When it comes to showing proportions of a whole, it's hard to beat the doughnut chart. It's an intuitive way to display the impact of categories on a whole. Whether you're presenting revenue breakdowns, survey results, or market share, a donut chart transforms complex data into an engaging and easy-to-understand format. In this guide, we'll look at what makes donut charts unique, when to use them, and how to create them using Excelkits 's easy-to-use donut chart maker. Our goal with this tool is to help you leverage your existing data set to create a circular graph clearly demonstrating what data points stand out among the rest.

What is a Donut Chart?

A donut chart is a circular chart similar to a pie chart, in that it's divided into arcs or sectors, with each arc reflecting the proportion of a category against the total being used. One interesting element is the open circular space at its center, which can hold textual or numeric summary data that adds context and makes your visualization clearer. This design is one of the reasons that donut charts are ideal for representing relationships between parts of a whole in an engaging and digestible way. Including a donut chart image in your presentation helps improve your understanding of the represented data, leaving a stronger impression.

What Is the Difference Between a Donut Chart and a Ring Chart?

While the terms "donut chart maker" and "ring chart maker" are often used interchangeably, they refer to the same basic concept—a circular chart with a hollow center. Some users might use "ring chart" to describe multi-layered visualizations that stack additional data categories in concentric circles, but the functionality remains consistent across both terms.

Why Are Donut Charts Useful?

Donut charts are functional and aesthetic tools for representing data proportions. Their visual capacity to showcase relative sizes at a glance makes them perfect for business reports, marketing presentations, and analysis of financial data. The empty space in the center allows for additional critical insights to be added, such as totals or key metrics. Having the most crucial information displayed front and center keeps viewers engaged and enhances the overall impact of the doughnut graph. Donut charts can also have multi-ring designs, allowing users to layer datasets and compare categories in a single visualization.

When to Use a Doughnut Chart?

Donut charts work well in scenarios where you're looking to compare proportions within a dataset but want to keep the visual simple. Some practical use cases include:

• Revenue Breakdown: Use this metric to visualize how revenue is distributed across various product lines or business divisions. A donut chart, for example, might show how much of the revenue comes from software subscriptions versus hardware sales.
• Survey Results: Include the percentage that selected each potential answer in a survey. This becomes especially useful if you are trying to present public opinion or customer sentiment.
• Marketing Metrics: Display metrics like traffic sources (organic search, paid ads, referrals, etc.) or campaign performance by channel.
• Budget Allocation: Show how a company or project budget is distributed across the different features or departments.
• Product Portfolio Analysis: Display the share of sales contributed by each product category, helping businesses identify their top performers.

How to Create a Donut Chart Online

Thanks to tools like Excelkits ' free doughnut chart maker, creating a donut comparison chart online has never been simpler. Here are a few steps to go from your data to a professional visualization:

1. Input Your Data

Start by organizing your data into groups and corresponding values. This data can be entered manually in the Excelkits platform or imported from a spreadsheet (Excel, Google Sheets, or CSV files). You can upload your data with the tool, thus saving time and avoiding errors.

2. Customize Your Chart

With an easy to use interface, Excelkits makes it easy to customize the look and feel of your chosen chart. You can choose between single-ring or multi-ring options via the "selections" model, change colors and fonts of all slices, adjust labels, and the size of center text to match your company's style. You can even use pre-created theming or choose from professionally designed donut chart templates, including both single and multi-ring options, to keep your chart visually in line with your project.

3. Export and Share

Export your chart in formats including PNG, JPEG, or interactive HTML once you are done with it. Excelkits also includes link sharing, which adds to its utility by including your chart in your presentations, reports, or websites. You can even embed your doughnut graph directly into your website.

Excelkits makes the process extremely easy, allowing even beginners to create professional donut charts in a matter of minutes!

How to Make a Doughnut Chart in Excel

Excel is still one of the most popular tools for building donut charts, and the process is pretty simple:

1. Prepare Your Data: Have your categories and values listed in two side-by-side columns.
2. Insert the Chart: Highlight your data and head to the "Insert" section and choose the donut chart from the "Charts" group.
3. Format the Chart: Add titles, change colors, and format the appearance of the chart through Excel's formatting features.

Excelkits also allows you to import Excel data into the platform for added convenience and customization options.

How to Create a Doughnut Chart in Google Sheets

Creating a donut chart in Google Sheets is also relatively straightforward:

1. Enter Your Data: Input categories and numerical values into your spreadsheet.
2. Select Your Data: Highlight the range of data that you want to include in the donut graph.
3. Insert the Chart: Navigate to the "Insert" tab on the menu bar, choose "Chart" and then select the "Donut Chart" under the Chart Type dropdown. You will find it in the pie chart category.
4. Refine Your Chart: Customize your design with colors, font, and labels.
5. Save and Share Your Chart: Save and share the file link or export the chart as an image.

Excelkits Free Doughnut Chart Maker

If you want to display clear insights from complex datasets in the form of easy-to-interpret charts, Excelkits ' free donut chart generator is a vital tool to have. Designed considering the needs of both beginners and professionals, our tool is simple and easy to use without requiring technical knowledge. With no sign-up required for basic usage, Excelkits is a flexible and accessible option for data visualization needs.

By signing up for the free plan, users can create interactive charts, download them in several formats, and share them with up to 1,000 views per month. Users also get three widgets to easily embed charts on their websites, presentations, or dashboards. These features guarantee that even if you're on a budget, you can still create polished and effective doughnut graphs.

For those who require more features, premium plans unlock additional features of the donut chart creator, like real-time data sync, extra donut chart templates, more views, and Excelkits branding removal. Dedicated support for premium subscribers also makes it a great option for businesses, educators, or professionals needing high-volume or advanced visualizations.

Get started with Excelkits today and access our lineup of professional chart making tools.