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Home > Blog > Data Visualization

The Tested and Proven Year-over-Year Comparison Chart

Some charts are better suited for visualizing year-over-year (YoY) data than others. In other words, they display insights in a clear and easy-to-follow way.

year over year comparison chart

Examples of yearly comparison charts include

  • Waterfall Chart
  • Slope Chart
  • Comparison Chart
  • Sentiment Trend Chart
  • Progress Chart
  • Matrix Chart

The charts highlighted above are amazingly easy to read and interpret, even for non-technical audiences.

Excel has very basic Slope, Comparison, Sentiment Trend, Progress, and Matrix Charts. Yes, the spreadsheet tool comes with pretty basic charts that need more time and effort in editing.

You don’t have to do away with Excel. You can supercharge it by installing third-party add-ons to access ready-to-use and visually appealing year-over-year comparison charts. You can create a year-over-year comparison chart in Excel using chart add-on.

In this blog, you’ll learn the following:

Table of Content:

  1. What is a Year-over-year Chart?
  2. Year-Over-Year (YOY) Growth
  3. How to Calculate YOY Growth?
  4. Best-Suited Charts for Comparing Yearly Data?
  5. How to Compare Data from Different Years in Excel?
  6. Video Tutorial: How to Create Year-over-Year Comparison Chart
  7. Year-over-year Comparison Chart Objectives
  8. Year-over-Year Comparison Chart Advantages
  9. Wrap Up

Before jumping into the blog’s core, let’s address the following question: What is a year-over-year chart?

What is a Year-over-year Chart?

Definition: Year-over-year (YOY) charts compare data from one period to the prior one. The charts are widely used in discussing economic or financial data.

year over year chart

YoY provides a high-level view of the performance between two financial periods. Besides, it offers comparison insights into financial performance using different types of charts. You can easily compare budget spending and return on investment between two distinct financial periods in marketing by leveraging the right types of charts.

Year-Over-Year (YOY) Growth

Year-over-year (YOY) growth is a key performance indicator for comparing growth in one period (usually a month) against a previous one.

Unlike standalone monthly metrics, YOY gives you a picture of your performance without seasonal effects, monthly volatility, etc. Besides, you can easily see a clearer picture of your actual successes and challenges over time. Unsurprisingly, this is a key metric for retail analytics.

The most significant advantage of YOY growth is eliminating seasonality from your growth metrics.

Most retailers see a sharp uptick in sales during the holiday season. This can give a false indication of massive growth on a single-month basis.

However, these inflated numbers aren’t truly representative of growth over time. To better understand the data, you might want to create an Area chart or use a price comparison template. This can help you visualize the differences more clearly. If these numbers return to normal levels after the holidays, the chart will clearly show the actual trends.

YoY growth is more than just revenue. You can measure myriad aspects of your development, namely: conversions, average sale value, and other related metrics.

  • Change in YoY Percentage

The YoY percentage change denotes a change in percentage terms.

For example, rather than using raw numbers to describe how much a company’s net profit climbed for January 2021 and January 2020, a year-over-year percentage change is expressed as profit increasing by 10%.

How to Calculate YOY Growth?

  • Take your current month’s growth number and subtract the same measure realized 12 months before. If the difference is positive, your organization experienced growth; if it’s negative, that indicates a loss.
  • Next, divide the difference by the prior year’s total number. This will give you the growth rate for your 12-month period.
  • Multiply it by 100 to convert this growth rate into a percentage rate.

Let’s use a real-world example to illustrate this.

Imagine your monthly revenues for January 2021 were $1,000, and revenues for January 2020 were $900.

  • Start with subtraction, giving a year-over-year difference of $100 ($1000-$900).
  • Divide $100 by $900, giving you a growth rate of 0.111.
  • Multiply it by 100 for your final percentage growth rate of 11.1%.

Check out one of the examples of the yearly comparison chart below.

yearly comparison chart

In the coming section, we’ll address the following question: what’s the best-suited chart for comparing yearly data?

What are the Best-Suited Charts for Comparing Yearly Data?

Take a look at the table below. How easy is it to create a meaningful data story?

