Donut chart: definition, examples, and best practices.

What is a donut chart?

A donut chart works exactly like a pie chart, dividing a whole into proportional slices, except the centre of the circle is cut out to form a ring. Every rule that applies to reading slice size on a pie chart applies here too. The difference is purely the hole in the middle, and what you choose to put there.

The type is also spelled doughnut chart, and occasionally called a ring chart. All three names refer to the same shape.

A worked example

A sales team reporting pipeline by stage, with total pipeline value shown in the centre, might use data like this.

When to use a donut chart

• Showing sales pipeline by stage with the total pipeline value displayed in the centre.
• Reporting budget usage by category with the percentage spent so far shown in the middle.
• Presenting survey results where a single summary statistic belongs alongside the breakdown.
• Displaying a KPI dashboard tile where the ring shows composition and the centre carries the headline figure.

When not to use a donut chart

• If you have no need for a centre label, a pie chart uses the same space more efficiently for the slices themselves.
• If you have more than five or six categories, switch to a stacked bar chart, since a thin ring makes small slices even harder to compare than a full pie does.

How to read a donut chart

Read the ring the same way as a pie chart, comparing slice sizes moving around the circle. Then read the centre separately, it usually carries a single summary number such as a total or a percentage that contextualises everything shown in the ring around it.

Best practices

• Use the centre for a genuinely useful number, a total, a percentage complete, or a headline KPI, not decoration.
• Cap slices at five or six, the same limit as a pie chart, since the ring format leaves less area per slice.
• Keep the ring reasonably thick. A very thin ring makes slice comparison harder than it needs to be.
• Order slices by size and keep colours consistent with any related pie or bar chart in the same deck.
• Avoid stacking multiple donut charts side by side to compare categories. A bar chart handles that comparison better.