How to Make a Stacked Column Chart in Excel

To make a stacked column chart in Excel, select your data (including the headings), go to the Insert tab, click Insert Column or Bar Chart in the Charts group, and choose Stacked Column under 2-D Column. Excel draws one column per category, with each part stacked on top of the last, so the height of each column is the total. If the wrong things end up stacked, click the chart and choose Chart Design > Switch Row/Column.

Applies to: Excel for Microsoft 365 (Windows and Mac), Excel 2024 and Excel 2021, with the same chart type in older desktop versions and in Excel for the web. Button names can differ slightly on a Mac and in the web version, and the web version has fewer formatting options.

Which stacked chart do you need?

The Insert Column or Bar Chart menu offers several column charts that look alike in the thumbnails. Microsoft’s list of available chart types describes the stacked column as the one to use “when you have multiple data series and you want to emphasize the total.” If the two series measure different things, such as sales and margin, a combo chart is a better fit, and this guide to combining two charts into one walks through it.

Chart	What the column height means	Use it when
Stacked Column	The actual total for that category	Both the total and its parts matter, such as monthly sales split by region
100% Stacked Column	Always 100%; each segment is a share	You care about the mix, such as each region’s share of the month, more than the size
Clustered Column	No stacking; parts sit side by side	You want to compare the parts with each other more than the total
3-D Stacked Column	Same as Stacked Column, drawn with depth	Rarely; the perspective makes segment sizes harder to judge

One limit to keep in mind: only the bottom segment of each column starts from the same baseline, so it’s the only part readers can compare precisely between columns. Put the series that matters most at the bottom (see Change which part sits at the bottom), and keep the number of segments small, ideally five or fewer. If your category names are long, a horizontal version may read better; this walkthrough on creating a stacked bar chart in Excel covers that layout.

Set up the data first

Excel builds a clean stacked column chart from a simple grid. This example tracks fictional sales (in thousands of dollars) for three regions over four months:

Month	North	South	East
Jan	120	95	60
Feb	135	88	72
Mar	150	102	80
Apr	142	110	91

• Categories down the first column. Each row (Jan, Feb, and so on) becomes one column in the chart.
• One heading per part. Each column to the right (North, South, East) becomes a colored segment and a legend entry, so give each one a clear heading.
• No totals or blank rows inside the range. A Total row or column would be stacked on top of the parts and double the height of every column. If you need totals for labels, add them separately as shown in Add a total on top of each column.
• Text for category labels. If your first column holds years (2023, 2024), Excel may treat them as numbers to plot. Type a heading such as Year above them, or format the year cells as Text before you insert the chart.

How to make a stacked column chart

1. Select the data. Drag from the top-left heading cell (Month in the example) to the last number. Include the headings so Excel can name the series and label the axis.
2. Open the chart menu. Go to the Insert tab and, in the Charts group, click Insert Column or Bar Chart (the small icon of vertical bars). A menu opens with 2-D Column, 3-D Column, 2-D Bar and 3-D Bar sections.
3. Choose Stacked Column. Under 2-D Column, pick Stacked Column, the second thumbnail. Hover over a thumbnail first if you want a live preview on the sheet. The chart appears in the middle of the worksheet with a legend below it.

4. Check what got stacked. You should see one column per month, each split into North, South and East. If you see one column per region split by month instead, click the chart and choose Chart Design > Switch Row/Column.
5. Give it a title. Click the Chart Title placeholder and type something specific, such as “Sales by region, January to April.”
6. Move or resize the chart. Drag the chart border to move it and drag a corner handle to resize it. To put it on its own sheet, choose Chart Design > Move Chart > New sheet.

A quicker route on Windows: select the data and press Alt + F1. Microsoft’s create a chart from start to finish page notes that this inserts a default chart immediately, which is usually a clustered column, so you’d then switch it with Chart Design > Change Chart Type > Stacked Column. Insert > Recommended Charts > All Charts > Column also lists Stacked Column with a larger preview.

