Scatter Plot Maker
Paste two columns of numbers, or upload a spreadsheet, and plot each row as a point to see whether the values move together. Download as PNG or Excel.
- Runs in your browser
- Free
- No sign-up
Paste cells from Excel or Google Sheets, or type rows separated by tabs or commas.
Chart data as a table
| Series | Ad spend | Y |
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 1,200 | 14,800 |
| Sales | 1,800 | 17,900 |
| Sales | 2,500 | 21,400 |
| Sales | 3,100 | 22,900 |
| Sales | 3,600 | 26,700 |
| Sales | 4,200 | 27,100 |
| Sales | 4,800 | 31,800 |
| Sales | 5,500 | 33,200 |
How to Make a Scatter Plot Online
- Add your data. Paste cells copied from Excel or Google Sheets into the Data box, or upload an .xlsx, .xls or .csv file. The sample data shows the layout.
- Check the headers. The first row is used as column names when it has no numbers in it; untick "First row is headers" if that guess is wrong.
- Give the chart a title. It is drawn at the top of the image and used for the file names.
- Download. PNG for slides, documents and email (drawn at twice the on-screen size so it stays sharp), SVG for print and the web, or Excel for the numbers behind the chart.
When to Use a Scatter Plot
A scatter plot puts one number on the horizontal axis and another on the vertical axis, one point per row, so you can see whether they are related: height and weight, price and units sold, study hours and test scores. A rising cloud of points suggests a positive relationship, a falling one a negative relationship, and a shapeless cloud none.
Unlike a line graph, both axes are numeric scales, so uneven gaps in X are drawn as uneven gaps.
How to Lay Out Your Data
The first column of numbers is X. Every numeric column after it is a separate Y series in its own color, plotted against the same X. Text columns are ignored, and rows without a number in X are skipped.
How to Make a Scatter Plot in Excel
To build the same chart natively in Excel, download the Excel file above (or use your own sheet) and:
- Put X in the left column and Y in the column to its right, then select both.
- Go to Insert > Insert Scatter (X, Y) or Bubble Chart > Scatter.
- To add a trendline, click the + button beside the chart and tick Trendline; under More Options you can show the equation and R-squared.
Excel always takes the leftmost selected column as X. If your columns are the other way round, swap them or set the X values in Select Data.
What This Scatter Plot Maker Does Not Do
- No trendline or correlation figure. For those, open the Excel download and add a trendline, or use =CORREL(X, Y) and =SLOPE(Y, X).
- Both axes are linear; there is no log scale.
- Points are not labelled with a name; hover a point to see its values.
Other Chart Makers
Every chart maker takes the same pasted or uploaded data, and you can switch type in the Chart type box without retyping anything. To chart a whole workbook column by column, with grouping by sum, count or average, use the Excel chart maker.
- Bar Graph Maker: Compare categories as bars; paste data, download PNG or Excel.
- Line Graph Maker: Plot a trend over time with one line per series.
- Pie Chart Maker: Show parts of a whole with percentages worked out.
- Doughnut Chart Maker: A pie chart with the total shown in the center.
- Radar Chart Maker: Compare profiles across several attributes on a spider chart.
- Histogram Maker: Count a column of numbers into bins to see its spread.
- Area Chart Maker: A line graph with the volume underneath shaded in.
Frequently Asked Questions
The first column that contains numbers. Put the variable you think explains the other one (the cause, or the thing you control) there, and the outcome in the next column.
Yes. Add more numeric columns after the X column and each one is drawn in its own color against the same X values, with a legend.
No. A scatter plot shows that two values move together, not why. Both could be driven by a third factor, such as season or size.
It contains the chart's data, laid out the way Excel's Insert > Chart expects, not a chart object. Open it, select the cells and insert the chart type named in the steps above; it takes a few seconds and gives you a native chart you can restyle. For a finished picture, use Download PNG.
No. Pasted data and uploaded files are read and drawn in your browser, and the PNG, SVG and Excel files are made there too. Nothing is sent to a server.