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Excel to chart

Copy cells in Excel or Google Sheets, paste them here, and get a chart you can download.

What this page does

  • Paste cells copied from Excel or Google Sheets (tab-separated text)
  • Load .xlsx files (first worksheet)
  • Numbers formatted with a decimal comma are understood
  • Swap rows and columns
  • Edit the table after importing
Bar chart: Orders per quarter. 2 series (This year and Last year) across 4 categories, from Q1 to Q4. This year: highest 580 (Q4), lowest 420 (Q1). Last year: highest 495 (Q4), lowest 380 (Q1).Orders per quarterSample data: this year against last yearThis yearLast year0100200300400500600Q1Q2Q3Q4420510465580380430470495
PNG scale

SVG 1600 × 900 px · PNG 3200 × 1800 px · 16:9

No account and no watermark. The file has the Inter font embedded, named layers and the chart’s alt text, so it looks the same in a slide, a document or a browser. Not every app reads alt text stored in a file, so also paste it into the image’s alt text field.

Alt text: Bar chart: Orders per quarter. 2 series (This year and Last year) across 4 categories, from Q1 to Q4. This year: highest 580 (Q4), lowest 420 (Q1). Last year: highest 495 (Q4), lowest 380 (Q1).

Your data

First column: labels. Other columns: one series each. The file is read in your browser and is not uploaded.

Table

4 × 2

Label
Remove row

Design

Chart type

Direction
Series

Text

Numbers

Colours

Output

Proportion

320 to 4000 px. PNG multiplies it by the scale.

Background
  1. Step 1: Pick a chart typeBar, line, pie, scatter, area or radar. You can switch at any time.
  2. Step 2: Put in your numbersPaste cells from Excel or Google Sheets, load a file, or type in the table.
  3. Step 3: Download the pictureA PNG for slides and documents, or an SVG you can edit.

Start from an example

Click one to load it in the editor, then replace the sample numbers with yours.

Other chart makers

Each page opens the editor on that chart, with a short guide to reading and drawing it well.

Copy the cells in Excel or Google Sheets and paste them here, or load the .xlsx file. The workbook is read in your browser, and the chart exports as SVG or PNG with no account.

How to chart Excel data

By copying and pasting

  1. In Excel or Google Sheets, select the cells: the label column, the number columns and the header row.
  2. Copy them (Ctrl+C, or ⌘C on a Mac).
  3. Click the paste box in the Data panel and paste (Ctrl+V or ⌘V). The table and the chart update at once.

By loading the workbook

  1. Choose “Load CSV or XLSX” in the Data panel and pick the .xlsx file, or drag it onto the paste box.
  2. The values of the first worksheet are read into the table.

Why pasting works

When you copy cells, a spreadsheet puts them on the clipboard as plain text with a tab between columns and a line break between rows. This page reads that text. The numbers arrive as they are displayed, so a cell showing “1.234,56” or “R$ 1.234,56” is read as 1234.56 once the decimal comma is detected, and a cell showing “45%” is read as 45.

Because the displayed text is what travels, rounding in the cell format travels too. If a cell holds 3.14159 and shows 3.14, the chart gets 3.14. Widen the number format in the spreadsheet first if you need more digits.

What is read from an .xlsx file

  • Read: text and numbers of the first worksheet, and the stored results of formulas.
  • Not read: other worksheets, cell formats, colours, merged-cell layout, charts and pivot tables in the workbook.
  • Dates: stored as serial numbers, so a date column shows numbers such as 45292. Paste the cells instead to keep the dates as written.
  • .xls: the older binary format is not supported; save as .xlsx or .csv.

The file is opened by code on this page. An .xlsx file is a ZIP archive of XML files; the page unpacks the parts it needs in your browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.

Shaping the table for a chart

Charts want a plain rectangle: one header row, one label column, numbers everywhere else. Before copying, leave out total rows (they would become one giant bar), blank separator rows and notes. If the series run across rows, paste first and then use “Swap rows and columns”.

From here, pick the form that fits the question: a bar chart to compare, a line graph for a trend, a pie chart for shares. For text files exported from other systems, see CSV to chart.

Why use Plot Tools

What you can check for yourself, without taking our word for it.

No account, no watermark
The download buttons work straight away. The exported file holds your chart, your text and the font, and nothing else.
Your data stays in the browser
Pasted cells and loaded files are parsed and drawn on this page. There is no upload step, and the site’s security policy only allows connections to itself.
The PNG matches the screen
The Inter font is embedded in the SVG before it is rasterised, so the labels in the PNG sit exactly where you saw them.
Decimal comma understood
1.234,56 and 3,5 are read correctly: the separator and the decimal mark are detected from the data, and you can override both.
Defaults a data editor would accept
Round axis marks, solid fills, one colour per series, bars that start at zero, and a square background that can be transparent.
Colour-blind-safe by default
The default palette is Okabe-Ito. A test in the code simulates red-green colour blindness and checks that its colours stay apart.
A link that carries the chart
“Copy link” packs the data and settings into the part of the address after #, which browsers do not send to servers.
Alt text written for you
A description is generated from the data and stored in the SVG and the PNG. Line and area charts also say how each of the first four series ends compared with its start. It is shown under the chart with a button to copy it.

Questions and answers

How do I get my Excel data in?

Select the cells in Excel, including the header row, copy them, click in the paste box of the Data panel and paste. Or use “Load CSV or XLSX” and choose the workbook.

Which worksheet is read from an .xlsx file?

The first one, starting from its first non-empty rows. To chart another sheet or a part of a sheet, copy those cells and paste them.

Are formulas calculated?

The file stores the last result of each formula, and that stored value is what is read. Pasted cells also arrive as values.

What about dates?

Pasted dates arrive as the text you see in the cell and are used as labels. In a loaded .xlsx file a date cell holds a serial number (for example 45292), so the label shows that number. Paste the cells instead, or format the column as text in Excel first.

Do old .xls files work?

No. The .xls format is a different, binary format. Open the file in Excel and save it as .xlsx or .csv, or copy the cells and paste them.

My data is the other way round: series in rows.

Use “Swap rows and columns” under the table. The row labels become the series and the column headers become the labels.