How to Add Multiple Data Sets to a Graph in Excel

To put multiple data sets on one graph in Excel, select all of the data, headers included, before you insert the chart. Excel turns each column into its own series with its own line or set of bars. If the chart already exists, click it, select Chart Design > Select Data, and click Add for each new data set. When the data sets use very different scales, such as revenue in thousands next to a percentage, switch the chart to a Combo chart and put the smaller one on a secondary axis.

Applies to: Excel for Microsoft 365 (Windows and Mac), Excel 2024 and Excel 2021. Excel for the web handles the first method well; its other chart tools are covered in Mac and web differences. The steps follow Microsoft’s Add a data series to your chart page.

Which method should you use?

• No chart yet: select everything and insert the chart (Method 1). It’s the fastest and works the same everywhere.
• Chart exists, new data sits right beside the old data: drag the range handles (Method 2) or copy and paste (Method 3).
• Chart exists, new data is somewhere else (another column far away, another sheet): use Select Data (Method 4).
• One data set is much bigger or smaller than the others: add a secondary axis with a combo chart (Method 5).
• Each data set has its own X values: use a scatter chart (Method 6).

Set up your data first

A tidy layout does half the work, because Excel reads the shape of your selection to decide what becomes a series and what becomes a label.

• Put the categories or dates down the first column, for example months in A2:A13.
• Give each data set its own column to the right, such as 2025 sales in column B and 2026 sales in column C.
• Type a header in the first row of every column. Excel uses each header as that series’ name in the legend.
• Avoid blank rows, merged cells and subtotal rows inside the block. They create gaps or extra series.
• Make sure the numbers are real numbers, not text. Numbers stored as text usually sit on the left of the cell and show a small green triangle.

Here’s the sample used below: column A holds months (Jan to Dec), column B is “Alex’s store,” column C is “Jordan’s store,” and column D is “Return rate” (a percentage).

Method 1: Select all the data and insert a chart

1. Click the top-left header cell (A1) and drag to the last number (C13). Excel highlights the block.
2. Select the Insert tab. In the Charts group, pick a type such as Insert Line or Area Chart > Line with Markers, or Insert Column or Bar Chart > Clustered Column. If you’re unsure, Recommended Charts shows previews of your actual data.
3. Check the result: you should see one line (or one color of bar) per data column, the months along the bottom, and a legend with the header names.

Data sets that aren’t side by side: select the category column with its header, hold Ctrl (Command on a Mac), and select each other column you want, header included. Every selection must cover the same rows. Then insert the chart as above, and Excel uses the first column for the axis labels.

If Excel plots the months as the series and your data sets along the bottom, click the chart and select Chart Design > Switch Row/Column.

Method 2: Drag the range handles to take in new data

Use this when the new column or rows are directly next to, or directly below, the chart’s existing data and the chart is on the same worksheet.

1. Type the new data set in the next empty column, for example “Priya’s store” in column D, with its header in D1.
2. Click the chart. Excel outlines the source data on the sheet with colored boxes: one around the series names, one around the values and one around the category labels.
3. Drag the small square handle at the corner of the values box so it includes the new column.

The chart updates as soon as you let go, and the new header appears in the legend. Microsoft notes that this only works when the chart sits on the same worksheet as its data. For a chart on its own chart sheet, use Method 4.

Method 3: Copy and paste onto the chart

1. Select the new data, including its header and only the same rows as the existing chart (for example D1:D13).
2. Press Ctrl + C (Command + C on a Mac).
3. Click an empty part of the chart so the whole chart is selected, not a single line or bar.
4. Press Ctrl + V (Command + V). Excel adds the data as a new series.

If the pasted data shows up the wrong way round (twelve tiny series instead of one), undo with Ctrl + Z. On Windows, you can instead paste with Home > Paste > Paste Special, which lets you choose New series and whether the values are in rows or columns.

Method 4: Add a data set with Select Data

This is the most flexible method. It works for data anywhere in the workbook, including another sheet.

1. Click the chart. The Chart Design and Format tabs appear on the ribbon.
2. Select Chart Design > Select Data, or right-click the chart and choose Select Data. The Select Data Source window opens.
3. Under Legend Entries (Series), click Add. A small Edit Series box appears.
4. Click in Series name, then click the header cell of the new data, such as D1. You can also type a name.
5. Delete everything in Series values (it usually contains ={1}), then drag across the new numbers, such as D2:D13. To use data on another sheet, click that sheet’s tab first, then select the cells.

6. Click OK to close Edit Series. The new series appears in the list.
7. Repeat steps 3 to 6 for each extra data set, then click OK.

While the Select Data Source window is open, you can also:

• Change the series order with the Move Up and Move Down arrows. The order controls which bars come first in each cluster and the legend order.
• Rename a series by selecting it and clicking Edit. A typed name shows in the legend but isn’t written back to the worksheet.
• Fix the labels along the bottom with Edit under Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels.
• Take a series off with Remove. Microsoft warns that a removed series can’t be brought back with chart filters; you’d have to add it again. To hide a series temporarily instead, click the chart, click the Chart Filters (funnel) button beside it, clear the series’ check box and click Apply.

Microsoft’s Change the data series in a chart page covers these editing options in more detail.

Method 5: Use a combo chart with a secondary axis

If Alex’s and Jordan’s sales are in the thousands and the return rate is between 0 and 1, the return rate shows up as a flat line along the bottom. A secondary axis gives it its own scale on the right side.

