Top 10 Types of Comparison Charts for Data Visualization

You’ll agree that comparison is one of the critical steps in any data analysis project.

By comparing key data points, you discover in-depth insights into patterns and trends. In other words, you won’t be scratching the surface of your data. Instead, you’ll be digging deeper to uncover hidden insights.

To compare critical metrics in your data, you need access to a wider variety of comparison-based charts. Yes, you need a tool that has a fully-stocked library of Comparison Charts to succeed in your mission.

How about the Excel spreadsheet you use for all your data visualization needs?

Well, Excel is a very handy tool, primarily due to its simplicity and intuitive user interface (UI).

However, this tool comes with very basic charts, which need significant amounts of time to edit. Besides, Excel’s library has limited types of Comparison Charts.

But, you don’t have to do away with Excel. It turns out you can transform it into a reliable data visualization tool by downloading and installing add-ins.

In this blog, you’ll learn:

• The top 10 types of Comparison Charts you can use in your data stories.
• You’ll also discover the best graphs for comparing data, especially during analysis.
• You also learn how to use Comparison Charts in data stories using 10 easy-to-follow examples.

Before we dive right into the types of Comparison Charts, let’s go through the definition.

What are Comparison Charts?

You can use Comparison Charts to compare the performance of two or more critical metrics in your data.

For instance, you can use a comparison chart type to check how key data points stack up against each other. If you want to compare, let’s say, sales revenue versus profits across a specified period, your go-to chart should be Comparison Graphs.

You can also leverage Comparison Charts types to compare different products and services in the market before buying. In digital marketing, you can compare the performance of various attribution sources to establish the primary source of traffic.

In others, the practical application of types of Comparison Charts is incredibly massive.

In the coming section, you’ll learn how you can leverage Comparison Charts to extract hidden insights into your data.

Top 10 Types of Comparison Charts You Should Try

Data visualization experts recommend the following list of charts if your goal is to cherry-pick hidden comparison insights into key data points.

Let’s check them out.

1. Comparison Bar Charts
2. Slope charts
3. Progress Charts
4. Tornado chart
5. Pie Chart
6. Double Bar Graph
7. Donut Chart
8. Matrix Chart
9. Stacked Bar Chart
10. Dual Axis Grouped Bar Chart

Note: all the charts (above) fall into the category of best graphs for comparing data.

Excel spreadsheet lacks a massive chunk of the charts in the list (above). Besides, its charts are pretty basic, which means you have to put in more work to make them insightful, ready-to-use, and visually appealing.

But, there’s a third-party app you can install in your Excel to access the 10 types of Comparison Charts (above).

Keep reading to discover more.

How to Visualize Your Data using Comparison Charts (in Excel)?

As we said, Excel lacks a significant chunk of Comparison Charts.

But, we’re not recommending you to stop using Excel.

Yes, you read that right.

There’s an add-in you can install in your Excel to access the best graphs for comparing data, which is called ChartExpo.

So what is ChartExpo?

ChartExpo is a trusted tool that thousands of professionals across the world use to create insightful and easy-to-understand Comparison Charts.

You can easily install ChartExpo in your Excel (as you shall see later).

Besides, it has many advanced data visualization designs to ensure you never struggle to select the best graphs for comparing data.

We almost forgot to mention this: ChartExpo is loaded with all the 10 types of Comparison Charts, namely:

1. Comparison bar charts
2. Slope charts
3. Progress Charts
4. Tornado chart
5. Pie Chart
6. Double Bar Graph
7. Donut Chart
8. Matrix Chart
9. Stacked Bar Chart
10. Dual Axis Grouped Bar Chart

How to Install ChartExpo Add-in in Your Excel?

To enjoy unlimited access to the all major types of Comparison Charts, follow the steps below:

• Open your Excel desktop application.
• Open the worksheet and click the Insert button to access the My Apps option.
• Click the My Apps button to view ChartExpo, among other add-ins.

• In office Add-ins window, click on “Store” and search for ChartExpo on my Apps Store.
• Click on “Add” button to install ChartExpo in your Excel.

How to Access ChartExpo Add-in in Excel?

• Click on the “Insert” menu on top toolbar.
• You’ll see the My Apps option as highlighted below.

• Select ChartExpo for Excel and click on the “Insert”.

• Log in with your Microsoft account or create a new account.
• Provide ChartExpo with all the necessary permission for it to function reliably within your Excel.

