: Prepare Your Data

Enter your data in two columns, one for categories (like months) and one for values (like sales).

Start by arranging your data in a clear, organized table. Typically, the first column contains time intervals such as months, weeks, or years, and the second column contains the values you want to visualize. Ensuring consistent spacing and accurate values is important because any errors will directly affect the shape of the chart.

It is also useful to remove unnecessary formatting or blank rows. Clean, structured data helps spreadsheet tools correctly detect the range and prevents issues when the chart is generated.

Step 2: Select The Data

Select both your labels and numeric values. Most spreadsheet programs allow you to click and drag to highlight your full data range. You can also use keyboard shortcuts, which can speed up selection when working with large datasets.

Double-check that you have included column headings, as these will automatically become axis labels or legend entries. Missing labels often lead to confusing or incomplete charts.

Step 3: Insert The Chart

Once your data is highlighted, open your software’s chart menu and choose the option labeled “Area Chart.” Many tools include variations such as stacked and 100% stacked versions, but the basic area chart is usually listed first.

After selecting the chart type, the program creates a preview that you can adjust immediately. This is where you’ll start to see the shaded area appear beneath your values, giving the chart its distinctive look.

• In Excel, go to Insert → Charts → Area → 2D Area to generate a basic Excel chart.
• In the online version of Excel, select Insert from the top menu. Next, click the graph drop-down box. Under the Area heading, click the Area graph.

Step 4: Customize The Chart

After inserting the chart, take time to customize it so it better communicates your message. You can adjust colors, axis titles, legends, and gridlines. Changing the shading color can make the chart easier to read or help differentiate multiple series.

You may also want to adjust the vertical axis scale for clarity. Sometimes automatic scaling exaggerates small fluctuations or makes large trends appear too flat. Setting the scale manually often makes the data more readable.

Step 5: Interpret The Data

The final step is understanding what the chart shows. Look at the height of the shaded area to see how the values rise or fall over time. Notice any peaks, dips, or long upward or downward trends.

Area charts also help you identify periods where the total quantity changes sharply or holds steady. The shape of the shaded region gives an immediate visual sense of volume, which is especially useful when comparing ranges or evaluating progress over extended periods.

Area Chart Excel Example

Before diving into the steps for building the chart, it helps to understand how Excel handles area charts. Excel automatically interprets your selected data and fills the space beneath the line, producing an intuitive visualization. A quick example allows you to see how data behaves in an actual spreadsheet environment.

Creating area charts in Excel is one of the simplest ways to visualize how values change over time. In this example, we plot a small dataset of monthly sales to show how total revenue grows from January to June.

Example Data Table

Before creating the chart, the data must be organized in a simple and readable table. Excel relies heavily on clean, structured rows and columns to detect your intended chart range. A well-organized table ensures accurate labeling and reduces the chance of formatting issues that might distort the chart.

Copy the following table into Excel:

This dataset represents monthly revenue growth over six months. You can use it to create both basic area and stacked area charts if you want to compare multiple categories later.

How To Create Area Charts in Excel

Creating an area chart in Excel follows a straightforward process. Once your dataset is in place, Excel’s charting tools make it easy to convert raw numbers into a visual form that highlights overall magnitude. Understanding the process helps ensure the final chart is clear, accurate, and visually effective.

1. Enter the data into two columns labeled Month and Revenue.
2. Select your data range (A1:B7).
3. Click the Insert menu item on the top menu.
4. In the Insert Chart drop-down box, click the down arrow to expand the box.
5. Scroll down to the Area section.
6. Click the Area graph.
7. Excel automatically generates the area chart, filling the space under the curve to highlight the total revenue trend.

Optional: Format and Customize Your Chart

Click the chart to select it and then select Format on the tool bar in Excel. This opens up a pane that allows formatting the chart, such as adding labels to the axes, changing colors, and so forth.

