What is a stacked horizontal bar chart?

A stacked horizontal bar chart stacks multiple series along each horizontal bar. It shows both the total and the breakdown while keeping long category labels readable. Toggle "100% stacked" to normalize each row to 100% and compare proportions only.

Difference from a vertical stacked bar chart

When labels are long, when there are many categories, or when you want to read proportions top-down, the horizontal version is dramatically easier to scan.

When to use it

Likert-style satisfaction surveys

Compare 5-point responses (Strongly satisfied → Strongly dissatisfied) across segments like age or region.

Time use composition by team

Compare meetings vs. focus work vs. travel time across departments at a glance.

Media use by age group

Compare TV / web / social shares of attention across age cohorts.

Channel mix by product

Stack store / e-commerce / partner sales for each product to compare composition.

Tips for making one well

1. Turn on 100% stacked when you want pure proportions

To wash out absolute differences and focus on shares, enable "100% stacked." Each row's total becomes 100%, so satisfaction or dissatisfaction rates jump out instantly.

2. Order Likert series from positive to negative

For satisfaction surveys, stack left-to-right in semantic order (Strongly satisfied → Satisfied → Neutral → Dissatisfied → Strongly dissatisfied). Pair with palette tones — positive in blues/greens, negative in reds/oranges — for an intuitive read.

3. Aim for three to five series

Beyond five, segments get hard to distinguish per row. Likert is typically a 5-point scale; for time use, four major buckets plus "Other" usually work.

4. Always show n alongside the chart

"30% dissatisfied" with n=10 is very different from n=10,000. Place the sample size near the title or legend — it's the honest way to present survey results.

FAQ

Yes. Toggle "100% stacked" under "Adjust appearance" to switch each row's total to 100% and show proportions instead of absolutes. The underlying data is unchanged — only the display mode switches.

Both convey "total + breakdown," but when labels are long, when there are many categories, or when you want to read top-down, the horizontal version is more readable. Try switching between this and the vertical stacked bar chart.

There's no technical cap, but for readability we recommend five or six at most. Beyond that, distinguishing colors gets difficult. Likert surveys are typically 5-point.

Set "Legend values" to "Value," "Percent," or "Both" to show series totals in the legend. Hovering over the chart shows each segment's value and share of the whole as a tooltip.

A single series effectively becomes a plain horizontal bar. For ranking or single-metric comparisons with sorting and emphasis, the dedicated horizontal bar chart maker is a better fit.

Make a Stacked Horizontal Bar Chart