• You’ll come across a list of advanced charts.
• Search your preferred Comparison Chart variant on the Search box, as shown below.

• For instance, to visualize your data using the Comparison Bar Charts, just type the same name on the Search box.

Let’s go through 10 easy-to-follow examples to get started with types of Comparison Charts. You’ll also learn about the best graphs for comparing data in the coming section.

1. Comparison Bar Chart

Let’s visualize the tabular data below using one of the best graphs for comparing data (the Comparison Bar Chart). We’ll be comparing the sales of various laptop brands across 4 financial years.

Let’s get started.

Years	Laptop brands	Sales
2018	Lenovo	11
2018	HP.	29
2018	Dell	20
2018	Acer	2
2018	Apple	55
2018	MSI	12
2019	Lenovo	15
2019	HP.	8
2019	Dell	4
2019	Acer	3
2019	MSI	12
2019	Apple	16
2020	Apple	51
2020	HP.	28
2020	Dell	4
2020	Acer	45
2020	Lenovo	12
2020	MSI	16
2021	Lenovo	19
2021	HP.	28
2021	Dell	17
2021	Acer	6
2021	Apple	38
2021	MSI	3

• Copy the data into your Excel to get started with the ChartExpo add-in.

• Select the Excel Sheet holding the tabular data (above).
• Click the “Create Chart from Selection” button, as shown above.
• Your Comparison Bar Chart should resemble the one below.

How to Edit Your Chart using ChartExpo?

• To edit your chart, follow the steps below.

• To add a header in your Comparison Bar Graph (one of the types of Comparison Charts), click the Edit Chart button, as shown above.

• Once the Chart Header Properties window pops up; click the Line 1 box to fill in the header. In our scenario, we’ll use Laptop Sales by Brands as the header.
• Click the Apply button. And then, click the Save Changes button to preserve all your edits.
• Check out the final chart with a header.

Insights

• Between 2018 and 2020, Apple was the best-selling laptop brand before it was overtaken by HP in 2021.
• The worst-performing laptop brand is Acer. It only performed well (second to Macbooks) in 2020.

2. Slope Chart

Let’s visualize the data below using one of the best graphs for comparing data (Slope Chart). We’ll be comparing the performance of the current versus previous periods of a hypothetical brand in various states.

Period	State	Sales
Previous	Chicago, Illinois, USA	14
Previous	Dallas, Texas, USA	7
Previous	Houston, Texas, USA	12
Previous	Austin, Texas, USA	14
Previous	Albany, New York, USA	31
Previous	Trenton, New Jersey, USA	24
Previous	Newark, New Jersey, USA	22
Previous	Helena, Montana, USA	8
Previous	San Antonio, Texas, USA	7
Current	Chicago, Illinois, USA	21
Current	Dallas, Texas, USA	27
Current	Houston, Texas, USA	30
Current	Austin, Texas, USA	69
Current	Albany, New York, USA	21
Current	Trenton, New Jersey, USA	34
Current	Newark, New Jersey, USA	21
Current	Helena, Montana, USA	21
Current	San Antonio, Texas, USA	28

• Copy the data into your Excel
• Type “Slope Chart” in the ChartExpo’s Search box to access one of the best graphs for comparing data.

• Select the Excel Sheet holding the tabular data (above).
• Click the Create Chart from Selection button, as shown above.
• Remember, accessing the 10 types of Comparison Charts should never be a struggle or a nerve-wracking affair.

Insights

• Albany, New York led in sales in the previous financial period.
• In the current period, the best-performing city is Austin in Texas.
• The worst-performing sales territory in the previous period was San Antonio, Texas.
• In the current period, the less-profitable sales territory is Newark, New Jersey.

3. Progress Chart

In this example, we’ll use a Progress Chart to compare the current versus previous product sales of a hypothetical brand.

Products	Previous sales	Current sales
Robot Vacuum Cleaner	20	7
Indoor Security Camera	90	10
Portable Chargers	20	80
Power Bank	50	50
Dishwasher	70	30
Smart Alarm Clocks	30	70
Electric Deep Fryer	67	33
Coffee Maker Machine	54	46
Laptop Cooling Pad	40	60

• Copy the data into your Excel.
• Type “Progress Chart” in the ChartExpo’s Search box.

• Select the Excel Sheet holding the tabular data (above).
• Fill in the respective dimensions and metrics into ChartExpo’s user interface (UI). In our example (above), the dimension we’ll fill in is We have two metrics, namely previous and current sales.
• Click the Create Chart from Selection button, as shown in above image.

