How to Make a Sunburst Chart in Google Sheets?

Displaying relationships of key variables in ranked order makes it incredibly easy for audiences (and readers) to understand a data story.

Our brains process certain visual information using a series of mental flexes (heuristics).

You can easily grasp attributes, such as hierarchy and length, accurately with almost no cognitive effort.

Fortunately, there’s a particular visualization design with a knack for displaying hierarchical insights into raw data called Sunburst Chart Google Sheets. If your goal is to uncover comparison insights into critical metrics, use the chart.

Google Sheets is one of the popular tools professionals, and business owners use to visualize their data for insights.

But the spreadsheet application comes with raw Sunburst Charts, which need a ton of extra touches before using.

You have an option of downloading and installing a particular add-on in your Google Sheets to access ready-made and visually appealing Sunburst Chart examples.

In this blog, you’ll learn the following:

Table of Content:

1. What is a Sunburst Chart?
2. Sunburst Chart Examples in Google Sheets
3. The Recommended Sunburst Chart Google Sheets Generator
4. How to Make a Sunburst Chart in Google Sheets?
5. Sunburst Chart Pros
6. Why We Use Sunburst Chart?
7. When Should You Use a Sunburst Graph?
8. How to Install ChartExpo in Google Sheets?
9. Wrap Up

Before diving right into the blog’s core, let’s define the chart.

What is a Sunburst Chart?

Definition: A Sunburst Chart (also known as the Ring Chart) is a visualization design you can use to display hierarchical insights into your raw data.

Visualization Source: ChartExpo

The visualization design uses a series of concentric rings to display the ranked order of key data points. Each ring in a Sunburst Chart in Google Sheets is segmented proportionally to add up to the whole. Focusing on a segment in the ring gives a sense of the part-to-whole relationship of a data point with respect to its parent ring segment.

Each hierarchy level is represented by a ring or circle with the innermost circle being the top-most point.

A Sunburst Chart shares a ton of similarities with the Donut Chart. The Donut Graph is best-suited in displaying comparison insights, while the Sunburst works best in showing part-to-whole relationships.

Take a look at the table below. Can you provide meaningful insights into the table below?

Car Store	Regions	Cars	No of Orders
Car Store	West	Hatchback	559
Car Store	West	SUV	662
Car Store	West	Pickup Trucks	1028
Car Store	West	Electric car	868
Car Store	East	SUV	1078
Car Store	East	Sedan	631
Car Store	East	Hatchback	840
Car Store	North	Hatchback	912
Car Store	North	Sedan	633

Note the difference after visualizing the data using the Sunburst Chart in Google Sheets.

For instance, the best-selling car was a hatchback in the northern region. Pickup trucks were the best-performing vehicles in the west.

Visualization Source: ChartExpo

Sunburst Chart Examples in Google Sheets

Let’s look at a couple of Sunburst Chart examples to get you started with the visualization design.

Example #1

Take a look at the table below. Can you provide a story of what’s going on?

Category	Companies	Cars	Unit Sold
Cars	Ford	Fiesta	45
Cars	Ford	Focus	35
Cars	Ford	Fusion	28
Cars	Ford	C-Max	23
Cars	Ford	Taurus	49
Cars	Ford	Mustang	48
Cars	Toyota	Avalon	33
Cars	Toyota	Camry	25
Cars	Toyota	Prius	43
Cars	Nissan	Altima	37
Cars	Honda	Accord	27
Cars	Chevrolet	Malibu	32

Let’s take a look at the Sunburst Chart below.

Visualization Source: ChartExpo

Insights

• The best-selling car in the Ford category is the Taurus.
• Prius is the best-moving car in the Toyota category.
• Altima, Accord, and Malibu are the best-selling car brands within their respective categories.

Example #2

Let’s take a look at a second example. We’ll use the Sunburst Chart in Google Sheets to visualize the tabular data below.

Daily Food Sales	Time	Food	Sales
Daily Food Sales	Lunch	Salad	100
Daily Food Sales	Lunch	Sandwich	80
Daily Food Sales	Lunch	Soup	50
Daily Food Sales	Lunch	Pie	35
Daily Food Sales	Lunch	Coffee	20
Daily Food Sales	Breakfast	Waffles	80
Daily Food Sales	Breakfast	Eggs	60
Daily Food Sales	Breakfast	Pancakes	45
Daily Food Sales	Breakfast	Tea	30
Daily Food Sales	Breakfast	Coffee	25

Let’s analyze the Sunburst Chart example below for in-depth insights.

Visualization Source: ChartExpo

Insights

• Waffles are the best-selling meal during breakfast.
• Salad is the customers’ favorite during

The Recommended Sunburst Chart Google Sheets Generator

Google Sheets is one of the most trusted data visualization tools among business owners and professionals.

Avoid over-relying on the spreadsheet application because it’s loaded with raw charts, which require extra editing.

We’re not advising you to do away with Google Sheets.

You have an option of downloading and installing an add-on for Google Sheets called ChartExpo.

Why ChartExpo?

ChartExpo is an add-on for Google Sheets that 40,000-plus professionals and business owners across the world trust as their premium visualization partner. With ChartExpo, you have maximum freedom to label your Sunburst charts to align with your data story.

The easy-to-use data visualization application is loaded with ready-made and visually appealing Sunburst Chart examples.

In the next section, you’ll learn how to visualize your data using the Sunburst Chart Generator (ChartExpo) in Google Sheets.

