Excel Waterfall Chart: Can Colors Follow Values?

Excel’s built-in waterfall chart can color increases, decreases, and totals differently, but it does not automatically apply colors from custom value rules such as “blue above 100” or “orange below −50.” In Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, you can change the chart’s increase, decrease, and total colors, or format individual bars; for colors that update automatically at chosen thresholds, you need a workaround.

What the colors in a waterfall chart represent

A waterfall chart shows how a starting amount changes through a sequence of positive and negative contributions to reach an ending amount. Each floating bar represents a change from the previous running total, while a total bar is anchored to the axis. Excel’s standard color categories describe the role or direction of a bar—not its size or whether it passes a custom threshold.

For example, suppose a project starts at 100, gains 30, loses 12, then loses 45, and ends at 73. Excel can show the gain as an increase, both losses as decreases, and the final 73 as a total. You can choose different colors for those three categories. But Excel will not, by default, make the −45 bar a special color because its size exceeds a threshold while leaving the −12 bar unchanged.

This distinction matters when someone asks for a chart to be “colored based on value.” They may mean positive versus negative, which the built-in categories already address, or they may mean a rule based on magnitude, a target, or another data field. The first is straightforward; the second requires manual formatting or a more elaborate chart design.

Change the increase, decrease, and total colors

In the Windows desktop app, select the waterfall chart and open the Format tab. Use the Current Selection list to choose a chart element, then choose Format Selection. Depending on the chart and selection, you can format the Increase, Decrease, or Total category. In the Format Data Series pane, open Fill & Line, choose Fill, and set Solid fill and a color. If the category is not available in the selection list, select a bar from that category and format it directly.

You can also format a single bar by clicking it once to select the series, then clicking the same bar again to select just that data point. Right-click the selected point, choose Format Data Point, and use Fill & Line > Fill > Solid fill to choose a color. Be deliberate with the second click: formatting the series or category can affect more bars than formatting one point.

Use one color for increases and another for decreases when direction is the main message.
Give totals a distinct neutral or emphasis color so readers can tell anchored totals from floating changes.
Use a single-point color change to call attention to a particular event, such as a one-time charge.

Names in the Format tab’s Current Selection list and pane options can vary with the selection. If you cannot find the category you intend to change, click the chart and inspect the selection list, or right-click a specific bar and confirm that the pane says Format Data Point rather than Format Data Series.

Mark a subtotal or endpoint as a total

A bar that represents a subtotal or final balance should usually be marked as a total, rather than merely colored to look like one. In a waterfall chart, select the relevant bar, right-click it, and choose Set as Total. The bar then starts at the axis instead of floating from the previous running balance. This changes the chart’s structure; choosing a fill color alone does not.

This is a frequent source of confusion. A subtotal might numerically equal the running balance at that point, but Excel cannot always infer from the data that it should be treated as a new anchored total. If a chart’s bar floats when it should start from zero, check Set as Total before adjusting the color. Conversely, do not mark an ordinary increase or decrease as a total just to give it a different color, because that changes what the bar means.

Can colors change automatically when values change?

Not through conditional formatting on a standard Excel waterfall chart. Worksheet conditional formatting can color cells in a range, but it does not make a native chart point’s fill follow those cell rules. Similarly, changing the value in a cell does not make a manually assigned point color recalculate according to a custom threshold. A manual color is a formatting choice, not a formula-driven rule.

There is an important qualification: if a bar changes from a positive contribution to a negative contribution, it may belong to a different built-in category, and the chart can display it using the increase or decrease color. That is not the same as applying an arbitrary threshold. For instance, “color all decreases red” is a direction-based convention; “color decreases larger than 25 red, and smaller decreases yellow” is a magnitude rule.

Individual point formatting is useful for a fixed presentation, but it takes maintenance. If the categories or values change, revisit the chart to confirm that the highlighted point still represents the intended event. Do not assume Excel will preserve the meaning of a hand-colored bar when the underlying data is reorganized.