The chart stays linked to the cells, so changing a number in the table updates the column right away.

Make a 100% stacked column chart instead

Follow the same steps, but in step 3 choose 100% Stacked Column (the third thumbnail under 2-D Column). Every column reaches the top of the chart and the vertical axis runs from 0% to 100%.

Data labels on this chart still show the raw numbers from your table, not percentages. To label each segment with its share, calculate the percentages in helper cells first. In the example, the North share for January is =B2/SUM(B2:D2), which returns about 43.6% (120 out of 275). Then add data labels and point them at those cells with Format Data Labels > Label Options > Value From Cells, as described in Microsoft’s data labels guide. Do this for each series, choosing that series’ percentage cells.

Fix the stacking direction with Switch Row/Column

Excel guesses which part of your table becomes the stacked segments. According to Microsoft’s page on how rows and columns are plotted, Excel puts whichever is larger, the number of rows or the number of columns, on the horizontal axis. With four months and three regions, the months go along the bottom, which is what you want. If you had only two months and three regions, Excel would put the regions along the bottom instead.

To flip it, click anywhere on the chart and choose Chart Design > Switch Row/Column (in the Data group). Click it again to flip back. It doesn’t change your worksheet, only how the chart reads it.

Change which part sits at the bottom

In a stacked column, the first series in the chart’s series list is drawn at the bottom of each stack. To reorder the segments:

1. Right-click the chart and choose Select Data (or click Chart Design > Select Data).
2. In the Select Data Source dialog, click a series under Legend Entries (Series).
3. Use the Move Up and Move Down arrow buttons to change its position. Moving a series up the list moves it toward the bottom of the stack.

4. Click OK. The colors follow their series, so North stays the same color wherever it lands.

Microsoft’s plotting order article covers the same dialog, plus Categories in reverse order on the horizontal axis if you want the months to run right to left. If the legend order no longer matches the stack, moving the legend to the right side of the chart (Chart Elements > Legend > Right) usually makes it line up with the segments.

Add a total on top of each column

Data labels in a stacked column label each segment, not the whole column, and Microsoft’s data labels documentation doesn’t describe a built-in total label for this chart type. The common approach is a helper series that is shown only as labels:

1. Add a Total column next to your data. In the example, put Total in E1 and =SUM(B2:D2) in E2, then fill it down. The totals are 275, 295, 332 and 343.
2. Add it to the chart. Right-click the chart, choose Select Data, click Add, set Series name to E1 and Series values to E2:E5, and click OK twice. For a moment the Total sits on top of the stack and every column doubles in height. That’s expected.
3. Turn the Total into a line. Right-click the Total segment and choose Change Series Chart Type. In the Combo view, set the Total series to Line, leave the other series as Stacked Column, and make sure Secondary Axis is not checked for Total. Click OK. The columns return to their real height and a line runs across their tops.

4. Label the line. Click the line, then use Chart Elements (the plus button beside the chart) > Data Labels > Above.
5. Hide the line. Right-click the line, choose Format Data Series, open Fill & Line, and set Line to No line. If markers show, set Marker > Marker Options to None.
6. Remove Total from the legend. Click the legend once, click the Total entry again so only it is selected, and press Delete.

The totals now float just above each column and update whenever the table changes. If you ever delete the Total cells, the helper series breaks, so keep the column (you can hide it). Microsoft’s combination chart article explains changing the chart type of a single series in more detail.

