How to Make a Scatter Plot in Excel

Excel is a familiar option for creating scatter plots, especially when you are doing quick exploratory analysis. It is a decent choice for simplistic reports, presentations, or situations where you do not want to learn another tool and don't particularly care about design.

To create a scatter plot in Excel:

1. Enter your data into two columns, one for the x-axis values and one for the y-axis values.
2. Highlight both columns of data.
3. Go to the Insert tab in the Excel ribbon.
4. Select the Scatter chart option and choose the basic scatter plot.
5. Add axis titles, adjust scales, and format point size or color as needed.
6. Add a trendline if it helps clarify the relationship in the data.

Excel also allows you to fine-tune axis ranges, add gridlines, and export the chart as an image or embed it into documents and slides.

Overall, Excel scatter plots work best for one-off analysis and static reporting. If you need live data updates, reusable on-themes themes, or more control over styling, a dedicated tool like our free scatter plot maker may be a better fit.