How to Create Bar Chart with Multiple Categories in Excel

A bar chart is an excellent option for visual representation of data in Excel. And it’s possible to create a bar chart with multiple categories in Excel. If we have items in the dataset that can be arranged in category and sub-category, then we can use a multi-level bar chart. In this article, we will discuss step-by-step procedures to create a bar chart with multiple categories.

Excel Bar Chart with Multiple Categories: Step-by-Step Procedures

It’s quite simple to make the bar chart in Excel with multiple categories. Here, we will discuss the steps to create a bar chart that includes categories and subcategories. Then we will do some additional formatting to the chart for better clarification and visualization.

STEP 1: Create Dataset for Bar Chart with Multiple Categories

Firstly, create a dataset for the bar chart that includes categories, sub-categories, and items in three separate columns.
For example, we have included a category column Product Type, sub-categories column Product, and items column Quantity.

Note: Leave 2 blank rows in between each category and insert a space in the first empty cell of the blank row for better visualization of the chart.

STEP 2: Create Bar Chart Using Insert Tab of Excel

Secondly, select the whole dataset to create a bar chart with it.

Then, go to the Insert tab and select Insert Column or Bar Chart > 2-D Bar > Clustered Bar.

Instantly, we will see a bar chart with multiple categories created in our worksheet.
Further, you can double-click on the chart title and give it a name.

STEP 3: Give Different Colors to Bar Chart

All the bars from different categories are of the same color in our bar chart. Let’s change that.

Firstly, click on the chart. It will select all the chart items.
Again, click on a single item and it will be selected like in the screenshot given below.

Afterward, go to the Format tab and select a color from the Shape Fill option.

Also, do the same steps for giving different colors to items from different categories.

STEP 4: Do Some Additional Formatting

So far we have created the basic bar chart with multiple categories. Let’s do some formatting on it for better visualization. For that follow the procedures given below.

Firstly, select the bar chart.
Then, from the upper right corner of the chart select Chart Elements.
Now, select Data Labels. It will attach data labels to the chart elements.
Also, unselect Gridlines and the gridlines from the graph will vanish.

Afterward, double-click on the chart.
Instantly, the Format Chart Area pane will appear.
Later on, select Border from the pane. You can choose the borderline type from here.
We selected Solid Line. Also, you can choose different colors and line widths for the border line from this section.

Final Output

After following all the previous steps given, we will get the bar chart graph with multiple categories like the following screenshot.

How to Convert Bar Chart to Column Chart in Excel

In the previous section, we have created a bar chart with multiple categories. We can easily convert it to a column chart with multiple categories.

Follow the given steps below for converting a bar chart to a column chart.

Primarily, create a bar chart following the steps given in the previous section.
Then, right-click on the bar chart.
Afterward, from the appeared lists select Change Chart Type.

Instantly, the Change Chart Type window will appear.
Select Column > Clustered Column from the window.
Finally, press OK.

As a result, we will see our bar chart converted to a column chart with multiple categories as in the screenshot given below.

Read More: Column Chart vs Bar Chart in Excel

Download Practice Workbook

You can download the practice workbook from here.

Bar Chart with Multiple Categories.xlsx

Conclusion

In this article, we have shown step-by-step procedures to create a bar chart with multiple categories. I hope you will find it helpful. If you have any queries or suggestions about the article, please let us know in the comment section.

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