Insights

• The best-performing product is portable chargers (60% growth in current sales), followed by smart alarm clocks (40%).
• The worst-performing product is the indoor security cameras (80% decline in current sales), followed by dishwashers (a 40% dip in current sales).

4. Tornado Chart

In this example, we’ll use a Tornado Chart (one of the types of Comparison Charts) to compare the number of men’s apparel orders versus the number of women’s apparel orders in a given financial year.

Months	No. of Men’s Apparel Orders	No. of Women’s Apparel Orders
Jan	85	82
Feb	95	75
Mar	81	79
Apr	65	55
May	60	43
Jun	55	49
Jul	59	20
Aug	40	60
Sep	69	35
Oct	89	23
Nov	92	23
Dec	39	19

• Copy the data into your Excel.
• Type “Tornado Chart” in the ChartExpo’s Search box to access one of the best graphs for comparing data.

• Select the Excel Sheet holding the tabular data (above).
• Click the Create Chart from Selection button, as shown above.
• Remember, accessing the 10 types of Comparison Charts should never waste your valuable time.
• Check out the final tornado Chart below.

Insights

• February was the best month for men’s apparel. 95 orders were sold.
• January was the best-performing month of the year for the women’s apparel department. 82 orders were processed during the month.
• The worst-performing months for men’s apparel were August and December.
• On the other hand, the worst month for the women’s fashion department was December
• January and February are the best months for both women’s and men’s apparel sales.
• Conversely, December is the worst month for the brand.

5. Pie Chart

In this example #5, we’ll use a Pie Chart (one of the types of Comparison Charts) to compare units sold versus product categories.

Product Category	Units Sold
Smart Phones	1200
Smart Watches	700
Headsets	1000
LCD	1400
Laptops	600
Accessories	3000

• Copy the data into your Excel.
• Type “Pie Chart” in the ChartExpo’s Search box.

• Select the Excel Sheet holding the data.
• Click the Create Chart from Selection button, as shown.
• Check out the final Pie Chart below.

Insights

• The best-moving products are accessories (37.7%).
• The worst-selling product category is laptops (7.59%).

6. Double Bar Graph

We’ll use the Double Bar Graph (one of the types of Comparison Charts) to compare the performance of class A versus B in various courses, as shown in the table

Courses	Class A	Class B
Computer Programming	85	82
Information Science	95	75
Networking	81	79
Operating Systems	65	55
Artificial Intelligence	60	43
Theory, Logic and Design	55	49
Multimedia	59	20
Automata Theory	40	60
Data Logic	69	35

• Type “Double Bar Graph” in the ChartExpo’s Search box to access one of the best graphs for comparing data.
• Select the Excel Sheet holding the data.
• Click the Create Chart from Selection button, as shown.
• You will get the visualization as shown below.

Insights

• Automata theory (40%) is the worst-performed course in Class A.
• Information Science (95%) is Class A’s favorite course.
• Multimedia (20%) is the worst-performed course in Class B.
• Computer Programming is the leading course in Class B with regard to students ‘performance.

7. Donut Chart

We’ll use the Donut Chart (one of the types of Comparison Charts) to compare the popularity of various sports.

Sports	Popularity
Football	60
Baseball	33
Basketball	30
Ice Hockey	15

• Type “Donut Chart” in the ChartExpo’s Search box.

• Select the Excel Sheet holding the tabular data (above).
• Click the Create Chart from Selection button, you will get the visualization as shown below.

Insights

• The most popular sport is football.
• The least popular sport is ice hockey.

8. Matrix Chart

We’ll use the Matrix Chart (one of the types of Comparison Charts) to compare various performance metrics in various locations, as shown below.

