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A Stacked Area Chart is one of the best visualization designs for displaying the trend of key variables in your data.
In other words, you can use the chart to track the trend of key metrics over time.
There are many types of charts and graphs, but this chart is amazingly easy to read and interpret because of the more space available in it. Different colors can present different data points by showing a trend as well.
If your goal is to access a ready-to-go and visually stunning Stacked Area Graph, you’ve got to think beyond Excel’s inbuilt charts. The solution is not to ditch the spreadsheet app you’ve used for many years.
You have the option to supercharge it with a particular add-in access ready-to-use Stacked Area Chart in Excel.
In this blog, you’ll learn the following:
Definition: A Stacked Area Chart in Excel is a visualization design you can use to display trends and patterns of two or more variables in data. Besides, it shows relationships between variables over time.
The chart is amazingly easy to read and interpret.
Each area under the line in the chart is shaded from its peak to a common baseline. The top line corresponds to the aggregate value when summing across all groups.
You can use the chart to:
The height of each curve shows the overall trend of the variable under study.
How to read a Stacked Area Chart in Excel should never be a stressful affair for you. Keep reading to discover more.
An area chart in Excel matters because it visually represents trends, proportions, and cumulative data compellingly and intuitively. Here’s why it’s important:
Take a look at the table below.
Can you provide a coherent story of what’s going on?
| Products | Mobile | TV | Battery | Charger | Cable |
| Jan | 20 | 18 | 15 | 25 | 10 |
| Feb | 16 | 14 | 12 | 20 | 15 |
| Mar | 25 | 10 | 20 | 18 | 30 |
| Apr | 12 | 12 | 18 | 22 | 18 |
| May | 22 | 15 | 10 | 35 | 20 |
| Jun | 26 | 20 | 13 | 30 | 25 |
| Jul | 30 | 40 | 35 | 15 | 20 |
| Aug | 45 | 35 | 20 | 25 | 30 |
| Sep | 50 | 30 | 25 | 35 | 20 |
| Oct | 15 | 20 | 35 | 25 | 40 |
| Nov | 40 | 35 | 25 | 10 | 20 |
| Dec | 16 | 25 | 45 | 12 | 30 |
Note the difference after visualizing the data using the Stacked Area Chart in Excel.
How to create a Stacked Area Chart in Excel should never waste your valuable time. Keep reading to discover more.
Avoid focusing on the slopes of the colored curves because they may distort your findings.
Secondly, focus on the largest and smallest slices based on the color.
Excel has built-in charts you can use to extract answers from your data. However, the tool does not natively support the Stacked Area Chart in Excel. In other words, you’ll never find the chart’s template in the freemium tool.
The most viable option available for you is to supercharge Excel with a particular add-in called ChartExpo.
So, what is ChartExpo?
ChartExpo is cloud-hosted, which makes it extremely light. You have a 100% guarantee that your computer or Excel won’t be slowed down.
Besides, you can export your charts in SVG.
The cutting-edge application does not require coding or programming skills, unlike other data visualization add-ons. Plus, it features an ultra-friendly UI, making it accessible to everyone.
This tool comes pre-loaded with a ready-made Stacked Area Chart in Excel, along with a collection of cool Excel charts and graphs, as well as other advanced visualization designs to fill in the gaps missing from the application. Use ChartExpo to produce graphs that are not only visually stunning but also incredibly easy to read and understand.
You can easily access the chart in your ChartExpo. You’ll learn more about this cutting-edge tool in the next section.
You don’t want to miss this.
Click here to install ChartExpo into your Excel. Once you’re done, follow the easy steps below.
To add additional details, such as the title in your chart, follow the steps below:
By having focus on the colors and the shape of the curve you will know the importance of data visualization. Curves on an uptrend depict growth. On the other hand, curves on a downtrend show a decline.
Pay special attention to the largest and smallest slices based on the color.
The Stacked Area Chart also displays part-to-whole relationship insights into raw data. In other words, you can also track totals across key categories in your data using the visualization design.
Stacked area charts are best suited for visualizing cumulative data trends over time. Ensure the chart highlights the overall contribution of multiple categories while maintaining clarity.
Avoid overcrowding the chart by restricting the number of data series to 3–5. Too many layers can make the chart confusing and hard to interpret.
Select a color palette with distinct and contrasting shades for each area. This helps differentiate the components and ensures the chart is visually appealing.
Add clear labels for the x-axis (time) and y-axis (values). Provide a concise legend or direct labels to make it easy for viewers to understand the chart.
Avoid unnecessary 3D effects or excessive gridlines. A clean and straightforward design ensures the data remains the focal point of the visualization.
As more data series are added, stacked area charts can become overcrowded, making it difficult to distinguish between individual components. This reduces the chart’s readability.
While useful for showing the cumulative total, stacked area charts make it challenging to compare the values of individual series, especially when the areas overlap.
If the values of the data series are close together, distinguishing small changes or differences in area sizes can be difficult, leading to potential misinterpretations.
Stacked area charts are designed to visualize the cumulative sum of values. They are not ideal for analyzing relationships between variables or showcasing independent data series.
For non-linear or irregularly spaced data, stacked area charts may not effectively convey insights, as they rely on uniform intervals for the x-axis (e.g., time).
Both visualization designs use color to show the magnitude of the change in key data points.
The key difference lies in stacks. One of the charts stacked rows to display trends and patterns of key variables in your data.
The Stacked Area Chart in Excel is prone to clutter. This means the chart has a limit on the number of variables it can visualize with clarity and coherence.
Secondly, there are other charts best suited to displaying part-to-whole relationships, such as a Stacked Bar Chart.
A Stacked Area Chart is one of the best visualization designs for displaying the trend of key variables in your data.
In other words, you can use the chart to track the trend of key metrics over time. The Stacked Area Chart in Excel is amazingly easy to read and interpret.
We recommend installing third-party apps, such as ChartExpo, in Excel to access ready-to-use Stacked Area Charts.
ChartExpo is an add-in for Excel that’s loaded with insightful and easy-to-interpret Stacked Area Graphs, plus plenty of more amazing charts. You don’t need programming or coding skills to visualize your data using the Stacked Area Chart in Excel in ChartExpo.
Sign up for a 7-day free trial today to access Stacked Area Charts that are amazingly easy to interpret and visually appealing to your target audience.
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