# Grouped Line Chart

A grouped line chart, also called a multi-line chart, displays multiple lines on the same chart - one per category in a breakdown dimension. Each line traces how its category’s value evolves over time, making it easy to compare trends side by side.

Grouped line charts excel at showcasing trends over time for multiple items in a category.

###### Site Earnings

Line chart with 4 lines.

Earnings across four sites during the first week of January 2024

The chart has 1 X axis displaying categories.

The chart has 1 Y axis displaying values. Data ranges from 482.62999999999994 to 23193.080000000005.

Average Earnings

| Site                    | Earnings  |
|-------------------------|-----------|
| Designer Donuts        |           |
| Indie Soda             |           |
| Holiday Food Crafts    |           |
| Cheese Board Plus      |           |

Two of our sites consistently out earn the others. Discuss Action Items. Discussion Point: Holiday Food Crafts does well around major holidays. Establish more holidays? Our SEO research shows higher consumer demand for more cheese types.

## Creating an Effective Grouped Line Chart

Recommended data types for each axis:

- **X-Axis** Dates or ordered categories
- **Y-Axis** Numerical values
- **Breakdown Axis** Categorical data (each unique value becomes a separate line)

## Description

- **Lines** - one line per category in the breakdown dimension, each drawn in a distinct color
- **X-Axis** - typically represents time or a sequential variable
- **Y-Axis** - represents the measured quantity
- **Legend** - maps each color to its corresponding category

## When to Use a Grouped Line Chart

- **Compare trends across categories** - see whether two or more groups are converging, diverging, or moving in parallel
- **Highlight seasonal or cyclical patterns** - overlapping lines make recurring patterns immediately visible
- **Track multiple KPIs together** - useful when several metrics share the same scale and time range
- **Spot outliers within a group** - a single line that diverges from the others stands out clearly

## When to Avoid a Grouped Line Chart

- **Too many categories** - more than 5–7 lines quickly become hard to read; consider filtering or aggregating
- **Very different scales** - if each series has a vastly different range, the smaller series will be flattened; use separate line charts instead
- **Part-to-whole comparisons** - use a stacked bar chart or grouped area chart when proportions matter.