# Pie Chart

A pie chart is a circular graphic divided into slices, where each slice represents a category and its size is proportional to that category’s share of the whole. The full circle always represents 100% of the total.

Pie charts excel at showcasing simple part-to-whole relationships.

###### Earnings

Pie chart with 4 slices.

Earnings across all sites during the first week of January 2024

Created with Highcharts 12.4.0EarningsEarnings across all sites during the first week of January 2024​Cheese Board Plus(2%)Designer Donuts(54%)Holiday Food Crafts(17%)Indie Soda(26%)Cheese Board Plus has had thesmallest growth this quarter, whileDesigner Donuts has had the largest.

**Earnings Growth this quarter**

## Creating an Effective Pie Chart

Recommended data types for each axis:

- **X-Axis** Categorical data (the category labels)
- **Y-Axis** Numerical values (the values that determine each slice’s size)

## Description

- **Slices** – each slice represents one category; its area and arc length are proportional to its value
- **Circle** – the complete circle represents the total of all values combined
- **Labels** – identify each category and typically display its percentage or absolute value
- **Colors** – each slice uses a distinct color to differentiate categories

## When to Use a Pie Chart

- **Show composition of a whole** – communicate how a total is split across a small number of categories
- **Highlight a dominant category** – when one slice is much larger than the others, a pie makes the dominance immediately visible
- **Communicate simple proportions** – for presentations and reports where one clear takeaway is more important than precise comparison

## When to Avoid a Pie Chart

- **Many categories** – more than 5–6 slices creates a cluttered chart; use a [bar chart](https://instacharts.io/docs/chart-types/bar-chart/) instead
- **Similar slice sizes** – human perception of angles is poor; when slices are close in size, a bar chart makes differences clearer
- **Changes over time** – use a [line chart](https://instacharts.io/docs/chart-types/line-chart/) or [stacked bar chart](https://instacharts.io/docs/chart-types/stacked-bar-chart/) when tracking how proportions shift across time periods
- **Negative values** – pie charts cannot encode negative values

## Variants

### Donut Chart

A donut chart is a pie chart with a hollow center. The empty center can hold a summary value or label. Functionally identical to a pie chart, donuts are often perceived as less cluttered because the removed center reduces the emphasis on angular area.

### Semi-Circle Pie Chart

A semi-circle pie chart uses only the top half of the circle. This variant can fit more comfortably in dashboards with limited vertical space while still communicating proportional relationships.