Comparison Chart Template Ideas for Clear Insights

In today’s data-driven world, it is crucial to present information clearly and concisely. A comparison chart can be an invaluable tool for comparing product features, analyzing market trends, or evaluating performance metrics.

Comparison chart templates streamline this process, allowing you to easily create professional and effective visualizations. In this blog, we’ll explore what comparison charts are, the types available, their benefits, and how to create them.

We’ll also look at real-life examples and common pitfalls to avoid.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Well, that’s true — and that’s why you should translate raw textual data into compelling visuals. And if you’ve got multiple data sources, then a comparison chart template comes in handy.

If your data visualization is done right, your target audience will ask more questions about the information displayed. But if you observe your audience asking more questions about what is displayed, or how the data is displayed, then you probably did a poor job.

Here’s the thing, the human mind can easily retain visual information. Yes, compelling visuals tend to stick more to the mind. That’s not to say that the mind cannot retain information presented in a textual format — it can, but if you want to increase your chances of getting your information retained in the minds of your audience, then visuals are the way to go.

Speaking of visuals, you’ve got to think of graphic designing tools. Depending on the kind of data you want to analyze, you’d probably opt for a comparison chart in Excel.

Data visualization pretty much helps you to create the right mental image. With the right mental image, you get to easily and securely forecast the future. This way, there will be a boost in your confidence level, and you also get to see the processes more clearly.

Regardless of your area of expertise, you can benefit from visualization. To make it more effective for you, you will need to put the right designs together for a more effective data visualization. With the right visualization, your team members and target audience will easily interpret and make more informed decisions from your visuals.

Table of Content:

1. What is a Comparison Chart Template?
2. Why Comparison Chart Template is Important?
3. Top 10 Types of Comparison Chart Templates You Should Try
4. How to Create Different Types of Comparison Chart Templates?
   • Comparison Bar Chart
   • Waterfall Chart
   • Slope Chart
   • Progress Chart
   • Tornado Chart
   • Pie Chart
   • Double Bar Graph
   • Donut Chart
   • Matrix Chart
   • Stacked Bar Chart
5. How to Download Comparison Chart Template?
6. Make Better Decisions With Comparison Chart Templates
7. Comparison Chart Templates FAQs
8. Wrap Up

What is a Comparison Chart Template?

Definition: A Comparison Chart Template is a structured and pre-designed tool used to visually compare multiple items, options, or data sets across various criteria.

It helps highlight similarities, differences, strengths, and weaknesses in a clear and organized manner. This template is commonly used in decision-making processes, making it easier to analyze data and choose the best option based on specific needs or objectives.

Video Tutorial: How to Create Comparison Chart Template

Comparison Chart Template in Excel

Comparison Chart Template in Google Sheets

Comparison Chart Template in Power BI

Why Comparison Chart Template is Important?

A comparison chart template is crucial for clear, concise, and structured comparisons between multiple items, products, or services. It provides a visual representation that simplifies complex information, allowing for easy analysis and decision-making.

By presenting side-by-side comparisons of features, attributes, or specifications, the template facilitates quick identification of differences and similarities, aiding in informed choices.

Its importance lies in its ability to streamline data, enhance clarity, and expedite the decision-making process for individuals or businesses evaluating options.

Top 10 Types of Comparison Chart Templates You Should Try

Data visualization specialists suggest using the following charts to uncover hidden comparative insights within key data points.

Let’s check them out.

1. Comparison Bar Charts
2. Waterfall Chart
3. Slope charts
4. Progress Charts
5. Tornado chart
6. Pie Chart
7. Double Bar Graph
8. Donut Chart
9. Matrix Chart
10. Waterfall Chart

How to Create Different Types of Comparison Chart Templates?

1. Comparison Bar Chart

Let’s bring the table below to life with one of the most effective charts for comparison the Comparison Bar Chart. This visualization will showcase laptop brand sales over four financial years

Let’s get started.

Years	Laptop brands	Sales
2018	Lenovo	11
2018	HP.	29
2018	Dell	20
2018	Acer	2
2018	Apple	55
2018	MSI	12
2019	Lenovo	15
2019	HP.	8
2019	Dell	4
2019	Acer	3
2019	MSI	12
2019	Apple	16
2020	Apple	51
2020	HP.	28
2020	Dell	4
2020	Acer	45
2020	Lenovo	12
2020	MSI	16
2021	Lenovo	19
2021	HP.	28
2021	Dell	17
2021	Acer	6
2021	Apple	38
2021	MSI	3

• Copy the data into your Excel to get started with the ChartExpo add-in.

• Select the Excel Sheet holding the tabular data (above).
• Click the “Create Chart from Selection” button, as shown above.
• Your Comparison Bar Chart should resemble the one below.