Format the columns, labels and colors

• Segment values: select the chart, click Chart Elements (plus button) and check Data Labels. For a stacked column, Center is usually the easiest position to read. On tiny segments, click that single label twice and press Delete.
• Wider or thinner columns: right-click a column, choose Format Data Series, and lower the Gap Width under Series Options. A smaller value means wider columns with less space between them.
• Colors: pick a palette from Chart Design > Change Colors, or right-click one series, choose Fill, and pick a color. Shades of one color for minor series and a strong color for the key series keep the chart easy to scan.
• Axis titles and gridlines: turn them on or off from Chart Elements. If you label every segment, you can often remove the vertical axis and gridlines.
• Lines between segments: Chart Design > Add Chart Element > Lines > Series Lines connects matching segments from column to column, which helps readers follow a series. Microsoft notes that series lines are available for 2-D stacked bar and column charts.
• Reuse the look: right-click the finished chart and choose Save as Template. Microsoft’s chart template page explains that the saved .crtx file then shows up in the Templates folder on the All Charts tab of the Insert Chart and Change Chart Type dialogs.

For broader changes such as editing the axis range, renaming a series or changing the data source, see this guide to editing a graph in Excel. Renaming or repositioning legend entries is covered in how to edit the legend in Excel.

Troubleshooting

The columns are side by side, not stacked

The chart is a Clustered Column. Click the chart, choose Chart Design > Change Chart Type, and pick Stacked Column.

There’s an extra series named “Year” or a column that’s far too tall

Excel plotted a column you meant as labels (often years) or a Total column. Open Select Data, select that series under Legend Entries and click Remove. If it should be the axis labels, click Edit under Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels and select those cells.

The horizontal axis shows 1, 2, 3, 4 instead of names

Excel didn’t find text labels in the first column. Use Select Data > Horizontal (Category) Axis Labels > Edit and select the label cells, or add a heading above the labels and recreate the chart.

Some segments hang below zero

Negative values are drawn below the horizontal axis rather than inside the stack, which can make the total hard to read. If your data mixes positives and negatives, a clustered column chart or a separate chart for the negative values is usually clearer.

New rows don’t appear in the chart

A chart only plots the range it was built from. Extend the range in Select Data, or build the chart from an Excel table (select the data and press Ctrl + T first) so rows you add to the table are generally picked up by the chart.

Trendline is missing or grayed out

Trendlines are generally not offered for stacked chart types. To show a trend in the totals, add the Total helper series from the totals section and keep its line visible instead of hiding it, or make a separate line chart of the totals.

Check the result and undo changes

A quick check: hover over the top segment of any column. The tooltip shows the series, the category and the value, which should match the cell in your table. The top of the column should line up with the total for that row on the vertical axis.

To undo, press Ctrl + Z (Command + Z on a Mac) right after a change. To go back to plain columns later, use Change Chart Type. To remove the chart entirely, click its border and press Delete; your data is not affected.

Frequently asked questions

Can I combine stacked and clustered columns in one chart?

Not as a single built-in chart type. The usual workaround is to rearrange the source data so each group gets its own rows with a blank row between groups, then use a stacked column chart with a small gap width. Another option is a combo chart that puts one stacked group on a secondary axis, but the two axes must then be set to the same scale by hand.

How do I show percentages and actual values in the same chart?

Use a regular Stacked Column for the values, then build label text in helper cells, for example =B2&” (“&TEXT(B2/SUM($B2:$D2),”0%”)&”)”, which shows “120 (44%)” for North in January. Point each series’ data labels at its helper cells with Value From Cells.

Does this work in Excel for the web and on a Mac?

On a Mac, the steps are essentially the same: Microsoft’s template and data label pages list Excel for Microsoft 365 for Mac alongside Windows. Excel for the web can also insert a stacked column from the Insert tab, but some steps here, such as saving a chart template, are documented only for the desktop apps, and the web version generally has fewer formatting options. If an option is missing online, open the file in the desktop app to finish the formatting.

How many series can a stacked column chart hold?

Excel will stack many series, but readability drops quickly past five or six because the upper segments float at different heights. Group small categories into an “Other” series, or split the data into two charts.

Why does my chart change when I sort the table?

The chart follows the order of the rows in the range. Sorting the table by total, for example, rearranges the columns from largest to smallest, which is often a useful way to make the biggest category stand out.

Once the chart reads well, a reference line can make targets easier to spot; see adding an average line in Excel for one way to do it.