The line graph is one of the basic graphs of Excel. We can simply select data and choose the line chart to make a line graph. But adding percentages in the line graph is a little bit tricky task. In this article, I will discuss 2 methods to make a percentage line graph in Excel.
How to Make a Percentage Line Graph in Excel: 2 Ways
We will show two methods here. One is a simple line graph adding a percentage. Another one is the stacked line graph which contains percentages by default. So, let’s see the section below.
1. Making a Simple Percentage Line Graph
In this method, we will use the basic line graph feature to make a percentage line graph in Excel.
We will utilize the following dataset for this purpose.
📌 Steps:
- First, select Range B5:C9.
- Then, go to the Insert tab.
- After that, choose the Line with Markers option from the chart list.
- Now, look at the following graph.
Values are not showing in percentage, right? To make this possible-
- Select the Vertical Axis and press the right button of the mouse.
- Next, choose the Format Axis option from the Context Menu.
We can see the Format Axis window on the left side.
- Now, go to the Axis Options field and click on the Number drop-down.
- From here, choose Percentage as Category.
- Put 0 on the Decimal places box.
Now again, look at the graph! We can see values are showing in the percentage form in the Vertical Axis.
Read More: How to Make a Single Line Graph in Excel
2. Making a Stacked Line Graph with Percentages
In this part, we will use the 100% stacked line graph feature. It is worth mentioning that we do not need to add percentages in this graph separately.
We will consider the following dataset, which expresses the monthly cost.
📌 Steps:
- First, select the whole dataset.
- Then choose the 100% Stacked Line with Markers option from the Chart list.
Look at the following graph. We can see the percentage value is shown in the vertical axis.
Read More: How to Make a Line Graph in Excel with Multiple Variables
How to Make a Percentage Bar Graph in Excel
Now in this section, we will see more; we will make a percentage bar graph in Excel.
Let’s consider the ratio of different types of costs and present them in percentages with a bar graph in Excel.
📌 Steps:
- First off, select Range B5:C8.
- Next, choose the Clustered Column as the chart type as shown before.
The following graph will be generated.
- Now, click on the Vertical Axis. Then press the right button of the mouse.
- Choose the Format Axis option from the Context Menu.
- We can see the Format Axis window on the left side.
- Set Percentage as Category and Decimal places.
- Again, look at the graph.
The percentage value is shown in the Vertical Axis.
How to Show Percentage Change in an Excel Graph
More to add, we will make a graph and show the change in percentage in Excel within the graph.
We will compare the profit months. And then show the percentage difference.
📌 Steps:
- Go to Cell D5 and put in the following formula.
=C6-C5Â
- Press the Enter button and drag the Fill Handle icon.
- Now, we will calculate the percentage difference. Put the following formula on Cell E5.
=D5/C5
- Again, press the Enter button and pull the Fill Handle icon.
- Now, select Range B4:C11. Select the Cluster Column option from the Chart.
- Press the right button of the mouse keeping the mouse on the Vertical Axis.
- Choose More Options from the Error Bars drop-down.
- Check the options shown in the marked section.
- Choose Specify Value from the Custom section.
- Select the difference range from the dataset.
Look at the graph. We can see a borderline on each bar.
- Click on the border. Then, click on the plus button.
- Select the More Options from the Data Labels drop-down.
- Mark the Value From Cells option.
- Choose the Percentage range here.
- Finally, we can see the percentage value shown in the graph.
Download Practice Workbook
Download the following practice workbook to exercise while you are reading this article.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve described 2 ways to make a percentage line graph in Excel. We’ve also shown a bar graph here. I hope this will satisfy your needs. However, if you have any questions, leave us a comment.
