What is an area chart?

In this guide, an area chart means a line with the region to a baseline filled. This is a stipulated definition, not a broad evidence claim about reader perception.

When should you use an area chart?

The approved evidence supports a narrow answer for stacked charts: use one for a total-and-composition question when precise comparison of individual series is not the primary task.

What is the difference between a line chart and an area chart?

Within this guide's stipulated terms, an area chart fills the region from a line to a baseline. For stacked displays, use a non-stacked line chart or small multiples when readers need easy individual-series comparison.

Why should an area chart start at zero?

This guide does not make a baseline recommendation because the approved evidence for this article addresses stacked-chart comparison rather than ordinary-area-chart baseline rules.

Area Chart Guide: Uses, Types, and Best Practices

Key Takeaways

In this guide, an area chart means a line with the region to a baseline filled.
A stacked chart can fit a total-and-composition question when precise comparison of individual series is not the primary task.
When readers need to compare individual series easily, the European Commission recommends a non-stacked view such as a line chart or small multiples.
Research on stacked-graph designs found a study-specific distortion issue for series at the top of a basic stacked-area condition.
Treat any chart as a starting point, then give readers a path to investigate the underlying detail.

Choosing an area chart can get tricky when a total-and-composition question differs from an individual-series comparison. Which question should the chart answer, and what does the approved evidence support?

In this guide, an area chart means a line with the region to a baseline filled. The evidence-backed guidance centers on stacked charts, their total-and-composition role, and their limits for precise comparison.

What an Area Chart Shows

This guide uses a stipulated definition rather than making a broad claim about how every area chart works. Here, an area chart means a line with the region to a baseline filled.

Before using that form, decide whether readers need to compare individual series precisely. That question matters most for stacked charts because the approved research addresses comparison across stacked series.

The meaning of the underlying metric still matters. When a metric has a governed definition, an enterprise BI platform can connect the chart to its underlying data and business rules.

Choose the Right Area Chart Type

The approved evidence supports a focused decision about stacked charts, rather than a broad taxonomy of area-chart types. According to the European Commission's guidance on stacked charts, a stacked chart can fit a total-and-composition question when precise individual-series comparison is not the primary task.

Why the limitation? The European Commission notes that series without a shared baseline are harder to compare. If readers need easy comparison between individual series, consider a non-stacked alternative.

In this guide, ‘percentage-stacked’ means that each position is expressed as a share of the total; this is a stipulated definition, not a recommendation for a particular use case.

When an Area Chart Is the Right Choice

For a stacked chart, start with one question: does showing the overall total and its component proportions matter more than precise comparison of individual series? If yes, the stacked view can fit the task described by the European Commission guidance above.

If individual-series comparison is the main task, choose a non-stacked alternative instead. This article does not make broader recommendations about ordinary area charts or changing-share use cases because the approved evidence does not establish them.

What can broader analytics adoption look like without tying results to a chart type? HP's self-service analytics story reports 350 users onboarded and 155,000 queries over six months. Those figures describe HP's analytics program, not the performance of area charts or any other chart type.

Area Chart vs. Line Chart: Make the Trade-Off Clear

For stacked charts, the European Commission recommends a non-stacked alternative such as a line chart or small multiples when readers need to compare individual series easily. This is a stacked-chart comparison recommendation, not a universal ranking of chart types.

In a 2016 Graphics Interface study, Thudt et al. compared several stacked-graph designs. In the study’s tested designs, the basic stacked-area condition’s straight baseline caused the greatest distortion for series at the top.

Keep that result within its tested scope. It does not establish a general rule for ordinary area charts, percentage-stacked displays, every dataset, or every comparison task.

Build an Area Chart People Can Read

For stacked charts, avoid relying on the display when readers need precise comparisons between individual series. As the European Commission guidance above notes, series without a shared baseline are harder to compare.

Let Readers Explore the Question Behind the Chart

A stacked chart can summarize a total and its composition, but the chart should not be treated as an explanation of cause. When a change raises another question, give readers a path to examine the underlying detail.

ThoughtSpot Liveboards let users move from high-level analytics to more granular detail through filters and drill-downs.

Ready to move from a summary view to deeper questions? Explore interactive data visualizations with ThoughtSpot.