Did you know data-driven companies are 19 times more likely to stay profitable than their competitors? Yet, data often gets sidelined when it doesn’t feel immediately relevant.
Here’s the thing: people process information differently. Some love raw numbers, others need charts, and some want visuals that tell a story. Your job? Meet them where they are.
Think about the New York Times. Their visualizations make complex topics like inflation or climate change accessible to millions, not just experts, by turning their data into compelling stories. You can do the same with your team.
Your co-workers already care about what the data says about their work. The key is creating visuals that grab attention and make the data matter. Sure, pie charts can help, but they aren’t always the best choice.
This article explores different pie chart alternatives and templates to help build a culture where data drives decisions. Let’s get started!
Pie Chart Alternatives for Better Data Visualization
- Why Pie Charts Fall Short in Data Visualization
- 10 Best Alternatives to Pie Charts for Better Data Visualization
- 1. Bar charts: Simple and effective
- 2. Stacked bar charts: Comparing proportions over categories
- 3. Donut charts: A refined take on the pie chart
- 4. Treemaps: Hierarchical data visualization
- 5. Waterfall charts: Visualizing sequential data
- 6. Heatmaps: Spotting patterns and trends
- 7. Scatter plots: Understanding relationships between variables
- 8. Bubble charts: Expanding scatter plots for more data
- 9. Radar charts: Visualizing multivariate data
- 10. Swimlane flowchart: Visualizing responsibilities, roles, and tasks
- Tools that Support Advanced Data Visualizations
Summarize this article for me please⏰ 60-Second Summary
Here are the best pie chart alternatives available:
- Bar charts: Simple and effective
- Stacked bar charts: Comparing proportions over categories
- Donut charts: A refined take on the pie chart
- Treemaps: Hierarchical data visualization
- Waterfall charts: Visualizing sequential data
- Heatmaps: Spotting patterns and trends
- Scatter plots: Understanding relationships between variables
- Bubble charts: Expanding scatter plots for more data
- Radar charts: Visualizing multivariate data
- Swimlane flowcharts: Visualizing responsibilities, roles and tasks
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhy Pie Charts Fall Short in Data Visualization
Pie charts may seem simple, but they often fall short in conveying complex data. Here’s why they often miss the mark when it comes to data visualization:
- Limited data representation: Pie charts are great for showing proportions but struggle when you have more than a few categories. Say, if your data includes 10+ categories, the chart turns into an incomprehensible pizza slice mess
- Lack of precision: Comparing pie chart slices can be tricky, especially when the differences are subtle. Imagine trying to distinguish between 22% and 24%—good luck doing that with a pie chart in Excel!
- Difficult to read at a glance: Pie charts rely heavily on colors and labels to make sense. But if your audience has to hunt for a legend or interpret similar shades, the message is lost
- Lack of trend analysis: Want to showcase growth over time or relationships between data points? Pie charts can’t help. They focus on static snapshots, leaving trends and patterns out of the equation
- Overusage: Audiences have seen pie charts so often they barely register anymore. Their repeated use can dilute your message in workflow diagrams, making it less impactful
💡Pro Tip: If you’re still using Excel for pie charts but want to make the most of its features, check out this guide to creating pie charts in Excel.
Summarize this article for me please10 Best Alternatives to Pie Charts for Better Data Visualization
Here’s a deep dive into the top ten alternatives to pie charts that you must try if you are looking for the best data visualization tools:
1. Bar charts: Simple and effective
Bar charts are a type of visualization that makes comparing values across categories simple, clear, and efficient. With horizontal or vertical bars, this chart type helps you grasp differences at a glance.
For analyzing customer preferences, a bar chart shows, for example, how many prefer shoes over handbags or jackets. This makes it easier to spot trends and prioritize inventory.
