Compare and rank
Floating bar / range bar chart
Shows an interval for each item rather than a bar extending from zero.
- Chart
- Range
- Comparison
What it answers
What interval does each item span?
- Shape
- Bars spanning two endpoints
- What it shows
- Interval location, width and overlap.
Example
The question
What range of prices do we charge for each product?
Lowest to highest selling price by product, 2025 (EUR)
Illustrative data. It belongs to no company.
When to use it
Use it when
Ranges, durations or low/high comparisons.
Avoid it when
When bars are mistaken for values measured from zero.
How to read it
Read both endpoints of each floating bar.
The data you need
- Layout
- Wide range table
- Fields
- Item: text; Start: number/date; End: number/date
- One row is
- One item with lower/upper or start/end positions. What is the grain?
- Rules
- Use compatible endpoints and require Start <= End unless direction is intentional.
- Optional
- Optional group or label.
- Preparation
- Validate the input grain and missing values. Use compatible endpoints and require Start <= End unless direction is intentional.
- Units
- Use the measured variable's stated unit consistently. No denominator is implied unless the value is a rate or proportion.
Worked example
A spans 10-25 and B15-40. B's interval is 25 units wide versus A's 15; the intervals overlap 15-25.
| Item | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| A | 10 | 25 |
| B | 15 | 40 |