How to Edit Your Chart Using ChartExpo?

• To edit your chart, follow the steps below.

• To add a header to your Comparison Bar Graph (one of the types of Comparison Charts), click the Edit Chart button, as shown above.

• Once the Chart Header Properties window pops up; click the Line 1 box to fill in the header. In our scenario, we’ll use Laptop Sales by Brands as the header.
• Click the Apply button. And then, click the Save Changes button to preserve all your edits.
• Check out the final chart with a header.

Insights

• From 2018 to 2020, Apple led as the top-selling laptop brand but was surpassed by HP in 2021.
• Acer consistently ranked as the lowest-performing brand, except in 2020, when it secured second place behind MacBooks.

2. Waterfall Chart

A Waterfall Chart is an effective comparison tool, particularly when illustrating changes or differences across various data points or categories. It shows the cumulative impact of both positive and negative values, providing a clear comparison of different scenarios, timeframes, or categories.

Category	Year	Amount
Starting Balance	2021	100,000
Starting Balance	2022	150,000
Starting Balance	2023	237,000
Sales Revenue	2021	50,000
Sales Revenue	2022	80,000
Sales Revenue	2023	110,000
New Investment	2021	30,000
New Investment	2022	40,000
New Investment	2023	45,000
Operating Expenses	2021	-25,000
Operating Expenses	2022	-30,000
Operating Expenses	2023	-32,000
Loan Payment	2021	-10,000
Loan Payment	2022	-9,000
Loan Payment	2023	-8,000
Other Income	2021	25,000
Other Income	2022	35,000
Other Income	2023	50,000
Ending Balance	2021	170,000
Ending Balance	2022	266,000
Ending Balance	2023	402,000

• Copy the data into your Excel
• Type “Waterfall Chart” in ChartExpo’s Search box to access one of the best graphs for comparing data.

3. Slope Chart

Let’s visualize the data below using one of the top charts for data comparison, the Slope Graph. We’ll compare the performance of a hypothetical brand across different states in the current and previous periods.

Period	State	Sales
Previous	Chicago, Illinois, USA	14
Previous	Dallas, Texas, USA	7
Previous	Houston, Texas, USA	12
Previous	Austin, Texas, USA	14
Previous	Albany, New York, USA	31
Previous	Trenton, New Jersey, USA	24
Previous	Newark, New Jersey, USA	22
Previous	Helena, Montana, USA	8
Previous	San Antonio, Texas, USA	7
Current	Chicago, Illinois, USA	21
Current	Dallas, Texas, USA	27
Current	Houston, Texas, USA	30
Current	Austin, Texas, USA	69
Current	Albany, New York, USA	21
Current	Trenton, New Jersey, USA	34
Current	Newark, New Jersey, USA	21
Current	Helena, Montana, USA	21
Current	San Antonio, Texas, USA	28

• Copy the data into your Excel
• Type “Slope Chart” in ChartExpo’s Search box to access one of the best graphs for comparing data.

• Select the Excel Sheet holding the tabular data (above).
• Click the “Create Chart from Selection” button, as shown above.

Insights

• Albany, New York, was the top performer in sales during the previous financial period.
• However, Austin, Texas, leads in the current period.
• San Antonio, Texas, had the lowest sales in the previous period, while Newark, New Jersey, is the weakest performer in the current period.

4. Progress Chart

In this example, we will utilize a Progress Chart in Excel to compare the sales of a hypothetical brand’s products between the current and previous periods.

Products	Previous sales	Current sales
Robot Vacuum Cleaner	20	7
Indoor Security Camera	90	10
Portable Chargers	20	80
Power Bank	50	50
Dishwasher	70	30
Smart Alarm Clocks	30	70
Electric Deep Fryer	67	33
Coffee Maker Machine	54	46
Laptop Cooling Pad	40	60

• Copy the data into your Excel.
• Type “Progress Chart” in ChartExpo’s Search box.

• Select the Excel Sheet holding the tabular data (above).
• Fill in the respective dimensions and metrics into ChartExpo’s user interface (UI). In our example (above), the dimension we’ll fill in is We have two metrics, namely previous and current sales.
• Click the Create Chart From Selection button, as shown in the above image.

Insights

• The top-performing product is portable chargers, with a 60% increase in current sales, followed by smart alarm clocks, which saw a 40% growth.
• On the other hand, indoor security cameras experienced an 80% decrease in current sales, while dishwashers faced a 40% decline.

5. Tornado Chart

In this example, we’ll utilize both a Tornado Chart and a Butterfly Chart (which are types of Comparison Charts) to compare the number of men’s apparel orders against women’s apparel orders for a specific financial year.