Month Current Year Previous Year
January 500 400
February 200 400
March 400 200
April 240 300
May 212 100
June 450 230
July 300 250
August 123 90
September 300 250
October 596 600
November 789 750
December 800 789

Note the difference after visualizing the data using the following different types of comparison charts: Slope, Comparison, Sentiment Trend, Progress, and Matrix Charts.

  • Waterfall Chart

A Waterfall Chart, also referred to as a Waterfall Graph or a Bridge Chart in finance, is a dynamic visualization tool akin to a bar graph, revealing the evolution of an initial value through successive changes over time or categories.

Waterfall Chart Example

It provides a detailed before-and-after depiction of data, delineating each step in the journey and elucidating the contributing factors that either bolster or hinder the progression.

  • Slope Chart

Slope Charts (one of the best graphs for year-on-year comparison) are simple graphs that quickly and directly show transitions, changes over time, absolute values, and even rankings. Besides, they’re also called Slope Graphs.

slope chart using year over year comparison chart

You can use this chart to show your data’s before and after story of key variables.

Use the chart if your goal is to show relative increases and decreases quickly across various categories between two data points.

The best way to explain the value of and use case for slope graphs is through a specific example.

  • Comparison Bar Chart

A Comparison Bar Chart is a visualization design that uses composite-colored bars to show comparison insights in a specified period.

comparison bar chart using year over year comparison chart

The graph is ideal if your goal is to compare more than two key data points. One of the significant advantages of the chart is it’s incredibly easy to read and interpret, even for non-technical audiences.

  • Sentiment Trend Chart

A Sentiment Trend Graph is one of the best data storytelling charts for demonstrating the trend of sentiments.

sentiment trend chart using year over year comparison chart

The visualization design(one of the best graphs for year-on-year comparison) is amazingly critical, especially if your goal is to show the growth and decline of key metrics, such as sales revenue.

The line curve in the chart shows the overall pattern and trend of a key variable over a specified period. The visualization design is incredibly easy to decode.

  • Progress Chart

A Progress Bar Chart (one of the year-over-year comparison charts) is a visualization design that displays the progress made in a task or project.

progress chart using year over year comparison chart

You can use the chart to monitor and prioritize your objectives, providing critical data for strategic decision-making.

The Progress Bar in Excel uses filled bars to display how much of the planned activity or goal has been completed.

To access a ready-made Progress Bar Chart, we recommend downloading ChartExpo (which we’ll talk about later).

  • Matrix Chart

A Matrix Graph (one of the year-over-year comparison charts) can help you identify the presence and strengths of relationships between two or more lists of items. Besides, it provides a compact way of representing many-to-many relationships of varying strengths.

matrix chart using year over year comparison chart

Use this chart to analyze and understand the relationships between two or more data sets.

The relationships between items are indicated by a number or color shade in the cell where each pair of elements intersect. For example, in a skills matrix, this visual representation helps identify the proficiency levels across various competencies. The matrix shape you should use depends on the number of elements you want to compare.

In the coming section, we’ll address the following question: how do I compare year-over-year data in Excel?

How to Compare Data from Different Years in Excel?

Excel generates very basic year-over-year comparison charts. And this means you’ve got to spend extra effort and time editing the chart.

You don’t have to undergo all this. 

Download and install a particular chart add-in for Excel to access ready-made charts for data stories. In other words, add-ins in Excel help you access ready-made year-over-year comparisons charts, such as Matrix, dot plot, and Progress Bar Graphs.

There are thousands of add-ins purposely designed for Excel. To simplify things, we tested over 60 data visualization-based add-ins for Excel Mac, including those for creating a Radar Chart. We’ve narrowed down our results based on the following factors:

  • Ease of use, cost of access
  • Quality of visualization chart
  • The size of the chart library

The Excel add-in that met all our conditions is ChartExpo.

Let’s take a closer look at ChartExpo.

ChartExpo is an add-in for Excel with a super-friendly user interface, ensuring that any professional can visualize data, including creating funnel charts, regardless of their programming skills.

The tool supercharges your Excel by expanding its library with a large number of visually appealing and ready-to-go year-over-year comparison charts in Excel.

ChartExpo also contains many ready-made comparison chart templates that can help you save time.

