Types of Charts in Power BI – A Beginner to Advanced Guide

Introduction to Types of Charts in Power BI

Charts in Power BI help us visualize data effectively and communicate insights clearly. Whether you’re tracking sales, comparing trends, or analyzing demographics, choosing the right chart type makes a huge difference.In this guide, we’ll explore all major chart types in Power BI – from basic to advanced – and help you understand when and how to use each.If you’re serious about building a career in data analytics, understanding chart types is a must-have skill.

Also read: Our Data Analytics Course Overview, Official Power BI Chart Docs

Why Charts Matter in Data Analytics

Charts convert raw numbers into visual stories. This helps:

• Identify trends
• Spot outliers
• Make quick decisions

If you’re new to Power BI, check out the basics of how data visualization fits into the analytics process.

Commonly Used Charts in Power BI

1. Bar Chart / Column Chart

Best for: Comparing values across categories
Horizontal or vertical bars to show quantity.

Use case: Sales by product category

2. Line Chart

Best for: Trends over time
Shows how values change sequentially.

Use case: Monthly revenue growth

3. Pie / Donut Chart

Best for: Showing parts of a whole
Easy to read, but not ideal for too many segments.

Use case: Market share distribution

4. Table & Matrix

Best for: Detailed tabular data
Matrix supports row and column hierarchies (like pivot tables).

Use case: Employee performance by department

5. Card / KPI Visual

Best for: Showing key single metrics
Simple yet powerful for dashboards.

Use case: Total revenue, active users, conversion rate

6. Scatter Chart

Best for: Finding relationships between two variables
Often used in exploratory data analysis.

Use case: Price vs. quantity sold

Intermediate Charts in Power BI

7. Combo Chart (Line and Bar)

Combines bar and line charts for richer analysis.

Use case: Revenue (bar) vs. profit margin (line)

8. Stacked / Clustered Charts

Stacked: Shows how values add up
Clustered: Compares side-by-side

Use case: Sales by region and channel

9. Treemap

Best for: Visualizing hierarchical data with proportions
Uses nested rectangles

Use case: Product sales by category and subcategory

10. Waterfall Chart

Best for: Showing incremental change
Great for financial analysis.

Use case: Profit and loss breakdown

11. Funnel Chart

Best for: Visualizing process stages
Useful for marketing and sales pipelines.

Use case: Lead → Qualified → Converted

Advanced Charts (Using Custom Visuals)

To go beyond native charts, explore Power BI Marketplace for custom visuals:

• Bullet Chart
• Histogram
• Sankey Chart
• Radar / Spider Chart
• Heat Maps
• Gantt Charts

How to install:
Go to Visualizations > Get More Visuals > Import from marketplace

Learn these in our Advanced Power BI Modules

How to Choose the Right Chart?

Internal Links to Explore

External Learning Links

• Power BI Chart Types (Official Guide)
• SQLBI Data Viz Best Practices
• Power BI Marketplace for Custom Charts