Months	No. of Men’s Apparel Orders	No. of Women’s Apparel Orders
Jan	85	82
Feb	95	75
Mar	81	79
Apr	65	55
May	60	43
Jun	55	49
Jul	59	20
Aug	40	60
Sep	69	35
Oct	89	23
Nov	92	23
Dec	39	19

• Copy the data into your Excel.
• Type “Tornado Chart” in ChartExpo’s Search box to access one of the best graphs for comparing data.

• Select the Excel Sheet holding the tabular data (above).
• Click the Create Chart From Selection button, as shown above.
• Remember, accessing the 10 types of Comparison Charts should never waste your valuable time.
• Check out the final tornado Chart below.

Insights

• February was the top month for men’s apparel, with 95 orders sold.
• For women’s apparel, January stood out as the best month, with 82 orders processed.
• The weakest months for men’s apparel were August and December.
• Meanwhile, December was the lowest-performing month for women’s apparel.
• January and February were the strongest months for both men’s and women’s sales, while December proved to be the least successful month for the brand.

6. Pie Chart

In this example, we’ll use a Pie Chart, a type of Comparison Chart, to compare the number of units sold across different product categories.

Product Category	Units Sold
Smart Phones	1200
Smart Watches	700
Headsets	1000
LCD	1400
Laptops	600
Accessories	3000

• Copy the data into your Excel.
• Type “Pie Chart” in ChartExpo’s Search box.

• Select the Excel Sheet holding the data.
• Click the Create Chart From Selection button, as shown.
• Check out the final Pie Chart below.

Insights

• The top-selling product category is accessories, with 37.7% of total sales.
• The lowest-performing category is laptops, accounting for just 7.59% of sales.

7. Double Bar Graph

We’ll use a Double Bar Graph (a type of Comparison Chart) to compare the performance of Class A and Class B across different courses, as illustrated in the table.

Courses	Class A	Class B
Computer Programming	85	82
Information Science	95	75
Networking	81	79
Operating Systems	65	55
Artificial Intelligence	60	43
Theory, Logic and Design	55	49
Multimedia	59	20
Automata Theory	40	60
Data Logic	69	35

• Type “Double Bar Graph” in ChartExpo’s Search box to access one of the best graphs for comparing data.
• Select the Excel Sheet holding the data.
• Click the Create Chart From Selection button, as shown.
• You will get the visualization as shown below.

Insights

• Automata Theory (40%) is the lowest-performing course in Class A.
• Information Science (95%) is the top course in Class A.
• Multimedia (20%) ranks as the worst-performing course in Class B, while Computer Programming is the highest-performing course in Class B based on student results.

8. Donut Chart

We’ll use the Donut Chart (a key tool in Sports Analytics and a type of Comparison Chart) to compare the popularity of different sports.

Sports	Popularity
Football	60
Baseball	33
Basketball	30
Ice Hockey	15

• Type “Donut Chart” in ChartExpo’s Search box.

• Select the Excel Sheet holding the tabular data (above).
• Click the Create Chart From Selection button, you will get the visualization as shown below.

Source: chartexpo.com

Insights

• Football is the most popular sport, while ice hockey is the least popular.

9. Matrix Chart

We’ll use a Matrix Chart (a type of Comparison Chart) to compare different performance metrics across various locations, as shown below.

Locations	Analysis	Period	sales
Florida	Expenses	Current	2,470
Florida	Profit	Current	109
Florida	Loss	Current	3
Georgia	Revenue	Current	2,030.9
Georgia	Expenses	Current	2459
Georgia	Profit	Current	35
Georgia	Loss	Current	16
Hawaii	Revenue	Current	803.1
Hawaii	Expenses	Current	2,256
Hawaii	Profit	Current	112
Hawaii	Loss	Current	14
New York	Revenue	Current	2,160
New York	Expenses	Current	1,802
New York	Profit	Current	87
New York	Loss	Current	11
Ohio	Revenue	Current	1,469.9
Ohio	Expenses	Current	750
Ohio	Profit	Current	56
Ohio	Loss	Current	30
Alabama	Revenue	Current	531.1
Alabama	Expenses	Current	637
Alabama	Profit	Current	58
Alabama	Loss	Current	0
California	Revenue	Current	1,559.6
California	Expenses	Current	627
California	Profit	Current	38
California	Loss	Current	10
Colorado	Revenue	Current	377.6
Colorado	Expenses	Current	626
Colorado	Profit	Current	21
Colorado	Loss	Current	2
Connecticut	Revenue	Current	488.4
Connecticut	Expenses	Current	619
Connecticut	Profit	Current	47
Connecticut	Loss	Current	20
Delaware	Revenue	Current	4,024.3
Delaware	Expenses	Current	587
Delaware	Profit	Current	21
Delaware	Loss	Current	9

• Remember to type “Matrix Chart” in ChartExpo’s Search box to access one of the best graphs for comparing data.