• Add a descriptive Chart Title, such as Monthly Sales Growth (Jan–Jun).
• Label your axes clearly, Months on the X-axis and Revenue ($) on the Y-axis.
• Adjust colors or transparency for a cleaner presentation.
• Use data labels if you want exact figures on the chart. Right-click anywhere on the area graph data itself (the colored area). As a result a menu pops up. Select Add Data Labels on this menu to insert data labels as shown in the image below.

This example clearly shows how an Excel area chart can highlight growth patterns over time, helping you visualize performance trends in an intuitive way. The following image shows the edited graph with a title added, exes labeled, and data labels added and formatted.

Understanding Stacked Area Charts

Stacked area charts build on the same principles as basic area charts but add an extra layer of meaning by showing how multiple categories contribute to a total. Before exploring how they work, it’s important to recognize that stacked area charts emphasize both individual and combined trends, making them particularly useful for understanding the composition of totals over time.

These charts are common when comparing different segments of data that add up to a whole. Each category is represented by its own shaded area, stacked on top of the others, creating a cumulative visual that is easy to interpret when examining trends or contributions.

Stacked area charts are a variation that shows multiple data series stacked on top of one another. They are perfect when you want to show how individual parts contribute to a total over time.

For example, it can show the total website traffic divided by source, organic, referral, and social media. Each section’s size changes to represent its contribution to the overall total.

When using Excel stacked area charts, ensure you use contrasting colors and clear labels for readability.

Stacked Area Chart Excel Example

A stacked area chart is often used to show how multiple categories contribute to a total over time, making it easy to see both individual trends and the overall cumulative pattern. Adding this chart to Excel helps highlight how segments grow, shrink, or remain stable relative to one another.

A stacked area chart helps you compare multiple data sets over the same period by stacking their values on top of one another. This chart type is ideal when you want to see both individual trends and total growth at the same time.

Example Data Table

Before creating a stacked area chart, it’s helpful to start with a clean, well-organized data table. Your data should have time intervals in one column and the categories you want to stack in the columns to the right. This structure ensures Excel can interpret the dataset correctly and build a meaningful visualization.

Use this sample dataset that shows monthly online and in-store sales from January to June:

How To Create a Stacked Area Chart in Excel

When you have your data prepared, Excel can generate a stacked area chart in just a few clicks. Starting the chart from properly formatted rows and columns ensures the stacking effect works smoothly and each category fills the area beneath it in the right order.

1. Enter the data in three columns labeled Month, Online Sales, and In-Store Sales.
2. Highlight the data range (A1:C7).
   • Go to the Insert tab → Charts group → click the Insert Area or Line Chart icon. Select Stacked Area under the 2-D Area Chart options.
   • In the online version of Excel, click the Insert item on the top menu. On the toolbar that appears, click the Insert Chart drop-down box to expand it. Scroll down to find the Area item and then click the Stacked Area icon.
3. Excel will generate a stacked area graph, with each colored section representing one sales category.

Interpreting the Stacked Area Chart

Once your chart is generated, your first task is to understand how the layers build on one another. The bottom layer represents the first category, and each additional layer stacks above it, creating a cumulative curve that shows both the individual contributions and the total trend.

• The total height of the stacked area shows the combined sales from both channels.
• The color bands reveal how much each sales category contributes to the total.
• Use this chart type to spot shifts in category dominance or changes in overall performance over time.

Optional Customizations

After the basic chart is in place, you may want to refine its appearance for clarity and impact. Customizing colors, adjusting transparency, or modifying axis settings helps highlight the insights that matter most to your audience.

• Change colors to distinguish categories clearly (e.g., blue for online, orange for in-store).
• Add data labels to display exact values.
• Include a legend to identify each area.

By using a stacked area chart in Excel, you can easily visualize the relationship between multiple datasets and the total trend, perfect for sales analysis, expense tracking, or resource planning. The final graph for this example is shown below.

What is a Proportional Area Chart?

A proportional area chart expresses each category as a percentage of the whole, making it ideal when the emphasis is on relative contribution rather than raw values. It allows viewers to track how proportions shift over time or across categories without the distraction of changing totals.

