Sankey Diagram Maker: Best Tool to Create Sankey Charts

Before we jump right to the how-to guide, let’s go through the definition part.

What is a Sankey Chart?

Definition: You can use Sankey Charts to visualize data with flow-like attributes, such as material, energy, cost, etc. An energy flow diagram is a type of Sankey diagram that tracks the flow of energy from raw or primary sources of energy.

You need a Sankey Diagram maker to extract high-level insights from complex and bulky data. This chart draws the reader’s attention to the enormous flows, the largest consumer, the major losses, and other insights. Besides, Sankey uses links and nodes to uncover hidden insights into relationships between critical metrics.

The size of a node is directly proportionate to the quantity of the data point under review.

A flow that’s twice as wide represents double the value of the metric. You need a Sankey Chart maker to access this visualization for data storytelling.

Table of Content:

1. What is a Sankey Chart?
2. The Best Sankey Chart Maker
3. How to Create Sankey Diagram using Sankey Chart Maker
4. How to Create Sankey Chart with Best Sankey Diagram Maker?
5. How to Edit your Chart with Sankey Diagram Maker?
6. When to Use Sankey Chart Maker?
7. Practical applications of a Sankey Diagram?
8. Benefits of Sankey Charts

The Best Sankey Chart Maker

The Sankey Chart maker we recommend to our clients (and readers) is ChartExpo. Our recommendation is based on factors that MATTER to you, namely:

• Cost
• Friendliness of the user interface (UI)
• Quality of Sankey Diagrams generated
• Impact of the tool on your browser

Guess what? ChartExpo scores 100% in all the factors (mentioned above).

This highly intuitive Sankey Chart maker comes with a super-friendly UI. And this means you don’t need coding or programming skills to extract insights from your data.

This Sankey chart builder produces charts that are amazingly easy to interpret, even for non-technical audiences.

Did we mention ChartExpo is an add-on you can install in your Google Sheets? Well, now you know. You can install it from here

This cloud-hosted Sankey Chart maker is incredibly light for your browser. You have our guarantee your browser will be stable than ever when visualizing your complex data.

Remember, the cost of getting started with ChartExpo is absolutely FREE. Yes, you read that right.

So how can you visualize your data with Sankey Diagrams using ChartExpo?

Keep reading to find out more. You don’t want to skip this part.

Video Tutorial: How to Create Sankey Diagram using Sankey Chart Maker?

In the following video, you will learn how to create Sankey Diagram using Sankey Chart Maker without coding in a few clicks.

How to Create Sankey Chart with Best Sankey Diagram Maker?

We’ll use a data story example (below) to help you get started with this Sankey Chart maker.

Example:

Imagine you own an export business that relies on delivery services to serve your customers across the world. You want to know the products that get delivered the most and the popular delivery service among customers.

Which chart would you go for to extract in-depth insights?

Yes, you guessed right. A Sankey Chart is suited for this scenario because there’s a flow of products. We’ll use our Sankey Chart maker in this example.

Let’s use the tabular data (below) for our scenario.

• To get started with the Sankey Chart generator (ChartExpo), copy the table into your Google Sheets.
• Click the Extensions button > Charts, Graphs & Visualizations by ChartExpo > Open in your Google Sheets.

• Click on “Add new chart“.

• Once this add-in loaded, you will see list of charts available. From this list click on Sankey Chart.

• Select Sheet Name and click the Add New Metric button. (in our case, the metric is deliveries)
• Click the Add New Level button and fill in the values (in our scenario, the dimensional values to use are: Packages, Delivery Services, and Countries).
• Complete the simple process by clicking the Create Chart button.

• ChartExpo (Sankey Chart generator) provides you with a seamless experience due to its ease of use.
• If you follow the instructions (above), your final chart should look like this.

Visualization Source: ChartExpo

How to Edit your Chart with Sankey Diagram Maker?

Changing Color of Nodes

• To change the color of your Sankey’s nodes, click the Edit Chart

• Then, click the pencil-like markers on the individual nodes you intend to change color, as shown.

• A drop-down called the Node Properties will appear. Click the Node properties section to
  select the Node Color box.

• Hover your mouse over the color you want and click the Choose button, as shown.

• Complete the easy task by clicking the Apply button.
• NB: The same process applies to other nodes.

• Save the changes by clicking the Save button.

