Horizontal bar charts
Compare categories with horizontal bar charts
Horizontal bar charts display bars horizontally and are used for comparing values across categories without any time association. They’re perfect for categorical data where you want to show the occurrence of items grouped by categories, similar to vertical bar charts but with horizontal orientation.
When to use horizontal bar charts
Perfect for:
- Category comparisons: Companies by user size, sales by region
- Count data: Number of orders by status, users by plan
- Ranking data: Top customers, best-performing products
- Survey results: Customer satisfaction scores, preference data
- Grouped data: Items grouped by categories without time association
Not ideal for:
- Time series data: Use timebar charts instead
- Continuous data: Use other chart types for distributions
- Proportions of a whole: Use pie charts instead
- Very small datasets: May be overkill for 2-3 categories
Example queries
Category comparison
Count data
Survey results
Grouped data
Best practices
Data preparation
- Sort logically: Order by value (descending/ascending) for ranking
- Limit categories: Keep to 15-20 categories for readability
- Handle nulls: Include or exclude null categories appropriately
- Consistent formatting: Use the same units and precision
Visual design
- Start from zero: Horizontal bar charts should always start from zero
- Consistent spacing: Use uniform bar heights and spacing
- Clear labels: Include category names and values
- Color coding: Use colors meaningfully (not just for decoration)
Common use cases
Business analytics
- Top customers by revenue
- Best-performing products
- Sales by region or territory
- Performance by team or department
Marketing analysis
- Campaign performance by channel
- Conversion rates by landing page
- Customer acquisition costs by source
- Brand awareness by demographic
Operational metrics
- Support tickets by category
- Error rates by system component
- Resource utilization by department
- Process efficiency by team
Advanced features
Grouped horizontal bars
Compare multiple metrics within categories:- Revenue vs expenses by department
- Current vs previous period performance
- Target vs actual results
Stacked horizontal bars
Show composition within categories:- Revenue breakdown by product line
- Time allocation by project
- Budget allocation by department
Error bars
Show uncertainty or variation:- Confidence intervals
- Standard deviations
- Min/max ranges
Common pitfalls
Avoid these mistakes:
- Too many categories: Creates visual clutter
- Inconsistent ordering: Makes comparisons difficult
- Missing context: No baseline or comparison
- Poor color choices: Hard to distinguish categories
- No value labels: Difficult to read exact values
Data quality issues:
- Small sample sizes: May not be statistically significant
- Outliers: Can skew the visual representation
- Missing categories: Consider whether to include zero values
- Inconsistent time periods: Ensure fair comparisons
Example scenarios
E-commerce analysis
Customer service metrics
Financial reporting
Product analytics
HR analytics
Comparison with vertical bar charts
Use horizontal when:
- Category names are long
- You have many categories (more than 10)
- You want to emphasize ranking
- Space is limited horizontally
Use vertical when:
- Category names are short
- You have few categories (less than 10)
- You want to emphasize values
- Space is limited vertically
Related chart types
- Timebar charts: For time-based comparisons
- Pie charts: For showing proportions of a whole
- Tables: For detailed data display
- Number displays: For single metric values