How to make a bar graph in Google Sheets

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TL;DR

• Google Sheets' chart editor lets you build a basic bar graph for free in about three minutes, with limited styling and sharing options.
• For a bar graph that's easier to customize, share securely, and embed into a real dashboard, connect your data (Google Sheets, Softr Databases, or another source) to Softr and use its bar chart block instead.
• Softr's bar chart block gives you granular control over titles, styles, and access permissions, and it updates automatically whenever your underlying data changes. [.blog-callout]

Google Sheets' bar graphs can turn complex data into clear, colorful bars that reveal trends and patterns at a glance. But once you need to share that graph with a team, a client, or across multiple views, the chart editor's limits become obvious fast: no user permissions, no easy way to combine multiple charts into one dashboard, and no clean way to publish it as part of a broader internal tool.

You can make a bar graph with your Google Sheets data using any of the following methods:

• Making a bar graph in Google Sheets, using its chart editor;
• Making a bar graph with your Google Sheets data, using Softr, which also lets you connect Softr Databases or 17+ other data sources for a more scalable setup.

Making a bar graph in Google Sheets using the chart editor

With Google Sheets’ chart editor, you can create bar graphs in around three minutes, for free, with the option of tweaking the graph’s titles, labels, and style.

Step 1: Select the data range

First, highlight the data you’d like to use to create the bar graph.

Step 2: Open the chart editor panel

Go to the "Insert" menu at the top of your Google Sheet and then select “Chart” to open the chart editor panel.

Step 3: Choose a chart type

In the chart editor panel, click on the arrow under “Chart type.” There, under the Bar heading, click on “Bar chart.” This will generate the graph in your sheet.

Step 4: Customize your bar graph

Now, you have the option to customize your bar graph, so you can change its colors, labels, and more. To do so, follow the next steps.

Step 4.1: Access the customize tab of the chart editor

To start the customization process, go to the “Customize” tab of the chart editor.

Step 4.2: Customize Chart style

In the Customize tab of the chart editor, open the Chart style menu. There, you can change the chart’s background color, font, and border color.

Step 4.3: Customize the titles

You can now choose to customize four of the titles of your bar graph: title, subtitle, horizontal axis title, and vertical axis title. To choose which one you want to change, in the Customize tab of the chart editor, open the Chart & axis titles menu. There, you can change the text of the title, font size, format, and color.

Step 4.4: Customize the series

To customize the series of your bar graph, in the Customize tab of the chart editor, open the Series menu, where you can choose which series you want to change. Once you’ve done so, you can change each of the line’s color, fill color, dash type, opacity, and thickness.

Step 4.5: Customize the legend

Next, in the Customize tab of the chart editor, open the Legend menu to customize the legend of your bar graph. To choose where you want to position it, choose any of the opens in the dropdown menu under Position. Then you can customize the legend’s font, size, format, and color.

Step 4.6: Customize the axis

In the chart editor, specifically in its Customize tab, you can customize the horizontal and/or vertical axis of your bar graph. After you open the respective menu of the axis you want to customize, you can customize its font, size, format, and color.

Step 4.7: Customize the gridlines and ticks

Also in the Customize tab of the chart editor, you can customize your bar graph’s gridlines and ticks by opening the respective menu. There, you can choose to customize the horizontal and/or vertical axis. Once you’ve done so, you’re presented with the following input fields:

• Major spacing type and minor spacing type refer to the type, which can be either step or count, for the spacing type for the gridlines and tick marks.
• Major steps and minor steps refer to the distance between the gridlines and tick marks, which can be either automatic, none, or a number between one and ten.

Step 5: You've created a bar graph!

Congratulations! You've created a bar graph. Optionally, by clicking on the three dots on the graph's top right corner, you can choose to download, publish, copy, or move it to its own sheet.

Making a bar graph with your Google Sheets data, using Softr

You can also use Softr, an AI app builder, to create a bar graph that uses your data stored in Google Sheets. The bar graph you can create with Softr is vastly more customizable than the one you can create solely using Google Sheets, and it fits directly into a dashboard, internal tool, or client portal that other people can log into securely.

