Have you ever been asked in a meeting or otherwise, to create a pie chart in Excel? Is that something you need to learn about? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we will learn how to make a pie chart in Excel. 

But before we jump into the how, let us understand what is pie chart in Excel. 

Pie Chart In Excel 

A pie chart, as the name suggests, resembles a pie. Each slice of that pie can be used to represent information belonging to a part of the total pie. 

For example, consider the following data: 

A pie chart for this data would look like this: a circle with each of its parts representing each region’s sales.

You can also make a pie chart in Excel by using the data on a spreadsheet. 

Now let’s understand how to make a pie chart in Excel.

How to add a pie chart in Excel

There is no scientific formula for pie charts in Excel. In fact, it is extremely easy and simple to make a pie chart in Excel. We will be learning about them using the same example. Follow the following steps: 

1. Enter the same data in Excel and select the data. 
   
   
   
2. Go to the Insert tab and from the Charts section click on the Pie Chart icon. And select 2-D Pie Chart from the drop-down menu. 
   
   
   
3. That’s it, the pie chart is now created in Excel. 
   

As you can see, each colour (or slice of the pie), represents a different region and the size of the slice represents the corresponding sales of region.

Now that you know how to add a pie chart in Excel, it is also important to know how to use a pie chart in Excel. By using the pie chart, we mean the different ways you can edit, format and improve your pie chart as per your requirement. 

Edit Pie Chart Title

When you make a pie chart in Excel, you can also add a title to it. Follow the steps below to title your pie chart:

1. Select your pie chart and double click on the chart title.
   
   
   
2. Enter the new chart title.
   
   
   

Add Labels in Pie Chart 

1. Select the Pie Chart in Excel
   
   
   
2. Go to Chart Design tab. You can choose
   
   
3. Select Add Chart Element and under Data labels click on Centre
   
   
   
4. Done, excel will add labels on pie chart in excel.
   
   
   

Add Border on Pie Chart

To make the pie chart in Excel more presentable and professional, you can add a border to the pie chart.

1. Go to Format tab
   
   
   
2. Select Border icon and choose the colour and weight of the border you want.
   
   
   
3. Done, this will the border on pie chart in excel.
   
   
   

Change Pie Chart Colour Theme 

You can also change the background colour of a pie chart in Excel. Follow the following steps: 

1. Go to the Chart Design tab and select Chart Colour from the Chart Styles menu. 
   
   
   
2. Let your cursor hover over different colour palettes that Excel has preset for you. You can select from various Monochromatic and Colourful options available as per your need.
   

You can also add shadows and background colour to your chart from the same menu.

Create 3-D Pie Chart

Wondering if there are different types of pie charts? Yes. Follow these steps and choose the 3-D type of pie chart in Excel.

1. Select the data in the spreadsheet. Go to the Insert tab and select the Pie icon.  
   
   
   
2. Instead of choosing a 2-D pie, you can choose a 3-D pie to make a 3-D pie chart on your Excel spreadsheet.
   

Note: you can select how you want your 3-D pie chart to look from the chart design tab post this. 

Important things to Note 

• Pie Charts are a great way to get a broad overview of the data. It helps readers glance through it quickly and remember it because it is a graphic representation that stays in the memory for a long time.
  
  
• When you make a pie chart in Excel, you can show both exact values and proportions or percentages easily. Especially if you want to plot a single variable (the region wise sales in this case), it is a highly effective tool.
  
  
• However, making a pie chart is only effective if there are only 5-8 categories to display. Otherwise, too many slices can make the pie chart too messy and difficult to understand.
  
  

Other important formulas 

If you enjoyed learning about pie charts, here are some other tools ad tricks that you would like: 

• How to make a bell curve in Excel
• Build a data entry form in Excel
  
  

Conclusion

This was all about how to make a pie chart in Excel.

Now you can go on to make highly professional, clean and presentable pie charts in your spreadsheets and you’re all set for the meetings.

If you liked the article or have any feedback/suggestions for us, feel free to drop them in the comments. Our team would also be happy to answer any more questions you may have on the same topic.