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Donut Chart Maker

Break a total into its parts, with room in the middle for the number that matters. Upload your data, pick your categories, and publish an interactive donut chart you can embed anywhere — free.

Create a Donut Chart — freeSee the gallery

What is a Donut Chart?

A donut chart is a pie chart with the centre removed. The ring is divided into segments whose angles are proportional to their share of a single total, and the hole in the middle is usable space — normally for the total itself, which is why many teams prefer it to a pie. Reading angles is less accurate than reading lengths, so a donut is a good chart for a handful of parts and a poor one for a detailed comparison.

When to use a Donut Chart

  • You are showing parts of one whole

    Revenue by product line, budget by department, traffic by channel. The segments must be mutually exclusive and add up to 100% of something real.

  • You have a few large categories

    Two to five segments is where a donut works. The reader is comparing a small number of clearly different shares, which angles handle perfectly well.

  • The total is part of the message

    The hole gives you a natural place for the headline number — total revenue, total respondents — so the chart carries both the total and its split without extra chrome.

  • One share is the story

    "Nearly two thirds of revenue comes from one product" reads instantly as a ring. A donut is at its best when you want a single proportion to land, not when you want six compared.

When not to use a Donut Chart

  • You have more than about six categories

    Thin slices are unreadable and unlabellable. Use a bar chart sorted by value, which stays precise no matter how many categories you have.

  • The shares are close together

    People cannot reliably tell 24% from 27% by angle. If the ranking of similar values is the point, bars on a shared baseline are the honest choice.

  • You are comparing several totals

    A row of donuts forces the reader to compare angles across separate circles, which nobody does well. Use a stacked or grouped bar chart instead.

  • The parts do not sum to a whole

    If categories overlap, or the values are rates, averages or indices, a donut invents a total that does not exist.

How to make a Donut Chart

From a spreadsheet to a published chart, step by step.

01

Start from the donut chart template

Open the PlotSet donut chart template. It arrives with sample data bound so you can see the two-column shape it expects.

02

Prepare a label column and a value column

One row per category: the name in the first column, the number in the second. Roll small categories into a single "Other" row before you upload rather than after.

03

Upload or connect your data

Import a CSV or Excel file, paste from a spreadsheet, or connect a Google Sheet so the chart can be refreshed later.

04

Sort, label and fill the centre

Order segments largest to smallest so the eye has a path to follow, show the percentage on each segment so the reader never has to estimate an angle, and put the total in the middle.

05

Publish, embed or export

Publish for a live interactive embed with hover tooltips, or export a PNG, SVG or PDF for a deck or report.

Start from the Donut Chart template with sample data already loaded, then swap in your own.

Open the template

The parts of a Donut Chart

Ring
The band of segments. Its full circumference represents 100% of the total being broken down.
Segment (arc)
One category. Its angle — and therefore its arc length — is proportional to that category's share of the total.
Centre hole
The space a donut has and a pie does not. Best used for the total, or for the single percentage the chart exists to communicate.
Data labels
Percentages or values placed on or beside each segment. They do the precision work that angles cannot, and should be considered mandatory rather than optional.
Legend
The colour key. With five or fewer segments, labelling arcs directly is better — it removes the lookup step entirely.
"Other" segment
A deliberate bucket for the long tail. Keeping it explicit is more honest than shipping eight slivers nobody can read.

Common Donut Chart mistakes

Too many slices

Once segments fall below a few percent they cannot be labelled or compared. Group them and name the group.

Segments that do not add up to 100%

A ring claims completeness. If your categories overlap or leave a gap, the chart is lying about the shape of the data.

3D or exploded rings

Tilting a donut distorts the angles it depends on, making front segments look larger. It adds nothing and costs accuracy.

Random segment order

Unsorted segments make the reader hunt. Sort by size, or by a meaningful sequence if the categories have a natural order.

Donut Chart: common questions

Showing how a single total splits into parts. Each arc's angle is proportional to that category's share, and the centre is normally used for the total or the headline percentage.

Make your Donut Chart now

Free to start with 300+ templates. No credit card required.

Create a Donut Chart — freeAll chart types