How to Create a Combination Chart in Excel?

You have two metrics, and you intend to compare their performance.

Let’s say these two metrics are profit and cost.

Essentially, the plan is to highlight how profits compare to costs. Let’s imagine your goal is to create a compelling story of your business’s financial position to attract more investments.

What should be your go-to chart in this scenario?

One of the charts we recommend in this scenario is a Combination Chart in Excel.

Why?

A Combination Chart can help you display two varying metrics using a single interface. In other words, you don’t have to go for an extra chart to showcase how profits and costs in your business compare.

The visualization design is amazingly easy to read and interpret, as you shall see later.

Excel has a library of charts you can use to visualize data. But it lacks ready-made and insightful Combination Charts for visualizing data.

You don’t have to do away with Excel spreadsheets. You can easily supercharge it with a particular add-in to access ready-made Combo Graphs.

Keep reading to learn more about the add-in. You don’t want to miss this gold nugget of information.

In this blog, you’ll learn:

• How to create a Combination Chart also known as Combo Chart in Excel?
• What is a Combination Chart?
• What is the best Combination Chart maker?
• Types of Combination Charts.
• We’ll recommend the proven add-in to install to access the ready-to-go Combination Chart in Excel.

Before diving right into the how-to guide, we’ll address the following question: what is a Combination Chart?

What is a Combination Chart?

Definition: A Combination Chart also known as Combo Chart in Excel is a merger of two or more visualization types.

For instance, you can combine a line graph and a bar graph to create one single chart.

Adding a third chart could take the merger to the next level. For instance, you could combine two bar charts and a line graph in the same diagram. Most Combination Charts in Excel have two Y-axes to display insights into variables with different ranges.

Here’s the kicker.

You can’t just layer two varying charts and expect the resulting diagram to make sense to your audience (or readers).

We recommend you create Combination Charts from a single dataset by joining data points with common attributes.

Without a common attribute between the data points, you’re unlikely to have a sensible Combo Chart in Excel. You need this common ground so that each part of the visualization design relates to one another.

For instance, combining a chart showing inflation rates with a graph depicting climate change effects is counterintuitive. The two variables are far from each other.

You can even use a Combination Chart in Excel to visualize data points with varying measurements and scales, such as currency and time.

So, when should you use Combination Charts?

The visualization design is ideal when:

• Your data has variables with different measures, such as price and months.
• Your key goal is to showcase some kind of relationship or trend in your data.

In the coming section, we’ll take you through different types of Combination Charts.

What are the Key Types of Combination Charts?

Let’s dive into different types of Combination Charts in Excel.

• Bar Chart and Line Graph

The most straightforward Combination Chart in Excel to plot and interpret is the merger between Bar charts and Line Charts.

The line tracks an average across each bar or shows the range if you’re using a Line and Bar Combo Chart.

In the Bar and Line Combo Charts for advanced users, the line may show different insights from the bars. For example, a sales company may use a Combination Chart with bars to show the quantity sold and the line to depict revenue generated by each unit.

• Clustered Bar and Line Visualization

The combination between Clustered Bar and Line Chart adds another rich dimension to your analysis by including bars grouped under a primary category.

This visualization is more valuable because you can see the average value of data points.

• Clustered Column and Stacked Combination Chart

A combo of Clustered Column and Stacked Bar Graphs uses two bar types to display insights into your data.

Besides, it has 3+ vertical bars to visualize multiple data points. Each bar is divided into smaller parts to reflect a stacked diagram.

So, what is the best combination chart maker? We’ll address this question in the coming section.

What is the Best Combination Chart Maker?

There’s no single best Combination Chart in Excel. But we recommend the following Combo Graphs, namely:

• Double Axis Line and Bar Chart
• Area Line Chart
• Dual Axis Grouped Bar Chart
• Multi-Axis Line Chart

In this blog post, we’ll primarily talk about the Double Axis Line and Bar Chart (a Combination Chart in Excel variant).

Excel is one of the popular tools of data visualization among business owners. However, it lacks a ready-made Double Axis Line and Bar Graph (a Combo Chart in Excel).

We’re not advising you to do away with Excel in favor of other expensive tools.

And this is because there’s an amazingly affordable visualization tool that comes as an add-in you can easily install in Excel to access insightful and easy-to-customize Combination Charts in Excel. The application is called ChartExpo.

What is ChartExpo?

ChartExpo is an add-in you can easily install in your Excel to access ready-made and visually appealing Combination Charts in Excel.

Features and Benefits

• You don’t need sophisticated design or coding skills to generate stunning, insightful charts for your stories. Save time with this drag-and-drop application.
• With just a few clicks, you can turn overwhelming tables and spreadsheets into stunning, insightful charts and graphs.
• Generate any custom chart in excel in a few minutes. You don’t need calculations, drawings, or coding to visualize your data.
• ChartExpo comes with a free 7-day trial. Essentially, if you’re not satisfied with the tool within a week, you can opt-out as easy as signing up for a trial.

Example

This section will use a Double Axis Line and Bar Chart to visualize the tabular data below.

You don’t want to miss it.

Products	Orders	Sales
Dash Covers	45	590
Seat Covers	60	390
Mirrors	80	590
Shifter Knobs	30	390
Window Tints	50	260
Floor Mats	70	710
Air Fresheners	40	170
Speakers	75	470

To get started with ChartExpo in Excel, follow the steps below:

• Open your Excel desktop application.
• Open the worksheet and click the Insert button to access the My Apps option.

• Select ChartExpo add-in and click the Insert button.

• Once ChartExpo is loaded, you will see a list of charts.

• Look for the Double Axis Line and Bar Chart, and click on its icon to get started, as shown below.

• Highlight your data and click the Create Chart From Selection button, as shown below.

• Check out the final chart below.

FAQs:

How can you create a Combination Chart in Excel?

Excel’s library lacks ready-made and visually stunning Combination Charts you can use to create compelling data stories.

But you can supercharge your Excel with third-party add-ins, such as ChartExpo to access ready-made Combination graphs, such as the Double Axis Line and Bar Charts.

What is a Combination Chart in Excel used for?

You can use a Combination Chart in Excel to visualize data with varying measurements and scales, such as currency and time.

The visualization design is ideal when:

• Your data has variables with different measures, such as price and months
• Your key goal is to highlight a relationship or trend in your data

Wrap Up

One of the charts we recommend if your goal is to showcase insights into data points with varying scales is a Combination Chart in Excel.

Why?

The visualization design can help you display two varying metrics using a single interface. In other words, you don’t have to go for an extra chart to highlight how profits and costs in your business compare.