Frequently asked questions

Privacy and your data

Is my data uploaded or saved anywhere?

No. Parsing, chart drawing and file generation all happen inside your browser. The table you paste is never sent to a server and is not stored anywhere — there is no account, no history and no library. Close the tab and the table is gone.

This is also why we cannot recover a chart you forgot to download: there is nothing on our side to recover.

Do you keep a copy of the charts I export?

No. The PNG or .xlsx file is generated on your device and saved directly by your browser. Nothing passes through us.

What about ads and cookies?

The site is supported by advertising (Google AdSense). Ads may use cookies to personalise or limit what you see — that is separate from the chart tool and never gives advertisers access to the table you paste. The Privacy Policy explains exactly what is and is not collected.

Getting data in

What data formats can I paste?

Anything that copies as a table: a range from Excel or Google Sheets (tab-separated), CSV text, or a table copied from another app or website. There is no file upload — pasting is deliberate, because it is what keeps the data on your device.

How do I paste from Excel or Google Sheets?

1. Select the range in the spreadsheet, including the header row and the first column of labels.
2. Copy it (Ctrl+C on Windows, Cmd+C on Mac).
3. Paste into the data box. Rows become categories, columns become series, and the chart appears.

Avoid merged cells inside the range, and keep units in the headers rather than in the cells. The Excel-to-chart guide covers the layout rules in more detail.

How should the table be laid out?

First row: column headers. First column: the labels on the axis. Every other cell: a number. For example, a “Month / Online / Retail” table produces one axis with three months and two series.

Why are my numbers treated as text?

The usual causes are currency symbols, thousands separators, a decimal comma from a non-English locale, or cells formatted as text in the spreadsheet. Format the cells as plain numbers before copying, or correct the value directly in the editable grid.

Can I paste more than one table at a time?

No — one table at a time. For two tables, make two charts, or combine them in the spreadsheet first.

Exporting

What can I download?

• PNG — standard resolution, or 2× HD for slides, print and high-density screens.
• .xlsx — the data plus a native, editable Excel chart. Available for 16 of the 19 chart makers; funnel, heatmap and treemap cannot be expressed as a standard Excel chart, and the download button says so instead of silently giving you a broken file.
• Example templates — in reverse mode (pick a chart first), the example table can be downloaded as .xlsx and edited.

What is inside the .xlsx file?

One sheet with the pasted data, and a native Excel chart built from it. Change a number and the chart updates — it is not a picture pasted onto a slide.

Which image resolution should I use?

Use 2× for presentations, print and retina screens; the standard size is fine for a webpage or a quick message.

Can I use the charts commercially?

Yes. The charts and files you create are yours. See the Terms of Use for the full statement.

Chart types

Which chart types are supported?

Twenty chart types, nineteen of which have their own maker page. The chart-type directory groups them by the question they answer — comparison, change over time, parts of a whole, relationships, distribution, and so on.

Which chart should I use for a business question?

The chart-choice guide goes deeper, including the mistakes that make a chart misleading.

Account and pricing

Do I need an account? Is it free?

No account, no email address, no sign-up — and no payment. The tool is free to use, including downloads.

Is there a paid version?

Not at the moment. The site is supported by advertising. If a paid tier is ever added, this page will say what it includes and the free tool will remain usable without an account.

Troubleshooting

The chart area is blank or does not update.

Try, in order: reload the page; paste a tiny 3×3 sample to see whether the problem is the data or the page; make sure your browser is up to date; temporarily disable extensions that modify page content. If it still fails, email us with your browser and operating system, the chart type, and the layout of the data (dummy numbers are fine).

My paste arrived as one long column.

The clipboard was not tab-separated — common when copying from a PDF or a plain-text editor. Copy the range from Excel or Google Sheets instead, or convert the data to CSV and paste that.

A value disappeared or the chart looks wrong after editing.

Check that the cell contains a plain number. Text such as “1,200” with a comma, or “n/a”, is treated as text and will not be plotted.

Dates or category names sort oddly.

Mixed date formats are read as text. Use one format for every row in the source, or sort the data in the spreadsheet before pasting.

The downloaded PNG looks blurry.

Choose the 2× HD option. Standard resolution is sized for the screen and will look soft when printed or enlarged.

The chart in the .xlsx looks different from the website.

Excel draws fonts, spacing and labels with its own layout engine, so small differences in margins and text placement are normal. The data, chart type and series are the same, and the chart in Excel is fully editable.

Still stuck?

Write to [email protected] or use the contact page. Include the browser and operating system, the chart type, what you expected, and a sample of the data layout — never send real customer or confidential data.