How to Make a Bar Graph in Excel

Microsoft Excel is one of the most commonly used tools for creating bar charts, especially for structured datasets and recurring reports. When your data is organized correctly, Excel makes it easy to turn a simple table into a clear, readable bar chart in just a few steps. Here is how to make a bar chart in Excel.

1. Put categories in one column and values in the next.
2. Highlight the data, open the Insert tab and choose a bar or column chart type.
3. Add a clear title and axis labels.
4. Clean up colors, gridlines and fonts so the bars remain the focus.

Excel has a wide range of formatting options, but simple charts are usually the most time effective. However if you want both time savings and modern design, try Graphitup 's free bar graph maker.