ClickUp Bar Chart Dashboard Card
A tool like ClickUp’s Bar Chart Dashboard Card can enhance your visualization with:
- Custom data sources: Pull data from Spaces, Folders, or Lists, and even archived or closed tasks
- Dynamic fields: Use Custom Fields, Formula Fields, or Sprint Points for tailored visualizations
- Time-based tracking: Analyze trends over days, weeks, or months with rolling or custom date ranges
- Flexible grouping: Group data by assignees, tags, statuses, or priorities
- Advanced filters: Apply task-specific filters like status, type, or priority for deeper insights
- Export options: Export charts as PDFs, PNGs, or CSVs to share data insights
Use it instead of a static pie chart when comparing multiple categories side by side, tracking trends over time (like monthly sales), or prioritizing exact values over proportions.
It’s also ideal when you have more than five segments or proportions that are too similar to distinguish.
💡Pro Tip: If you use bar charts for presentations, choose colors that contrast nicely and keep axis labels clear.
2. Stacked bar charts: Comparing proportions over categories
A stacked bar chart is built on the simplicity of bar charts but adds data layers like subcategories, showing totals and contributions.
For example, stacked bars in a column chart can display departmental budgets, breaking down spending into salaries, marketing, and training categories for more precise resource allocation.
ClickUp Stacked Bar Graph Template
The ClickUp Stacked Bar Graph Template extends this functionality, making it easier to analyze complex data and present it in an actionable way. Track project progress, team performance, or customer sentiment with this template designed to simplify workflow and generate impactful insights.
With real-time updates, you can track tasks across statuses—such as Open, Complete, or In Progress—and instantly see where they are. Use the Stacked Bar View to create shareable charts that clearly communicate progress to stakeholders.
Here’s when you can use it as a pie chart alternative:
- To compare total values and show subcategory contributions
- For multi-layered data like revenue by region and product type
- When you need to demonstrate proportional relationships within a broader context
💡Pro Tip: Need to showcase layered data effectively? Learn step-by-step how to create a stacked bar chart in Excel.
3. Donut charts: A refined take on the pie chart
Donut charts are pie charts with a hole in the middle—literally and figuratively.
This design makes them one of the best data visualization tools for maintaining the familiarity of pie charts while improving readability and aesthetics, especially when dealing with fewer categories.
A donut chart can easily reduce cognitive load by focusing on key data points. It’s less cluttered and provides extra room for labels or totals.
Use it instead of a pie chart to present simple proportions, highlight key metrics, or display additional information, like total values, within the chart.
ClickUp Donut Charts
ClickUp Donut Charts makes this even easier!
Donut Charts in ClickUp provide:
- Clearer visuals: Highlight critical metrics like total hours or revenue with a hollow center
- Customization: Adjust colors, labels, and data to fit team needs
- Real-time updates: Track dynamic changes as they happen
- Effortless setup: Easily toggle between pie and donut charts with a few clicks in card settings
👀 Did You Know? Companies that leverage data are 23 times more likely to outperform competitors in acquiring customers.
4. Treemaps: Hierarchical data visualization
Treemaps use nested rectangles to represent hierarchical data, with larger rectangles indicating higher values and smaller ones showing subcategories.
Ideal for complex datasets, treemaps visualize relationships and show how subcategories contribute to the whole.
For example, an e-commerce company could use a treemap to display website traffic sources (organic, paid, direct) and subcategories (mobile, desktop). This visual instantly reveals top-performing channels and sub-segments. Unlike pie charts, treemaps handle multiple data levels efficiently.
5. Waterfall charts: Visualizing sequential data
Waterfall charts break down cumulative data step by step, showing how individual elements contribute to the total. They illustrate how sequential value changes and excel at breaking complex processes into digestible steps, where pie charts fail to convey the progression of values.
When to use it instead of a pie chart:
- For visualizing financial metrics like profit and loss
- To highlight step-by-step changes in sequential data
If you’re an HR professional, you could use a waterfall chart to explain employee turnover: starting headcount, new hires, resignations, and ending headcount. This would give leadership a clear view of the dynamics affecting staffing.
