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Compare parts of a whole with pie and donut charts


Use pie charts to visualize proportions and compare parts of a whole. If you want a variation with a clear center, use a donut chart.

How pie and donut charts work

  • Each slice represents a proportion of the total value.
  • Pie and donut charts work best when your total number can be split up into 2-5 categories.

Note: If you have too many categories, use a Bar chart or a Treemap chart for better clarity and readability.

Add pie and donut charts

This is the first step in pie and donut charts. Afterwards, you can add chart data manually or import it from an external source.

  1. Create or open an existing design.
  2. Go to
    Apps and select
    Charts. Alternatively, you can go to
    Elements, then select Charts.
  3. Under Pie and Donut charts, choose Pie or Donut chart.

Set up your pie and donut chart data

Data Requirements:

  • One categorical column (e.g., product, country, response type)
  • One numerical column per category (e.g., sales, percentage, count)

Add chart data manually

Enter your data into the chart table, then review each part of the chart to make sure it accurately reflects the data in your table

Add data

  1. Select your chart, then click
    Edit on the toolbar.
  2. In the side panel, enter your chart values in the Data table. You can also select
    Expand data table for a full-screen view of your data.

Add rows and columns

  1. To add a new row, choose a row, then click
    (More).
    1. Choose between Insert row before or Insert row after.
    2. To remove a row, choose Delete row.
  2. To add a new column, choose a column, then click
    (More).
    1. Choose between Insert column before or Insert column after.
    2. To remove a column, choose Delete column.

Note: When editing data on Canva, use the Shift key on your keyboard to select multiple cells, rows, and columns. You can also click and drag to select multiple cells.

Sort data

  1. To sort your chart data, select a column, then click on 
    (More).
  2. Click Sort table A-Z to sort in ascending order, or click Sort table Z-A to sort in descending order.

Import chart data

Connect to data from Canva Sheets or connect to a data source app. You can also use a CSV, TSV, or XLSX file to import your data. For now, you can only import up to 1000 rows and 100 columns of data.

  1. Select or add a chart, then select
    Edit.
  2. From the side panel, click
    Import data.
  3. From here, you can choose to:
    1. Select Sheets to connect to data from Canva Sheets.
    2. Select a data source from the available options: Google Sheets, Salesforce, Google Analytics, HubSpot, World Bank.
    3.  Upload a CSV, XLSX, or TSV file by selecting
      Upload data.

Tip: After your data loads, you can use

Data Actions to clean and organize it before importing. See Clean imported data with Data Actions below. 

4. If you chose a third-party app, sign in to the app (if required) and grant Canva permission to access your data.

5. Choose the specific dataset you want to use from the imported data.

6. Click Done to sync the data with your chart.

Learn more about adding and managing your chart data. You can also format the values for clarity.

Choose which data to display

After adding your data, make sure your chart clearly represents your data. Select what data you’d like to show, and how you’d like it to be displayed in your chart. You can customize your chart afterwards.

  1. Click on the chart to open the toolbar, then select
    Edit.
  2. In the Chart panel, under the Data table, go to Chart Setup
  3. Under Labels – What to show click the drop-down menu, and choose which column(s) you’d like to label in the chart.
  4. Under Segments - What values to show, choose the values you’d like to display in the chart’s body.
  5. To easily identify patterns or trends in large data sets, click on the Aggregate data dropdown. Learn more about Data aggregation in Canva Charts.

Customize your chart

After choosing which data to display, you can enhance your chart’s readability, add filters, or change its colors.

Enhance your pie and donut chart’s readability and clarity

  1. Select the chart to open the toolbar, then select
    Edit.
  2. On the Chart panel, select the Customize tab.
  3. To add a title and subtitle, enter your Title and Subtitle in their respective text fields.
  4. Select the
    Text dropdown. Toggle on or off the Legend and Labels switch.
  5. Choose between Percentages or Numbers as format values.
  6. Under Settings, you can turn tooltips on to show details when you hover over the chart, or off to hide them.

Add chart filters

Chart filters are only available on Pro and other paid plans.

  1. Select the Settings dropdown.
  2. Select Add filter.
  3. Select the Select data dropdown to choose a filter category.
  4. Choose a filter style: Buttons or Range slider.
  5. Select the Interactive color tile to change the color of the filter buttons or range slider. 
  6. Select Set to save your current filter setup as default view.
  7. Select Remove filter to delete a filter and add a new one. You can add a maximum of 3 filters.

Change chart colors

  1. Click on the chart to open the toolbar.
  2. On the editor toolbar, select the color tile you'd like to edit. The Color panel will open on the side.
  3. To use a color on your chart, click on a color tile from the options. Hover over a color to see its display name.
  4. If the color you're looking for isn't available, click
    Add a new color (the rainbow color tile).
  5. To pick a color from your design, click the
    Pick a color (eyedropper) button and select any color on the canvas.
  6. To replace a color across the current page or the entire pages, select Current page or All pages.
  7. If your Team admin or Brand designer has already added the chart style to your team’s Brand Kit, choose from your brand colors. For detailed steps, check out Create on-brand charts.

Looking for advanced charts? You can use the Flourish App. Check out  Add advanced charts via Flourish to learn more. 

Not sure where to start? Check out Get started with Canva Charts

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