Description

Grouped bar chart is a type of color-coded bar chart that is used to represent and compare different categories of two or more groups.

When to Use

Grouped bar chart is often used when two or more categories grouped and arranged side-by-side, the grouped bars make easy to interpret the differences inside a group, and even between the same category across groups. It’s an alternative to grouped column chart the category name is long.

Dos

• Always start at zero baseline
• Color of bars moves from lightest to darkest for easy comparison
• Order of the elements in a legend should be in the same sequence as the bars for easy reference
• Use direct labeling when there’s a few categories (three or fewer is ideal, otherwise use legend)
• Enough space between two groups of bar charts in order to easily differentiate between the groups

Don'ts

• Don’t use shadow effects
• Don’t use 3D effects
• Don’t plotting more than 3 groups

Tools available

Other chart types of comparison