Compare categories with bar and column charts
Bar and column charts are some of the most widely used data visualizations. They show comparisons between categories using simple horizontal or vertical bars, making differences easy to see at a glance.
With Flourish, you can create bar charts in minutes – no coding needed. Upload your data, customize colors and styles, and choose from multiple chart types including stacked, diverging, or waterfall charts. Interactive legends, filters, and popups make your visuals more engaging and easier to explore.
USE CASES
Bring data to life with animated bar charts
Whether in business, research, or media, bar charts provide an easy way to spot differences
Visualize comparisons at a glance
Show differences between categories such as countries, regions, or groups.
Highlight part-to-whole relationships
Use stacked or diverging bars to show how each category contributes to the total.
Track change across groups
Compare performance or growth across multiple categories over time.
FEATURES
Everything you need to create online bar charts
Powerful features that make data visualization easy and beautiful
No coding required
Build interactive bar charts in minutes, without writing a single line of code.
Interactive elements
Add filters, captions, and clickable legends so viewers can explore the story.
Responsive design
Charts automatically adapt to any screen size for a smooth viewing experience.
Flexible chart types
Switch between bar, column, stacked, or waterfall charts with a single click.
Small multiples
Create a grid of bar charts to compare across groups or segments.
Built-in animation
Bars animate as data updates, making comparisons clear and engaging.
Classic bar chart
Animate horizontal bars to show categories competing in real time.
Classic column chart
Flip the orientation to visualize changes as vertical columns.
Stacked bar chart
Visualize both individual series and their total.
Grid of charts
Show multiple groups side by side for better comparison.
Diverging bar chart
Display positive and negative values that split in two directions.
Waterfall chart
Illustrate how increases and decreases add up to a final total.
RESOURCES
Data visualization resources
Tips, guides, and resources to make your interactive bar charts even more effective
Frequently asked questions
Bar and column charts are staple tools in data visualization, used to compare anything from magnitude to ranking. They’re ideal for showing differences between groups (like countries, products, or age ranges) and for highlighting part-to-whole relationships with stacked or diverging bars. If your goal is to make comparisons quick and clear, bar charts are a great choice.
In a bar chart, data is represented horizontally with each bar extending to the right based on the value it signifies. In a column chart, data stands upright with each column reaching upwards, reflecting its value. Both show the same type of comparison.
Flourish lets you create and customize a wide range of bar charts without coding. You can use grid of charts, add filters and popups, switch chart types instantly, and share responsive, branded charts anywhere.
You also have the flexibility to make a wide range of visualizations that build upon the foundational bar or column chart format. Whether you’re interested in stacked bar charts, diverging bar charts, or even waterfall charts, our user-friendly templates simplify the visualization process.
Flourish offers a free plan that’s perfect for exploring interactive data storytelling. You’ll get access to the full range of visualization types available in Flourish (including bar charts), unlimited projects, full privacy for your unpublished work, plus helpful support resources.
If you’re an individual creating presentations and reports, our Presenter plan might be the right fit. It includes access to the Flourish app within Canva, along with image and SVG export options for your visualizations.
And if you’re ready to create fully branded visuals without attribution, collaborate across teams, connect your systems via API, and unlock advanced storytelling features like scrollytelling, our premium plans are designed for you. Reach out to our team to find the best option for your business.
Once you publish your Flourish visualization, you’ll get a responsive embed code you can paste anywhere HTML is supported – from WordPress and Medium to custom CMS platforms. Your chart will look great on any screen size, no extra setup needed.
Every project also comes with a unique URL, so you can easily share your work on social media or link to it directly.