If you're starting fresh, you don't have to build the page block by block either. You can describe what you need (for example, "a dashboard showing my sales data as a bar chart, grouped by month") to Softr's AI Co-Builder, and it will generate the page, connect it to your data, and configure the chart for you. The manual steps below still apply if you prefer full control or want to add a bar chart to an existing app.

Step 1: Log in to Softr or create an account

First, you will need to log in to Softr. If you don't have an account, you can sign up for Softr for free.

Step 2: Create a new application

With your Softr account set up, it's time to create a new application where your graph will be housed.

On your Softr dashboard, locate and click on the "New Application" button. From here, you can also choose to generate an app with AI instead of starting from a blank canvas.

Step 3: Select blank application

Click on "Blank application" in the pop-up window that appears.

Step 4: Click on "Create application"

On the new page, click on "Create application".

Step 5: Open the blocks sidebar

Click on the + button on the top right corner of your screen to open the blocks sidebar.

Step 6: Add a bar chart block

Now that the page has no blocks, click on "Add your first block." This will open a sidebar on the right side of your screen, where you can search for a pre-made block called "Bar chart." You can also ask the AI Co-Builder to add this chart for you by describing what you want to display, instead of searching the block library manually.

Step 7: Add a data source

After clicking on your newly created block, in the SOURCE tab, you will notice that you need to add a data source so that Softr can fetch your data. This is where you'd connect a Softr Database if your data lives there, or one of 17+ other data sources including Google Sheets. To do so, follow the next steps.

Step 7.1: Select Google Sheets as a data source

As your data is stored in Google Sheets, select "Google Sheets" and click on "Continue."

Step 7.2: Select a Google account

A new window or tab will open for you to log in to or select your Google account.

Step 7.3: Grant additional access

In this step, you'll need to grant Softr access to a set of features. Click on "Select all" and then hit "Continue."

Step 7.4: Go to your app

Now that your Google account is connected with Softr, click on "Go to application."

Step 8: Indicate the Google Sheets file where your data is stored

In order for your bar chart to display the data you have stored in your Google Sheets file, you need to indicate where exactly that data is located. To do so, click on the block you just added to open a sidebar on the right side of your screen. There, you will need to select the spreadsheet and the sheet where your data is by clicking on the "Document" and "Sheet" options.

Step 9: Customize the title and subtitle

Next, by clicking on the FEATURES tab, you can choose a new title and subtitle for your bar graph. Additionally, by clicking on the icon next to "Title" and "Subtitle," you can change their font size, color, line weight, padding, and more.

Step 10: Style your bar graph

Softr allows you to style your bar graph in a few ways. To customize the padding at the top and the bottom of your bar graph, go to the STYLES tab and adjust either padding under the PADDINGS & MARGINS heading.

Additionally, by scrolling down in the STYLES tab, you can find the General section. There, you can customize the bar graph's background color, as well as the color, type, and thickness of the borders.

Step 11: Adjust access permissions

You can choose to control who has access to your bar graph. You can allow either all users, logged-in users, or non-logged-in users. You can adjust this setting in the VISIBILITY tab. This becomes especially useful once your bar graph lives inside a larger dashboard: you can restrict entire pages or blocks by user group, so a client only ever sees their own numbers.

Step 12: Save your changes

Once you've configured your bar graph, you need to save your changes, so that it's accessible to other users. You can do so by clicking on "Publish" in the top right corner of your screen.

Step 13: You've created a bar graph

By combining Google Sheets and Softr, you've created a highly customizable bar graph that you can use to visualize your data, share it securely with the right people, and build on later as your reporting needs grow.

"We really appreciate how we can set user-specific visibility, clients see only what they need to see, nothing more." - FUGA, music distribution and marketing agency, on building client reporting dashboards with Softr

Turn one chart into a full reporting dashboard

A single bar graph is a good starting point, but most teams eventually need more: multiple charts, filters, and a place clients or teammates can log in to see only their own data. Softr's dashboard and reporting tools let you combine several charts, tables, and KPIs on one page, connected to Google Sheets, a Softr Database, or 17+ other data sources.

If you'd rather not build the database structure by hand, describe your tables and fields to the Database AI Co-Builder and it will generate the schema and relationships for you, or you can adjust everything manually afterward. The same applies to automations: if you want your dashboard to trigger a Slack alert or update a record automatically, the Workflow AI Co-Builder can build that logic from a plain-language description.