A line chart connects individual data points with a continuous line to reveal how a value changes over time or across an ordered sequence.

Line charts excel at portraying trends and changes over a continuous period.

An example of an embedded line chart

Creating an Effective Line Chart

Recommended data types for each axis:

• X-Axis Dates or ordered categories
• Y-Axis Numerical values

Description

• Data points - individual values plotted at specific positions along the X-axis
• Line - connects the data points to show the direction and rate of change
• X-Axis - typically represents time or a sequential category
• Y-Axis - represents the measured quantity

When to Use a Line Chart

• Show trends over time - see how a metric rises or falls across days, months, or years
• Highlight rate of change - the slope of the line makes it easy to spot periods of rapid growth or decline
• Track a single continuous series - ideal when you have one variable measured at regular intervals

When to Avoid a Line Chart

• Many categories without a natural order - use a bar chart instead when the X-axis is unordered categorical data
• Part-to-whole comparisons - use a pie or stacked bar chart when you want to show proportions
• Two or more groups - consider a grouped line chart to keep multiple series readable
• Distribution of values - a histogram or box plot is more appropriate for showing data spread

Further Reading

When to Use a Line Chart - a deeper look at line chart use cases, common mistakes, and alternatives.