1. Make sure all the data sets are already on the chart (any method above).
2. Click the chart and select Chart Design > Change Chart Type.
3. On the All Charts tab, select Combo at the bottom of the list.
4. For the small data set (Return rate), pick Line in its chart type box and tick Secondary Axis. Leave the sales series as Clustered Column.

5. Click OK. You should see columns measured on the left axis and a line measured on a new right axis.

For a single series, a shortcut is to right-click the flat line, choose Format Data Series, and under Series Options select Secondary Axis. Starting from scratch, you can also select the data and use Insert > Recommended Charts > All Charts > Combo.

Two axes are easy to misread, so add axis titles: click the chart, click the + (Chart Elements) button, and tick Axis Titles. Name the right axis something like “Return rate” so nobody reads the line against the sales scale. Microsoft’s secondary axis page has the same steps. Combo charts only work with 2-D chart types, so switch away from any 3-D style first.

Method 6: Data sets with their own X values (scatter chart)

Line and column charts share one set of categories along the bottom. If your data sets were measured at different points, such as two experiments with different reading times, use a scatter chart so each series keeps its own X values.

1. Select the first data set’s X and Y columns and choose Insert > Insert Scatter (X, Y) or Bubble Chart > Scatter (or Scatter with Straight Lines and Markers).
2. Open Chart Design > Select Data and click Add.
3. Fill in Series name, Series X values and Series Y values for the second data set. Clear any placeholder such as ={1} before selecting cells.
4. Click OK twice. Both series now share the same axes, each plotted at its own X positions.

Mac and web differences

• Excel for Mac: the ribbon uses the same Insert, Chart Design and Select Data names, and Microsoft’s instructions are the same for Mac. Use Command instead of Ctrl for shortcuts and for selecting columns that aren’t next to each other. The Select Data Source window is laid out differently: the series list and the name and value boxes for the selected series share one window, and adding or removing a series is done with the plus and minus buttons under the list.
• Excel for the web: selecting all the data before inserting the chart (Method 1) is the most dependable route. Its chart editing options are simpler than the desktop app’s, so if you can’t find a control described here, select the cells you need again and insert a fresh chart, or open the file in the desktop app with Editing > Open in Desktop App.

Keep a multi-series graph readable

• Limit the lines. Excel allows up to 255 data series in one chart according to Microsoft’s Excel specifications and limits, but more than five or six lines gets hard to follow. Split the rest into separate charts.
• Use distinct colors or line styles. Right-click a series, choose Format Data Series, and change the line or fill. Dashed lines help when the chart will be printed in black and white.
• Name the chart. Click the title and type something specific, such as “Monthly sales, Alex vs. Jordan, 2026.”
• Add a reference line if you’re comparing data sets to a benchmark. You can add an average line to an Excel chart as an extra series.

Titles, axes and other formatting are covered in editing a graph in Excel, and the legend in particular in how to edit the legend. If you need to show totals made up of several data sets, a stacked column chart may work better than side-by-side bars. When each data set is one part of a total, try a stacked bar chart so every bar shows the parts and the whole together.

Troubleshooting

The new series is a flat line at zero

Either the values are stored as text or the scales are very different. For text, select the cells, click the warning icon and choose Convert to Number. For scale, use a secondary axis (Method 5).

The legend says “Series1” and “Series2”

The headers weren’t part of the selection. Open Select Data, select each series, click Edit, and pick the header cell in Series name.

The dates or years show up as a data set

Excel read the date or year column as numbers to plot. Open Select Data, Remove that series, then click Edit under Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels and select the dates. Leaving the header cell above the dates blank before you insert the chart also helps Excel treat them as labels.

The new data doesn’t appear even though the range includes it

Check whether those rows or columns are hidden. By default, charts skip hidden cells. Either unhide them, or open Select Data, click Hidden and Empty Cells, and tick Show data in hidden rows and columns.

Check your work and undo changes

Click the chart and look at the colored outlines on the sheet: every data set you meant to include should be inside one of them, or listed under Legend Entries (Series) in Select Data. Hover over a line or bar to see its series name and value. To back out a change, press Ctrl + Z (Command + Z) right away, or remove the extra series in Select Data. To turn a combo chart back into a single type, open Change Chart Type and pick a regular chart.

Frequently asked questions

Can I merge two existing charts into one?

Not with a single command. Copy the data behind one chart and paste it onto the other (Method 3), or add it with Select Data, then delete the chart you no longer need. There’s a fuller walk-through of combining two charts in Excel.

Can a chart use data from several sheets?

Yes. In Select Data > Add, click the other sheet’s tab while choosing the series values. Microsoft’s limits page allows a chart to refer to up to 255 worksheets.

Will the chart grow when I add more rows?

Not on its own for a plain range; you’d drag the handles or edit the series. If you first turn the data into a table with Insert > Table and build the chart from the table, new rows typed directly under it are generally picked up by the chart automatically.

Can I mix a line and columns without a secondary axis?

Yes. In the Combo settings, give each series the type you want and leave Secondary Axis unticked. That suits a target line over monthly bars when both use the same units.

Next step

Once your data sets are on one chart and readable, add a trend for each one with a line of best fit, or put the finished chart into a report by copying the graph from Excel to Word. If a chart has gone missing from the sheet, see how to unhide a chart in Excel.