How to Create a Combo Chart in Google Sheets

Create two columns with your primary data series in the left column and the secondary data in the right. Then click Insert > Chart and insert a combo chart. Google may suggest a combo chart, or you may need to select “Combo Chart” in the “Chart Type” box in the Chart Editor.

Choosing the best chart to effectively display related data isn’t always easy. With a combo chart in Google Sheets, you can take advantage of two combo charts to get the ideal picture.

A combo chart combines a column and line chart into a single chart. The result is a simple way for you and your audience to see each data series in a new way.

configure the data

Combination charts are useful when you want to show a relationship between two or more data sets that are measured differently. For example, you can use a combo chart to display projected sales and actual sales, temperatures with precipitation amounts, or revenue and revenue with profit margin.

RELATED: How to create a combo chart in Excel

Because Google Sheets offers the combined column and line chart, you’ll set up your primary data series in a column on the left and your secondary data in a column on the right.

As a basic example, we’ll use the data you see below, which is the monthly traffic to a website with the total sales generated from that traffic.

Traffic data is our main series on the left and sales data is the second series on the right. The result is a combo chart that displays traffic as a column chart and sales as a line chart.

If we want to show the opposite, we would change the columns, as shown below.

Once you have your data ready, it’s time to create your combo chart.

Create the combo chart

Select the data you want to include in your chart. Go to the Insert tab and click “Chart”.

Google Sheets displays the type of chart it thinks best fits your data. So you might see a combo chart right from the start.

RELATED: How to Automatically Generate Charts in Google Sheets

If not, go to the Settings tab in the sidebar of the Chart Editor that opens at the same time. Use the Chart Type dropdown menu to select the Combination Chart in the Line section.

Once you have your combo chart, you can use additional settings on the Settings tab in the Chart Editor as needed. You can do things like add labels to a series and use the first row of your data as headers.

Customize the combo chart

Once you’ve set up your data the way you want, you can customize the appearance of your chart by adjusting the title, changing the fonts, and choosing different colors.

Go to the Customize tab in the sidebar of the Chart Editor. If you’ve already closed it, double-click your chart or click the three dots at the top right. Then click “Edit Chart.”

You will see several sections that you can expand on the Customize tab:

• chart style: Set the background color, border color, and font.
• Chart titles and axes: Edit or add a chart title, subtitle, or axis title, and select the font style, color, and size.
• Series: Apply formatting to each series in the chart, including line and fill colors. Add error bars, data labels, or a trend line.
• Legend: Change the position of the legend, remove it, or adjust the font.
• Horizontal axis: Choose a font and color for the labels.
• Vertical axis– Choose the font and color for labels, add a minimum or maximum, and choose a number format.
• Grid lines and marks: Format gridlines and colors, or add marks.

If you see an element on your chart that you want to customize but aren’t sure which section to go to, simply click on that part of the chart. The corresponding section opens in the sidebar of the Graph Editor for you to make your adjustments.

If you have relational data that you want to display visually, consider creating a combo chart in Google Sheets. For more information, see how to make a pie chart or how to create a bar chart in Sheets.