Waterfall Chart Maker
Create professional waterfall charts to visualize how initial values are affected by positive and negative changes. Perfect for financial analysis, profit/loss breakdowns, and showing cumulative effects.
Data Format & Order Tips
- "starting"/"initial" values come first
- "positive"/"negative" changes come in the middle (in logical sequence)
- "ending"/"final"/"total" values come last
Not sure how to format your data? Start with our sample dataset to see how it works, or upload your own data to get started!
Calculator
1. Load Your Data
2. Select Columns & Options
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What is a Waterfall Chart?
A waterfall chart is a data visualization that shows how an initial value is affected by a series of positive or negative changes. The chart resembles a waterfall, with floating bars representing incremental changes that lead to a final cumulative value. Each bar starts where the previous one ended, creating a cascading effect.
How to Construct a Waterfall Chart Manually
Follow these steps to create a waterfall chart by hand:
- Organize your data: List your starting value, all positive and negative changes, and calculate the ending value
- Calculate cumulative positions: For each change, determine where the bar should start (the cumulative total up to that point)
- Determine bar heights: Each change bar should have a height equal to its absolute value
- Position the bars: Starting and ending bars begin at zero; change bars float at their cumulative position
- Add connectors: Draw dotted lines from the end of one bar to the start of the next to show the flow
- Apply color coding: Use green for positive changes, red for negative, and neutral colors for starting/ending totals
How to Construct Waterfall Chart Data
Follow these steps to build your waterfall chart data from scratch:
Step 1: Gather Your Raw Information
Identify your starting point, all changes (positive and negative), and the logical sequence. Think about the story you want to tell.
Step 2: Organize in Logical Order
Arrange your data to flow naturally: Starting value → Positive changes → Negative changes → Ending value. The order should make sense to your audience.
Step 3: Assign Types Correctly
starting/initial: First value only (full bar from zero)
positive: Gains, income, additions (floating upward bars)
negative: Costs, losses, deductions (floating downward bars)
ending/final: Last value only (full bar, auto-calculated)
Step 4: Handle Signs Properly
Key rule: The sign of your number should match the type. Positive changes get positive numbers (+45000), negative changes get negative numbers (-15000).
Step 5: Set Ending Value to Zero
Always use 0 for your ending value. The waterfall chart will automatically calculate and display the correct cumulative result. This prevents math errors!
Quick Format Check:
Starting Revenue,100000,starting,Baseline
Product Sales,45000,positive,Income
Marketing Costs,-15000,negative,Expenses
Final Revenue,0,ending,Baseline
Common Mistakes to Avoid:
- ❌ Putting ending value in the middle of your data
- ❌ Using +15000 for expenses (should be -15000)
- ❌ Using "positive" type for starting values (should be "starting")
- ❌ Manually calculating the ending value (let the chart do it!)
Example: Monthly Budget Analysis
Let's walk through creating a waterfall chart from scratch using real budget data.
Step 1: Raw Data
category,value,type,group
Starting Balance,2000,starting,Balance
Salary,4500,positive,Income
Freelance Work,800,positive,Income
Rent,-1200,negative,Housing
Utilities,-300,negative,Housing
Groceries,-450,negative,Living
Gas,-120,negative,Transport
Insurance,-250,negative,Insurance
Entertainment,-180,negative,Fun
Dining Out,-220,negative,Fun
Emergency Fund,-500,negative,Savings
401k,-600,negative,Savings
Ending Balance,0,ending,BalanceStep 2: How the Data is Organized
Notice the structure that makes this work:
Order matters: We start with "Starting Balance," then list all the changes in logical order (income first, then expenses by category), and end with "Ending Balance."
Types are crucial: "starting" and "ending" create full bars from zero. "positive" and "negative" create floating bars that show changes.
Groups for color-coding: Income is green, different expense categories get different colors, and balance items are neutral.
Negative values: Expenses are negative numbers because they reduce your balance.
Step 3: Try It Yourself!
- Copy the CSV data above
- Upload it into the table in the Calculator section
- Set Value Column to "value"
- Set Category Column to "category"
- Leave Type Column as "None"
- Leave Group By Column as "None"
- Click "Generate Waterfall Chart"
Step 4: What the Chart Reveals
Once you generate the chart, here's what you'll see:
The income story: Your salary of $4,500 plus $800 freelance work shoots your balance up to $7,300. The green bars make it obvious where your money comes from.
Housing reality check: Rent and utilities together ($1,500) are your biggest expense category - more than a third of your income. The red bars show this clearly.
The savings discipline: You're putting away $1,100 total ($500 emergency + $600 retirement). That's about 15% of gross income - pretty solid!