👀 Did You Know? You can visualize your sequential data like a pro with this easy tutorial on creating waterfall charts in Excel.
6. Heatmaps: Spotting patterns and trends
Heatmaps use colors to represent data intensity, making them ideal for quickly identifying patterns, anomalies, or trends. They’re also perfect for large datasets where trends matter more than numerical precision.
Use heatmaps instead of pie charts to:
- Identify hotspots or clusters in data (e.g., website clicks, app usage)
- Visualize two-dimensional data relationships with varying intensities
- Track metrics over time (e.g., sales customer satisfaction scores)
As a UX designer, you can use a heatmap to track webpage clicks, with darker areas showing high interaction, helping optimize call-to-action button placement.
💡Pro Tip: Choose a color gradient that aligns with the context, like warm colors for intensity.
7. Scatter plots: Understanding relationships between variables
Scatter plots use dots to represent data points on two axes, helping you visualize relationships or correlations between variables. They are great for analyzing cause-and-effect relationships or spotting outliers.
When to use it as a project management chart:
- To examine how two variables interact (e.g., marketing spend vs. sales).
- It is used to identify clusters, trends, or outliers in a dataset.
For example, a sales manager can use a scatter plot to analyze the relationship between hours of training and sales performance. If the dots trend upwards, it suggests more training leads to better results.
8. Bubble charts: Expanding scatter plots for more data
Bubble charts are scatter plots with a third dimension: bubble size. They’re powerful for comparing three variables and adding depth to data analysis.
Want to add dimension to your scatter plots? Start with bubble map templates that are perfect for showcasing more data at once.
Instead of using pie charts, use packed bubble charts to analyze relationships between three variables (e.g., revenue, employees, market share), compare proportional data, or emphasize volume in datasets.
Also Read: How to Create a Pie Chart in Google Sheets
ClickUp Bubble Map Template
The ClickUp Bubble Map Template enhances your workflow with these benefits:
- Visualize relationships: Easily represent task, idea, or objective relationships, spotting dependencies, overlaps, or gaps
- Simplify complex projects: Break down intricate projects into manageable sections, ensuring nothing is overlooked
- Encourage collaboration: Share with your team for real-time updates, fostering transparency and problem-solving
- Boost decision-making: Use the template to evaluate options, weigh pros and cons, and prioritize actions for more informed decisions
Here are a few examples of how to use bubble maps in ClickUp:
For project management, you can visualize milestones, dependencies, and timelines for complex projects. In strategic planning, map out business goals, resources, and risks to align your team around a shared vision.
During brainstorming sessions, capture and organize ideas, with bubbles for each concept and connections showing relevance. For decision trees, simplify complex decisions by breaking them into smaller, actionable steps and visually tracking possible outcomes.
💡Pro Tip: The ADS Department at Wake Forest University has transformed its data reporting and team alignment, unlocking new efficiencies with the power of ClickUp Dashboards. Read their story to know how you can, too!
9. Radar charts: Visualizing multivariate data
Radar charts, also called spider or web charts, are designed to compare multiple variables on a single scale. Each axis represents a different variable, and the resulting shape summarizes strengths and weaknesses.
Use it instead of a pie chart to:
- Compare multivariate data across categories (e.g., team skill sets or product features)
- Showcase performance metrics relative to a benchmark
- Evaluate balance or disproportion in datasets (e.g., budget allocations)
A product manager, for example, can use a radar chart to compare project management tools on features like ease of use, integrations, pricing, and support, helping stakeholders identify the best fit for company needs.
🧠 Fun Fact: Data-driven businesses are nearly 7 times better at keeping their customers coming back!
10. Swimlane flowchart: Visualizing responsibilities, roles, and tasks
Each lane represents a specific entity involved in the workflow, making it easier to understand how different functions interact and contribute to the overall process.
Swimlane flowcharts help visually organize complex workflows by dividing tasks and responsibilities into distinct “lanes” based on roles, departments, or processes.