How to Make a Sunburst Chart in Google Sheets?

Let’s visualize the tabular data below using the Sunburst Chart in Google Sheets.

Pet Shelter	Pet Category	Pet Type	No. of Adopted animals
Pet Shelter	Fish	Catfish	50
Pet Shelter	Fish	Molly	33
Pet Shelter	Fish	Betla	25
Pet Shelter	Mammal	Dogs	90
Pet Shelter	Mammal	Cats	60
Pet Shelter	Mammal	Mice	30
Pet Shelter	Birds	Lovebirds	33

• To get started with the Sunburst Chart in ChartExpo, export your data into Google Sheets.
• Open the worksheet and click on the Extensions menu.
• You’ll see the Charts, Graphs & Visualizations by ChartExpo option in the dropdown menu.
• Finally, click on Open.

• Click the Add New Chart button to access all the charts in ChartExpo.

• Look for the “Sunburst Chart” in the list of charts.

• Select the sheet holding your data.
• In our example, the key metric to fill in is the number of adopted animals. Conversely, fill in the following variables in the dimension section: pet category, type, and shelter.

• Complete the task by clicking the Create Chart button, as shown above.
• Check out the final Sunburst Chart in Google Sheets below.

Insights

• The total number of animals in the adoption shelter is 321.
• In the mammals’ categories, dogs outnumber other animals.
• In the fish category, catfish outnumbers beta and molly.

You can also ChartExpo add-in for excel to create a sunburst chart in excel.

Sunburst Chart Pros

• The radial orientation of a Sunburst Chart Google Sheets provides you with immense space to display more data points.
• The Sunburst chart is intuitive because it resembles a Pie Chart, which is familiar to many.
• With a Sunburst Graph, you can easily extract hierarchical insights irrespective of the size of your data.

Why We Use Sunburst Chart?

The Sunburst Chart Google Sheets is ideal for displaying hierarchical data.

You can leverage the visualization design to display insights into data in a hierarchical manner. Each level of the hierarchy in the Sunburst Chart example is represented by one ring or circle with the innermost circle being the top of the ranked order.

Readability and ease of interpretation are among the reasons why we use Sunburst charts in data storytelling.

More so, you can use this chart to complement your data stories because it’s easy to interpret, even for non-technical audiences.

How to make a Sunburst Chart in Google Sheets should never be a stumbling block to you. Keep reading because later on, you’ll come across easy-to-follow Sunburst Chart examples.

When Should You Use a Sunburst Graph?

• When You Have Multiple Dimensions in your Data

Use Sunburst Chart Google Sheets if your goal is to display insights into various dimensions present in your data.

The chart has sliced-up rings, divided based on their hierarchical relationship to the parent slice (center-most circle). The angle of each portion is divided proportionately based on the contribution to the aggregate value.

• Compare Key Variables using Ranked Order

You can use the Sunburst Visualization to show insights in a hierarchical manner. Our brains can easily recognize ranked patterns, especially in a chart.

• Sunburst Charts are More Effective at Displaying Comparison Insights than Pie Charts

Use a sunburst chart to display insights in ranking order for audiences to decode meanings faster.

Also, you can use this chart to bring out part-to-whole relationship insights into the open. The chart uses color to create an impression of comparison of variables. Essentially, each color shade depicts a metric or dimension in a data set.

How to Install ChartExpo in Google Sheets?

There are two methods for installing the ChartExpo add-on into Google Sheets.

• The first method is to visit the Google Workspace Marketplace and type “ChartExpo” into the Search bar.

• Click the blue Install button, as shown below.

• This will begin the installation process. Login in to your Google account and give the add-on permissions.
• ChartExpo will install and be ready for use the next time you open your Google Sheets.
• The second method entails downloading ChartExpo directly from the Google Sheets App.
• Click the Extensions button in the top toolbar.

• Click the Get add-ons button, as shown.

• Search for ChartExpo in the Search bar.

Congratulations if you’ve managed to install ChartExpo into your Google Sheets without any hitch.

FAQ:

What is Sunburst Chart?

A Sunburst Chart (also known as the Ring Chart) is a visualization design you can use to display hierarchical insights into your raw data.

The visualization design uses a series of concentric rings to display key data points in a ranked order. Each ring is segmented proportionally to add up to the whole.

Why we use Sunburst Chart?

The Sunburst Chart Google Sheets is ideal for displaying hierarchical data.

You can use the visualization design to display insights into data hierarchically. Each level in the Sunburst Chart example is represented by one ring or circle with the innermost circle being top of the hierarchy.

Wrap Up

Displaying relationships of key variables in ranked order makes it easy for audiences (and readers) to understand a data story.

Our brains process certain visual information, such as length and hierarchy, using mental flexes with almost no cognitive effort.

It turns out there’s a particular visualization design with a knack for displaying hierarchical insights into raw data, which we call the Sunburst Chart Google Sheets.

You can use the chart to determine part-to-whole relationships in critical metrics in your data.

Google Sheets should not be your premier visualization tool because it produces basic Sunburst Chart examples. In other words, you have to spend significant amounts of time editing your charts.

How to make a Sunburst Chart in Google Sheets should never be a nerve-wracking affair for you.

We recommend downloading and installing a particular add-on called ChartExpo into your Google Sheets. The Sunburst Chart generator has different ready-to-use charts, which are visually stunning and easy to interpret.

Sign up for a 7-day free trial today to access visually appealing and ready-to-use Sunburst Charts.