Locations	Analysis	Period	sales
Florida	Expenses	Current	2,470
Florida	Profit	Current	109
Florida	Loss	Current	3
Georgia	Revenue	Current	2,030.9
Georgia	Expenses	Current	2459
Georgia	Profit	Current	35
Georgia	Loss	Current	16
Hawaii	Revenue	Current	803.1
Hawaii	Expenses	Current	2,256
Hawaii	Profit	Current	112
Hawaii	Loss	Current	14
New York	Revenue	Current	2,160
New York	Expenses	Current	1,802
New York	Profit	Current	87
New York	Loss	Current	11
Ohio	Revenue	Current	1,469.9
Ohio	Expenses	Current	750
Ohio	Profit	Current	56
Ohio	Loss	Current	30
Alabama	Revenue	Current	531.1
Alabama	Expenses	Current	637
Alabama	Profit	Current	58
Alabama	Loss	Current	0
California	Revenue	Current	1,559.6
California	Expenses	Current	627
California	Profit	Current	38
California	Loss	Current	10
Colorado	Revenue	Current	377.6
Colorado	Expenses	Current	626
Colorado	Profit	Current	21
Colorado	Loss	Current	2
Connecticut	Revenue	Current	488.4
Connecticut	Expenses	Current	619
Connecticut	Profit	Current	47
Connecticut	Loss	Current	20
Delaware	Revenue	Current	4,024.3
Delaware	Expenses	Current	587
Delaware	Profit	Current	21
Delaware	Loss	Current	9

• Remember to type “Matrix Chart” in the ChartExpo’s Search box to access one of the best graphs for comparing data.

• Fill in the respective dimensions and metrics into ChartExpo’s user interface (UI).
• Finalize the task by clicking the Create Chart from Selection button, as shown.
• You will get the visualization as shown below.

Insights

• Ohio is the most unprofitable location for the brand.
• Hawaii and Florida are the most profitable locations for the brand.
• Delaware leads in revenue but is less profitable compared to others.
• Florida and Georgia lead in expenses incurred by the brand.

9. Dual Axis Grouped Bar Chart

In this example #9, we’ll use the Dual Axis Grouped Bar Chart (one of the types of Comparison Charts) to compare reviews in a given time, as shown below.

Months	Positive Reviews	Negative Reviews
Jan	88	23
Feb	32	62
Mar	66	19
Apr	96	23
May	117	42
Jun	68	27
Jul	85	26
Aug	17	56

• Copy the data into your Excel.

• Select the Excel Sheet holding the tabular data (above).
• Click the Create Chart from Selection button, as shown.

Insights

• May had the highest number of positive reviews. Besides, it had the lowest number of reviews.
• On the other hand, August had the highest number of negative reviews.

10. Stacked Bar Chart

We’ll use the Stacked Bar Chart (one of the types of Comparison Charts) to compare the proportion of various age groups in the population of various countries.

Country	0 – 14 years	15 – 64 years	64 years and older
United Kingdom	5	20	3
Germany	6	29	5
Mexico	17	31	2
Japan	9	44	10
Russia	13	49	5
Brazil	26	55	3
United States	29	91	15

• To access one of the best graphs for comparing data, just type “Stacked Bar Chart” in the ChartExpo’s Search box.

• Select the Excel Sheet holding the tabular data (above).
• Finalize the task by clicking the Create Chart from Selection button, as shown.

FAQs:

Why should you compare variables in your data?

By comparing key metrics in your data, you can map performance with a significant degree of accuracy. Besides, you can easily identify lapse or growth in performance, especially if you use the recommended types of Comparison Charts.

One of the recommended Comparison Chart types is the Stacked Bar Chart.

When should you use the Comparison Chart?

Use these Comparison Charts to compare the performance of key metrics in your raw data.

For instance, you can use a Comparison Chart to check how key data points stack up against each other. More so, you can compare sales revenue versus profits in a given financial period.

Wrap Up

Extracting comparison insights from raw data is one of the key steps towards mapping growth in your business (or workplace).

You need the best graphs for comparing data metrics. And this is where the top 10 types of Comparison Charts come in.

Check out below the comprehensive list of comparison-oriented visualization designs:

1. Comparison Bar Charts
2. Slope charts
3. Progress Charts
4. Tornado chart
5. Pie Chart
6. Double Bar Graph
7. Donut Chart
8. Matrix Chart
9. Stacked Bar Chart
10. Dual Axis Grouped Bar Chart

Use Comparison Charts (above) if your goal is to display in-depth insights into how key metrics stack up against others.

Excel is not recommended if your goal is to generate ready-to-use Comparison Visualization types. The spreadsheet application lacks a huge chunk of the charts we’ve just highlighted above.

Besides, it has pretty basic Comparison Chart templates, which require more work in edits.

We recommend you to install third-party apps, such as ChartExpo, into your Excel to access all the Comparison Charts (we’ve highlighted above). ChartExpo is an add-in you can easily download and install in your Excel app. Besides, it has all the 10 types of Comparison Charts, plus over 50 more advanced visualization designs.

Sign up for a 7-day trial to access all the 10 variants of Comparison Charts.