Stacked bar charts in Google Slides

What is a stacked bar chart?

A stacked bar chart shows a total broken into its parts across categories — revenue by product line, cost by function, headcount by team. Google Slides can draw a basic stacked bar, but with no segment labels, no totals on top of the stack and almost no styling control, so it rarely survives a management deck.

When to use it

• Showing composition of a total over time or across segments.
• Revenue, cost or headcount broken into contributing parts.
• Any 'what's inside the total, and how is the mix shifting' story.

How to make a stacked bar chart in Google Slides

1. The native tool draws a bare stacked bar
   Insert → Chart gives you a stacked bar with data trapped in a hidden Sheet, no segment labels and no total on top — the three things a management chart needs.
2. Insert a ChartKit stacked bar instead
   Pick Stacked Bar from the ChartKit menu on the slide. Segment labels, stack totals and an attached legend are on by default.
3. Enter your data on the slide
   Type categories and series straight into the grid; the chart updates live. No jumping into a linked spreadsheet to change a number.
4. Make it board-ready
   Your palette applies automatically; add deltas between periods or a CAGR bracket in a click, and the chart stays an editable object on the slide.

Common questions

Related chart types