Adding Extra Information, such as Legend and Title

Assume your goal is to add bold in your chart title and increase its font size to 20.

• To get started, click the pencil-like markers at the placeholder of your chart title.

• After the Chart Header Top Properties drop-down pops ups, click the Text button.
• Add your chart title in the Line 1 box.
• Click the Apply button to finish the process.

• To change the font size of the chart’s title, click the Font style box to access more options, such as italics, bold, and font size.
• Click the box (with font size 8) and select font size 20.

• Click the Apply button. Complete the task by clicking the Save button, as shown.

• Your final chart should look like this one (below).

Insights

• Beverages and meat/poultry products are the best-moving products.
• Federal Shipping and United Package are the most used delivery services companies.
• The US has the biggest customer base for the brand offerings.

When to Use Sankey Chart Maker?

You’ll agree when we say visualizing data with flow-like attributes, such as cost breakdowns and material flow data, is tedious at best and time-consuming at worst.

Why?

This kind of data is complex. And it can easily overwhelm you, especially if you lack a solid data visualization strategy.

If you use a random chart to extract insights (from this data type), you’ll be just scratching the surface.

Yes, you read that right.

Well, there’s a chart called Sankey that handles this data type efficiently, thereby saving you time immensely. Besides, the chart is incredibly easy to read and interpret.

To access in-depth insights on a micro-level, you need Sankey Diagrams.

Keep reading because you don’t want to miss the rest of the blog.

Practical applications of a Sankey Diagram?

You can use this phenomenal chart to visualize a broader range of data types in different industries, such as:

• Energy generation and transmission
• Marketing analysis (funnel analysis and optimization)
• Supply chain management
• Production systems (industrial processes)
• Cost breakdown in finance and accounting
• Tracking expenditure of Federal budget funds

The diagram below is a Sankey Chart. The nodes in this chart are categorized based on the key metrics (in our case: packages, delivery services, and countries).

Visualization Source: ChartExpo

Benefits of Sankey Charts

You’ll agree when we say extracting insights from spreadsheets and tables is ‘so 20^th century’. Yes, it’s time-consuming and mentally exhausting.

You need intuitive tools to be fully data-driven. Yes, you read that right. You need tools that crunch massive data sets for you and produce charts that are easy to read.

In our case, you need a Sankey Chart maker to access Sankey.

Simple Sankey Diagram provides you with a 360-degree view of your data, irrespective of its complexity and volume. And it accomplishes (the above) by transforming complex, raw data into insights for your data stories.

Use this chart to identify the areas that need urgent improvement in your business, such as customer satisfaction.

Can you spot the need for a Sankey Chart generator in your data visualization strategy?

If your answer is NO, keep reading. We promise it will be worth your valuable time.

FAQs:

How do you make a Sankey Diagram In Google Docs?

You can create a Sankey diagram in Google Sheets by using the ChartExpo library which provides the best way to create awesome visualization with the data you will provide to it. You can easily create Sankey Chart in Google Sheets using ChartExpo Add-On in Google Sheets in a few clicks without any coding skills.

How do you describe a Sankey Diagram?

Sankey Diagram is best suited for visualizing material flow, energy, cost breakdowns, etc.

This chart draws the reader’s attention to the most significant flows, the largest consumer, the major losses, and other insights. Sankey uses links and nodes to help you uncover hidden insights in data.

Wrap Up:

You don’t have to struggle visualizing data with flow-like characteristics, such as energy and cost breakdowns.

Use the Sankey Diagram to visualize this type of data because it’s amazingly easy to read and interpret, especially in data stories.

If you’ve just landed here, this blog has tons of tips on how to get started with a Sankey Chart maker. (Refer back to the body of the blog if you want to take data storytelling skills a step further using a Sankey Chart)

If used effectively, Sankey is arguably one of the best visualizations to use in a data story.

With this chart, you can achieve the following:

• Quick trends and patterns analysis
• Uncover productivity and efficiency insights
• Create compelling reports and data stories

So what’s the best Sankey Diagram generator to use to visualize complex data?

We recommend to our readers to use the ChartExpo add-on to supercharge their favorite spreadsheet app.

Why?

ChartExpo produces Sankey Diagrams that are amazingly easy to read and interpret. Besides, with this tool, you don’t need coding or programming skills to get the most out of your data.