The ClickUp Swimlane Flowchart Template simplifies this even further, offering a ready-made structure to create detailed, visually appealing diagrams without the hassle of starting from scratch.
Switch to swimlane flowcharts to:
- Explain the customer onboarding process
- Analyze interdepartmental bottlenecks and plan cross-functional workflows
- Visualize approvals and handoffs and track task completion timelines
For example, in a product return workflow for an e-commerce platform, a swimlane flowchart could show customers initiating a return, customer service approving it, the warehouse receiving the item, and finance processing the refund.
Summarize this article for me pleaseTools that Support Advanced Data Visualizations
Pie charts may work well for simple proportions, but they need more advanced tools to analyze trends, make comparisons, improve dashboards, or monitor real-time changes.
ClickUp, your everything app for work, steps up to the challenge with an array of visualizations—bar charts, line charts, and real-time dashboards—that turn raw data into insights you can act on immediately.
Different teams analyze data differently, and ClickUp recognizes that. Its visualization tools are built for flexibility for teams like:
- Marketing: Use stacked bar charts to break down campaign performance by channel, clearly displaying which platforms drive the best results
- Product: Track development cycles or sprint progress with line charts to identify bottlenecks and keep launches on schedule
- Finance: Monitor spending with customized bar charts that group expenses by department or project, ensuring budgets stay on track
You can filter, sort, and customize your work dashboard to focus on specific timeframes, projects, or even team members. This adaptability means that ClickUp isn’t just a tool—it’s a data partner tailored to your team’s unique goals.
Let’s dive deeper into how ClickUp supports your team with these advanced features:
ClickUp Data Visualization Tools
ClickUp offers versatile tools to simplify data visualization and streamline workflow management.
1. ClickUp Bar Charts
ClickUp Bar Charts lets you compare data side-by-side or track trends over time within interactive, real-time dashboards.
Use them to measure team productivity by tracking completed tasks or milestones. Customize data sources (Spaces, Folders, or Lists) and configure X/Y axes for tailored visualizations. Key features include support for Custom Fields, Formula Fields, and Sprint Points.
2. ClickUp Line Charts
Need to track progress or monitor changes over time? ClickUp Line Chart Cards excel at monitoring trends or progress over time.
Project managers can use them to assess deadlines or recurring issues, ensuring resources are optimized. Customize time ranges, grouping options, and filters to match your needs. Exportable data and easy sharing enhance team collaboration.
3. ClickUp Dashboards
Centralize all your data with ClickUp Dashboards. These customizable dashboards provide real-time updates, widgets like bar and line charts, and easy sharing options for stakeholders. Teams can create role-specific dashboards, such as sales tracking revenue or product teams monitoring sprints, fostering transparency and collaboration.
4. ClickUp Automations
Keeping data up to date can be a logistical headache, but not with ClickUp Automations. These automatically update your data visualizations.
Bar charts, line graphs, and dashboards reflect real-time task statuses, saving time and ensuring accuracy. For instance, finance teams can track monthly expenses using stacked bar graphs, which are updated live as expenses are logged.
5. ClickUp Pie Charts
ClickUp Pie Chart Cards are ideal for summarizing proportions visually. HR teams can track hiring progress, while project managers monitor task statuses or workload distribution. Real-time updates ensure accuracy and interactivity, making pie charts valuable to your data toolbox.
Summarize this article for me pleaseUnlock the Power of Advanced Data Visualizations with ClickUp
Pie charts have their place in data visualization but lack the depth needed for complex data.
Tools like bar charts, line graphs, and dynamic dashboards provide richer insights by revealing the “what” and the “why” behind numbers.
ClickUp enhances data visualization with versatile features like Bar Chart Cards, Stacked Bar Graphs, and automated dashboards. These tools allow you to track progress, compare metrics, and analyze layered data while updating in real-time.
Ready to go beyond static charts? Sign up for a free ClickUp account today and discover how smarter visualizations can empower better and faster decisions!
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