What's the difference between a column chart and a bar chart?

Only the direction. Column charts have vertical bars and suit time periods and short labels. Bar charts have horizontal bars and suit long category names or rankings. Tableau calls both bar charts.

When should I use a stacked column chart?

When the total matters and you also want to show what makes it up, such as revenue by quarter split by region. If only the shares matter, use a 100% stacked column. If you need to compare the parts precisely, use clustered columns.

Should a column chart start at zero?

Yes. Readers compare column heights, so a y-axis that starts above zero exaggerates differences. If the differences are small, show the values as labels or use a line chart instead.

Visuals

Column Chart

Also called: Vertical bar chart, Clustered column chart

A column chart uses vertical bars to compare a measure across categories or time periods, such as revenue by quarter. Taller columns mean bigger values.

Column chart of revenue by quarter: Q1 $3.1M, Q2 $3.6M, Q3 $4.2M and Q4 $4.9M, with Q4 highlighted and labelled up 17% on Q3.

When to use a column chart

Use a column chart when you’re comparing a few categories or discrete time periods: revenue by quarter, tickets by month, headcount by department. It’s often the right default because everyone can read it at a glance.

Switch to something else when:

There are many time periods (say, 24+ months). A line chart shows the trend with less ink.
Category names are long. Turn it into a horizontal bar chart (see below).
You’re showing how a start value becomes an end value. That’s a waterfall chart.

Types of column chart

The same quarterly revenue drawn as clustered columns, stacked columns with totals of $3.1M to $4.9M, and 100% stacked columns showing North America's share of 47–48%

Clustered: series side by side in each period. Good for comparing regions within a quarter.
Stacked: series piled into one column, so the height is the total. Good when the total is the headline.
100% stacked: every column is the same height, so you compare shares. Here, North America stays at 47–48% of revenue every quarter.

These are the three stack modes you can switch between on a column chart in Mockko.

Actual vs. budget columns

A common finance variation overlaps an outlined budget column with a solid actual column, and adds a variance row underneath. It’s the IBCS-style layout, and Mockko’s column chart has it as a built-in variant.

Monthly revenue, actual vs budget, January to June, with outlined budget columns, solid actual columns and a green and red variance row: +15, −8, +10, −9, +22, +10, for an H1 total of 1,760 vs 1,720 budget

Column chart vs. bar chart

The same sessions by channel as a column chart with rotated labels and as a horizontal bar chart with readable labels

If you have to rotate the labels to fit them, the chart wants to be a bar chart.

In Power BI vs. Tableau

	Power BI	Tableau
Visuals	Clustered column, Stacked column, 100% stacked column	Bar mark type with the dimension on Columns
Stacked	Separate visual	Put a dimension on Colour
With a line	Line and clustered column chart (a combo chart)	Dual axis

Best practices

Start the y-axis at zero. Column height is the value, so a cut axis misleads.
Highlight the one that matters. Grey or tint the rest and use the brand colour for the latest period or the outlier.
Label the values when there are only a few columns, then drop the gridlines.
Keep to two or three series. Beyond that, clustered columns get thin and hard to compare.
Order categories meaningfully: time left to right, otherwise largest to smallest.

Mocking up a column chart

Most column-chart debates are about the series: stacked or clustered, which colour is “us”, whether budget shows. Settle those on a mockup, as covered in why to mock up Power BI reports before you build.