Fun money tracking: Entertainment and dining out total $400. The chart makes it easy to see if you're comfortable with this "fun budget."
Net result: You end up with $3,480 (up $1,480 from your starting $2,000). The final bar shows your success at growing your balance this month.
Best Practices for Waterfall Charts
- Use consistent color coding (green for positive, red for negative)
- Order categories logically to tell a clear story
- Include data labels to show exact values
- Use connector lines to emphasize the cumulative nature of changes
- Limit the number of categories to maintain readability (typically 5-10)
- Clearly distinguish between starting/ending totals and incremental changes
- Include a descriptive title that explains what the chart represents
How to Create a Waterfall Chart in R
A customized R function to create a waterfall chart using ggplot2.
library(tidyverse)
# sample data from example above
budget_data <- tibble(
category = c("Starting Balance", "Salary", "Freelance Work", "Rent",
"Utilities", "Groceries", "Gas", "Insurance",
"Entertainment", "Dining Out", "Emergency Fund", "401k", "Final Balance"),
value = c(2000, 4500, 800, -1200, -300, -450, -120, -250, -180, -220, -500, -600, 0),
type = c("starting", "positive", "positive", "negative", "negative",
"negative", "negative", "negative", "negative", "negative",
"negative", "negative", "ending"),
group = c("Balance", "Income", "Income", "Housing", "Housing",
"Living", "Transport", "Insurance", "Fun", "Fun",
"Savings", "Savings", "Balance")
)
# Function to create waterfall chart
create_waterfall <- function(data) {
# Calculate positions for waterfall effect
waterfall_data <- data |>
mutate(
cumulative = cumsum(ifelse(type == "ending", 0, value)),
# Calculate start and end positions for each bar
start = case_when(
type == "starting" ~ 0,
type == "ending" ~ 0,
TRUE ~ lag(cumulative, default = 0)
),
end = case_when(
type == "starting" ~ value,
type == "ending" ~ cumulative,
TRUE ~ cumulative
),
# Create colors based on type
color = case_when(
type == "starting" | type == "ending" ~ "Total",
value > 0 ~ "Positive",
value < 0 ~ "Negative"
),
# Create labels
label = case_when(
type == "ending" ~ round(cumulative, 0),
TRUE ~ round(value, 0)
),
# Position for category labels
category_num = row_number()
)
# Create the plot
p <- ggplot(waterfall_data, aes(x = category_num)) +
# Draw the main bars
geom_rect(aes(xmin = category_num - 0.4, xmax = category_num + 0.4,
ymin = start, ymax = end, fill = color),
color = "white", size = 0.5) +
# Add connector lines (optional)
geom_segment(data = waterfall_data[-nrow(waterfall_data), ],
aes(x = category_num + 0.4, xend = category_num + 1 - 0.4,
y = end, yend = end),
linetype = "dashed", color = "gray50", alpha = 0.7) +
# Add value labels on bars
geom_text(aes(x = category_num, y = end + ifelse(value >= 0, 100, -100),
label = scales::comma(label)),
size = 3, hjust = 0.5) +
# Customize colors
scale_fill_manual(values = c("Positive" = "#2E7D32",
"Negative" = "#C62828",
"Total" = "#1565C0"),
name = "Type") +
# Customize axes
scale_x_continuous(breaks = waterfall_data$category_num,
labels = waterfall_data$category,
expand = c(0.02, 0.02)) +
scale_y_continuous(labels = scales::comma_format()) +
# Add labels and theme
labs(title = "Monthly Budget Waterfall Chart",
subtitle = "How your money flows from starting to ending balance",
x = "Category",
y = "Amount ($)",
caption = "Data: Personal Budget Example") +
theme_minimal() +
theme(
axis.text.x = element_text(angle = 45, hjust = 1),
panel.grid.major.x = element_blank(),
panel.grid.minor = element_blank(),
legend.position = "bottom"
)
return(p)
}
# Create and display the chart
waterfall_chart <- create_waterfall(budget_data)
print(waterfall_chart)
# Optional: Save the chart
# ggsave("waterfall_chart.png", waterfall_chart, width = 12, height = 8, dpi = 300)
# calculated data to understand the logic
print("Waterfall calculation breakdown:")
budget_data |>
mutate(
cumulative = cumsum(ifelse(type == "starting", value,
ifelse(type == "ending", 0, value))),
start_pos = case_when(
type == "starting" ~ 0,
type == "ending" ~ cumulative - value,
TRUE ~ lag(cumulative, default = 0)
),
end_pos = case_when(
type == "ending" ~ cumulative,
TRUE ~ cumulative
)
) |>
select(category, value, type, start_pos, end_pos) |>
print()