Example

This section will use a Matrix Chart to visualize the data below:

Quarter Year Period Orders
Q1 2021 Current 2470
Q1 2020 Current 109
Q1 2019 Current 83
Q1 2018 Current 2030
Q2 2021 Current 2459
Q2 2020 Current 76
Q2 2019 Current 1200
Q2 2018 Current 700
Q3 2021 Current 2256
Q3 2020 Current 112
Q3 2019 Current 190
Q3 2018 Current 2160
Q4 2021 Current 1802
Q4 2020 Current 87
Q4 2019 Current 70
Q4 2018 Current 1500
  • Install the chart add-in for Excel by clicking this link to get started.
  • Open your Excel and paste the table above.
  • Open the worksheet and click the Insert Menu button.
  • Click the My Apps button.
insert chartexpo in excel
  • Select ChartExpo and click the Insert button to get started with ChartExpo.
open chartexpo in excel
  • Once ChartExpo is loaded, you will see a list of charts.
  • Once the Chart pops up, click on Matrix Chart icon to get started, as shown below.
search matrix chart in excel
  • Click the Create Chart From Selection button to generate a visually appealing year-over-year comparison chart.
create chart in excel
  • Check out the final chart below.
matrix chart in excel using year over year comparison chart

Insights

  • The 2019 financial year recorded poor results relative to the other periods.
  • Between 2018 and 2021, the 1st quarter performed very well, apart from 2019.
  • Only the 2nd quarter performed well in 2019.
  • The worst performing quarters (1st, 2nd, and 4th) were in 2019 financial year.

Video Tutorial: How to Create Year-over-Year Comparison Chart

In the following video, you will learn how to create a year-over-year comparison chart in excel.

Next we are going to learn when we need to use Year-over-year Comparison charts.

Year-over-year Comparison Chart Objectives

  • Objective #1: To understand long-term product health and performance

Taking industry cycles into consideration allows you to compare big-picture growth accurately and scale.

Suppose you’re working in a SaaS environment.

In that case, tracking metrics such as Customer LTV gives you a long-term view of the relationship between retention and how much customers contribute to your bottom line.

  • Objective #2: To analyze changes from unforeseen digital behaviors or trends

Metrics can vary dramatically between quarters, which often means seasonality is at play. However, if they change dramatically between years, you might consider looking deeper, perhaps by using a Mekko chart or other options to analyze the shifts across different dimensions and identify underlying trends.

Did you try a new activation channel or growth tactic and see your conversions drop?

Perhaps it’s an opportunity to iterate and experience.

Year-over-Year Comparison Chart Advantages

  • YoY charts negate seasonality because they compare distinct moments in time.
  • The charts also smoothen out volatility for net outcomes to be compared throughout the year.
  • YoY charts are straightforward to generate, especially if you use ultra-friendly tools like ChartExpo add-in for Excel.
  • You can easily convert YoY insights into percentages for more contexts.

FAQs:

What are some alternatives to YOY growth?

While year-over-year growth is a critical calculation to track in your business, it can help you get a birds’ eye view of your performance.

Alternatives of year-over-year comparison charts include:

  • Month-to-date (MTD) charts
  • Quarter-to-date (QTD) charts
  • Month-over-month (MoM) charts

What is the difference between YTD and YOY?

Year-over-year (YoY) charts track the performance of a particular financial year relative to the previous ones. On the other hand, the year-to-date (YTD) tracks performance from the start of a particular financial year.

In other words, YTD and YoY are two different metrics, which means you need different charts.

Wrap Up

Some charts are best suited for visualizing year-over-year (YoY) data than others.

Examples of YoY comparison charts include:

  • Waterfall Chart
  • Slope Chart
  • Comparison Chart
  • Sentiment Trend Chart
  • Progress Chart
  • Matrix Chart

The charts highlighted above are amazingly easy to read and interpret, even for non-technical audiences.

Excel has very basic Slope, Comparison, Sentiment Trend, Progress, and Matrix Charts. Yes, the spreadsheet tool comes with pretty basic charts that need more time and effort in editing.

You don’t have to do away with Excel. You can supercharge it by installing third-party add-ons to access ready-to-use and visually appealing year-over-year comparison charts.

We recommend you try ChartExpo because it’s one of the most trusted add-ins for Excel. Besides, it has a super-friendly user interface for everyone, irrespective of their computer skills.

Create simple, ready-made, and easy-to-interpret graphs today using our chart add-in for Excel (ChartExpo).

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