• Fill in the respective dimensions and metrics into ChartExpo’s user interface (UI).
• Finalize the task by clicking the Create Chart from Selection button, as shown.
• You will get the visualization as shown below.

Insights

• Ohio is the least profitable location for the brand.
• Hawaii and Florida are the most profitable locations for the brand.
• Delaware generates the highest revenue but is less profitable compared to other locations.
• Florida and Georgia incur the highest expenses for the brand.

10. Stacked Bar Chart

We’ll use the Stacked Bar Chart in Excel (a popular type of Comparison Chart) to compare the distribution of different age groups across various countries.

Country	0 – 14 years	15 – 64 years	64 years and older
United Kingdom	5	20	3
Germany	6	29	5
Mexico	17	31	2
Japan	9	44	10
Russia	13	49	5
Brazil	26	55	3
United States	29	91	15

• To access one of the best graphs for comparing data, just type “Stacked Bar Chart” in ChartExpo’s Search box.

• Select the Excel Sheet holding the tabular data (above).
• Finalize the task by clicking the Create Chart from Selection button, as shown.

How to Download Comparison Chart Template?

1. Visit the ChartExpo Website: Go to the ChartExpo website and sign in to your account (or create one if you don’t have one yet).
2. Choose the Right Template: Navigate through the available templates and select the Comparison Chart Template. ChartExpo offers a range of customizable templates that can be tailored to your specific needs, whether you’re comparing products, services, or data points.
3. Customize the Template: Once you select a template, you can customize it by adding your data, adjusting design elements, and choosing the best criteria for comparison.
4. Download the Template: After making the necessary customizations, you can download the chart template in your preferred format (such as PNG, PDF, or Excel) for use in presentations, reports, or any other business materials.
5. Use in Your Projects: With the template downloaded, you can easily integrate the comparison chart into your workflow, whether it’s for business analysis, product comparisons, or any other decision-making process.

Make Better Decisions With Comparison Chart Templates

Comparison chart templates help simplify decision-making by visually displaying data side by side, making it easier to compare options. These templates enhance clarity, save time, and provide quick insights, enabling more informed and confident decisions.

They are also effective in communicating complex data to stakeholders, ensuring better understanding and alignment. By using comparison charts, you can quickly identify key differences and make data-driven choices.

Comparison Chart Templates FAQs

What is the benefit of a comparison chart template?

A comparison chart template offers a clear visual representation of differences and similarities between items, making complex information easier to understand. It allows for quick analysis, aiding in decision-making, identifying trends, and highlighting key features or advantages of each option.

Are Excel templates for comparison charts user-friendly?

Excel templates for comparison charts are often designed with user-friendliness in mind. They typically offer intuitive interfaces and pre-defined structures, making them relatively easy to use. However, familiarity with Excel and basic spreadsheet functionalities can enhance the ease and efficiency of working with these templates.

How to use a comparison chart template?

Using a comparison chart template involves inputting relevant data into the designated categories or fields for each item or option being compared. Fill in details such as features, specifications, or characteristics, and let the template structure the information into a visually digestible format. Customize it to fit your needs and ensure it highlights the differences and similarities for easy analysis and decision-making.

What types of comparison charts are available in Excel templates?

Excel templates offer various types of comparison charts, including:

1. Column Charts: Ideal for comparing values across categories.
2. Bar Charts: Similar to column charts but with horizontal bars.
3. Pie Charts: Effective for displaying proportions or percentages.
4. Line Charts: Useful for showing trends or changes over time.
5. Scatter Plots: Show relationships between different variables.
6. Bubble Charts: Like scatter plots, but with bubbles to represent data points.
7. Radar Charts: Compare multiple quantitative variables on a two-dimensional graph.
8. Histograms: Display the distribution of data across intervals or bins.

These templates often provide a variety of designs and options within these chart types, allowing users to choose the most suitable format for their data comparison needs.

Wrap up:

Data is everything! Every large brand in the world invests heavily in data. Without data, your business is flawed. However, raw data, in itself, is of no use to you — you’ve got to translate it into digestible information. And that’s where data visualization comes into play.

To create stunning visuals, you’ve got to use graphs, maps, charts, and other forms of visual elements in Microsoft Excel. ChartExpo not only offers a way of creating these elements, but also provides ways of digesting trends, patterns, and outliers in data.

The best tool for your data visualization is ChartExpo for Microsoft Excel Template.

ChartExpo doesn’t just present a fancy way of presenting data — it offers a way to help your mind capture relevant information and data in no time. By graphically representing data, the user gets to quickly capture, comprehend, and analyze to compare the chart data.