A proportional area chart is the same concept as a 100% stacked area chart: each stacked column or segment is scaled so the total at every x-position equals 100%, and the vertical axis shows percentage contribution rather than absolute values. This makes it easy to see how each category’s share of the total changes over time while removing the effect of changing totals.

Use a proportional area chart when you want to compare relative composition (percentages) across periods, for example, market-share by product each quarter, rather than absolute magnitudes.

How It Differs From Other “Area” Visuals

A proportional area chart stands apart from traditional area charts because it normalizes all values to 100%. Instead of showing cumulative growth, it illustrates how each part’s share changes, even when the total fluctuates.

• Regular stacked area chart: shows actual values; the total height equals the sum of categories.
• Proportional (100% stacked): rescales each total to 100% so you see proportions.
• Proportional symbol charts (bubble charts): use differently sized shapes (circles) to represent values, these are not the same as proportional/100% stacked charts.

Quick Steps To Create One In Excel

Creating a proportional area chart involves converting your data into percentages before charting. Excel can do this with simple formulas, which ensures each stacked segment reflects its share of the whole, making the final chart accurate and easy to interpret.

1. Arrange your data with categories in columns and periods in rows.
2. Select the full range (including headers).
3. Insert → Charts → Area → 100% Stacked Area.
4. Add a percent-formatted Y-axis (0%–100%) and a clear legend.

The following image shows a proportional area chart in Excel, or 100% stacked area chart.

When To Use and When Not To

This type of chart is most effective when the story centers on distribution rather than magnitude. If your audience needs to understand actual totals or the real scale of change, a proportional visualization may hide important context and lead to misinterpretation.

• Use it to highlight changing shares or composition (market share, budget allocation, demographic proportions).
• Avoid it when absolute totals matter (use a regular stacked area chart or line/area with actual values instead), because proportional charts hide changes in overall volume.

Tips For Graphing

Before finalizing any area chart, take a moment to assess whether your data supports this type of visualization. Area charts work best with continuous data and clear category boundaries, so preparing your dataset thoughtfully will improve both readability and accuracy. Here are some tips to take into consideration when graphing an area chart.

• Avoid overplotting: Too many overlapping series make the chart confusing.
• Use transparency: Helps distinguish overlapping areas in stacked charts.
• Label clearly: Always include legends and axis titles.
• Maintain order: Larger areas should appear behind smaller ones.
• Simplify visuals: Avoid 3D or heavy gradients that distort perception.

Following these tips will make your charts clearer and easier to interpret.

Did You Know?

The area graph or chart was first used as an extension of the line graph to emphasize cumulative totals. It became popular in the 20th century as statistical reporting evolved. Today, they are common in finance, marketing analytics, and environmental studies to visualize volume and progression over time.

Software like Excel and Google Sheets have made it easier than ever to create professional area graphs with just a few clicks.

Area charts gained popularity because they combine the readability of line charts with the ability to visualize volume or cumulative growth. They offer a simple way to show how separate parts stack up over time.

Another interesting fact is that early computer-based charting tools struggled with area fill rendering, which is why older reports often preferred line charts instead. Modern software renders area segments far more accurately, making area charts a reliable option today.

In addition, transparency settings in today’s charting tools allow designers to create layered visuals without hiding important details, something that was nearly impossible in earlier spreadsheet programs.

You might also be surprised to know that area charts are frequently used in financial dashboards to illustrate stacked revenue streams, cost components, or energy usage patterns, giving executives a quick snapshot of operational changes.

Common Mistakes When Graphing Area Charts

It’s easy to misuse area charts if you don’t match the visualization to your data. One common challenge is selecting too many categories, which can make the stacked layers difficult to distinguish and can obscure the overall trend. Here are some important mistakes to consider.

• Using too many series: More than four datasets can make the chart unreadable.
• Incorrect order: Misordered stacking can misrepresent the total.
• Ignoring baseline: Always start from zero to prevent visual distortion.
• Poor color contrast: Use distinct, complementary colors for clarity.

Avoiding these mistakes ensures your charts accurately communicate data trends.

Related Graph Types To Explore

Before deciding on an area chart, it’s worth comparing it with similar visual formats. Different chart types—like line charts, stacked bar charts, or 100% stacked bar charts—may tell the same story more clearly, depending on your dataset and message.

