Data and Business Intelligence Glossary Terms

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Area chart

Also known as

Area graph

What is an area chart?

An area chart is a type of line chart where the space between plotted values and the x-axis is filled in with a solid color.

You can think of an area chart as a cross between a standard line chart and a bar chart. In an area chart, you still have a line that connects data points (usually plotting change over time), but by filling in the area between that line and the x-axis, you’re highlighting both the data’s relationship to zero and the relationship of any subcategories to a total.

When to use an area chart

Area charts are a great choice when:

  • You’re plotting multiple subsets of data that, together, make up some total value.
  • You need to represent volume and changes in volume over time.
  • Your data contains too many x-axis data points for a stacked bar chart.

Consider a different visualization, like a bar or line chart, if:

  • You’re only measuring a single series over time.
  • Your data is highly volatile, subject to frequent and/or significant swings.
  • You’re measuring a large number of subcategories within one chart.

Example area chart

Similar to a stacked bar chart, stacking data on an area chart works best if you have a small number of categories to track — too many and your area chart will start to get chaotic or unreadable.

Figure 1 shows Orders broken by out by Product → Category, visualized as a stacked area chart. Using this visualization, we can understand both the rise and fall of individual product categories and how orders have performed as a whole:

<em>Fig. 1</em>. An example area chart.
Fig. 1. An example area chart.

Related terms

Further reading