Free Bar Chart Generator

What is a bar chart

A bar chart shows data as rectangular bars where the length or height of each bar represents a value. Bar charts are one of the most common chart types because they make comparisons between categories easy to read at a glance.

Use a bar chart when you want to compare discrete categories: monthly revenue, survey responses, product performance, team output. If your data has 3-20 categories and you want to show “which is bigger,” a bar chart is probably the right choice.

This tool renders your chart in the browser using Chart.js. No data leaves your device. You edit values directly in the table, the chart updates live, and you can download a clean PNG when you’re done.

How it works

1. Edit the sample data in the table or paste your own from a spreadsheet
2. Add or remove rows and series as needed
3. Customize the chart title, axis labels, colors, and orientation
4. The chart updates instantly as you type
5. Click “Download PNG” to save a clean image file

Bar chart vs. histogram

Bar charts and histograms look similar but show different things. A bar chart compares separate categories (product names, months, countries). A histogram shows the distribution of a continuous variable (age ranges, price buckets, test scores).

The key difference: bar chart categories are independent and can be reordered. Histogram bins are sequential and cannot.

Types of bar charts

• Vertical bar chart (column chart) – the default. Bars extend upward from the x-axis. Good for most comparisons.
• Horizontal bar chart – bars extend rightward from the y-axis. Better when category labels are long or you’re showing ranked data.
• Stacked bar chart – multiple series stacked on top of each other. Shows part-to-whole relationships while still comparing totals across categories.
• Grouped bar chart (clustered) – multiple series placed side by side within each category. Best for directly comparing individual series values.

When to use a bar chart

Bar charts work well for:

• Comparing values across categories (sales by product, headcount by department)
• Showing rankings (top 10 countries, highest-performing reps)
• Tracking a metric over a small number of time periods (quarterly results)
• Survey results with discrete answer options

If you have more than 20 data points or a continuous time series, a line chart is usually a better fit.