• Line Charts: Show trends without emphasizing totals.
• Bar Charts: Better for comparing discrete categories.
• Stream Graphs: A curved, flowing version of stacked area charts for visual storytelling.

These related chart types can help you decide which visualization best suits your data.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main purpose of an area graph or chart?

The main purpose of an area graph is to show how values change over time while emphasizing the magnitude of those values. By filling the space under the line, the chart highlights not just the trend but also the volume or overall contribution of each data series.

Area charts are especially useful when you want to help viewers understand cumulative patterns or observe how parts contribute to the whole across a timeline. Because the filled area draws the eye, this format makes rising or falling totals easy to spot.

How is an area chart different from a line chart?

A line chart focuses on the direction and relationship of changes, using lines alone to track movement from point to point. An area chart, on the other hand, fills the space beneath the line, visually amplifying the shape and magnitude of the data.

This filled region gives area charts a stronger sense of “mass,” making them better suited when you want to emphasize how big a value is or how much each part contributes over time. However, the fill can obscure overlapping trends, meaning line charts remain better for comparing precise movements between multiple series.

When should I use a stacked area chart?

A stacked area chart is ideal when you want to show how different categories add up to a total and how those contributions change over time. It is especially helpful for illustrating the distribution of multiple processes, product lines, or groups that work together to form an overall result.

Use a stacked area chart when your audience needs to see both the individual and cumulative trends in one view. It’s most effective when categories maintain a relatively stable order, as frequent crossovers can make the layers harder to interpret.

Can I make an area chart in Excel?

Yes, Excel includes built-in area chart options, including standard area charts, stacked area charts, and 100% stacked variants. Creating one simply requires selecting your data and choosing the appropriate chart type from the Insert menu.

Excel also provides tools for customizing colors, applying transparency, adjusting axes, and adding labels. These enhancements can make the chart more readable and allow you to tailor the visualization to specific reporting or presentation needs.

What is a proportional area chart used for?

A proportional area chart shows each category as a percentage of the whole rather than using raw values. This makes it useful when your goal is to highlight changes in distribution or share over time, even when the absolute totals fluctuate.

Analysts often use proportional area charts to track market share, demographic splits, or budget allocations across periods. Because the total always equals 100%, viewers can quickly compare shifts in proportion without being misled by changes in overall scale.

Are area graphs good for comparing exact values?

Area graphs are not ideal for pinpointing exact values because the filled regions can make it difficult to read precise data points. While they show general trends and overall magnitudes well, the emphasis is on shape and volume rather than numerical accuracy.

If exact comparisons are important, for example, matching specific figures between categories, line charts, bar charts, or tables provide clearer and more reliable detail. Area charts work best for big-picture storytelling rather than precise numeric comparison.

What are the advantages of area graphs?

Area graphs excel at showing cumulative trends, making them great for illustrating growth, combined totals, or shifting contributions. The filled area helps create a stronger visual impact than a simple line chart, allowing trends to stand out more clearly.

They also offer flexibility, with options for standard, stacked, and proportional versions. Each type can highlight a different aspect of your data, from raw totals to part-to-whole relationships. When used thoughtfully, area charts can simplify complex information into an easy-to-read visual.

Is a stacked area graph the same as a stacked area chart?

Yes, the terms “stacked area graph” and “stacked area chart” generally refer to the same visualization. Both describe a chart where multiple data series are layered on top of one another, creating a cumulative effect.

Different industries or software tools may prefer one term over the other, but the underlying design and interpretation remain the same. Both help viewers understand how individual parts contribute to an overall total across time.

Conclusion

An area chart is a powerful visualization tool for showing cumulative trends and highlighting overall magnitude. Whether you use a simple, a stacked, or a proportional chart, each type has unique advantages for different datasets.

By following best practices and using tools like Excel area charts or Excel stacked area graphs or charts, you can present your data clearly and effectively. Area graphs remain one of the most visually appealing ways to communicate changes and totals over time.