Workarounds for threshold-based colors

If the chart must distinguish values by a rule, first decide whether the rule is genuinely necessary. A clear title, labels, or a note may communicate the threshold more simply than a custom chart. If the color needs to update as data changes, consider these approaches:

Use a helper-based stacked column chart. A waterfall can be constructed from a stacked column chart using helper series for the invisible base and the visible change segments. Separate helper series can represent different threshold groups, allowing the series fills to use different colors. This is more complex than inserting a native waterfall, and the data preparation must correctly position both increases and decreases. Check connector lines, totals, axis settings, and labels because the result may not behave exactly like Excel’s built-in chart.
Use a charting tool or reporting platform with rule-driven point colors. This may be appropriate for dashboards that need to refresh frequently, but confirm that it supports waterfall charts and the precise rule you need.
Use VBA to apply formats after a refresh. A macro can inspect the chart data and assign point colors according to a rule, but it needs maintenance and may be blocked by workbook security settings. Save a separate copy before running any macro; macro changes cannot be undone with Ctrl+Z.
Keep the native chart and update highlights manually. For a static report with only a few exceptional bars, this is often the simplest option. Record the rule and check the formatting whenever the chart data changes.

A helper chart is not automatically better. Native waterfall charts make it easy to set intermediate bars as totals and show the standard increase/decrease structure. A workaround can offer more control over coloring, but it introduces extra data logic that must be tested whenever rows are added, removed, or reordered.

Choose colors that make the chart easier to read

Color should reinforce a message that is already understandable from the chart. A common scheme uses a calm positive color for increases, a contrasting negative color for decreases, and a neutral or dark color for totals. The particular hues matter less than consistent meaning and sufficient contrast. Avoid relying on red and green alone to communicate direction, since some readers have difficulty distinguishing them; labels, signs, patterns, or a legend can provide another cue.

For a threshold rule, define the rule precisely before formatting. Decide whether the comparison is based on the signed change or its absolute size, whether the boundary value is included, and whether the rule applies to every bar or only changes. For example, “losses of 25 or more” is different from “changes with an absolute size of 25 or more.” Clear wording avoids coloring a positive increase as though it were a large loss simply because its magnitude is high.

Also consider what the chart’s audience needs to compare. If exact values matter, add data labels or provide a companion table rather than expecting readers to estimate bar lengths and infer a threshold from color. A color palette with too many categories can make a waterfall harder to scan than the original data.

Common formatting problems

The wrong bars change color. You may have selected the data series rather than one data point, or selected a whole increase/decrease category. Check the pane heading and undo if the scope is broader than intended.
A bar is floating instead of anchored. Select it and use Set as Total if it represents a subtotal or endpoint. Color formatting will not change its position.
Colors do not follow a custom rule after editing data. Native waterfall colors are not a substitute for conditional formatting. Manually colored points may need to be reviewed, or the chart needs a dynamic workaround.
The legend does not explain a special highlight. A manually colored point may not create a meaningful legend entry. Add a data label or a short note to explain what the exception represents.
The color looks different after changing the chart style. Chart styles can alter the chart’s appearance. Recheck custom fills after applying a new style or copying the chart into another workbook.

On Mac, waterfall charts and point-formatting controls are available in current desktop Excel, though ribbon and pane layouts can differ from Windows. In Excel for the web, chart editing options may be more limited or arranged differently; use desktop Excel if you cannot access the specific point or category formatting controls you need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Excel color waterfall bars red for negative values and green for positive values?
Yes. The native chart distinguishes decreases from increases and allows you to choose their colors. Those categories reflect direction, not a custom magnitude threshold.

Can I use conditional formatting on a waterfall chart?
Not directly. Conditional formatting changes worksheet cell appearance; it does not automatically set the fill of native waterfall chart points.

How do I change just one waterfall bar’s color?
Select the bar, select it again to target the individual point, then right-click and choose Format Data Point. In Fill & Line, choose a solid fill and color.

Why is my subtotal floating in an Excel waterfall chart?
Excel may be treating it as a regular increase or decrease. Right-click the subtotal bar and choose Set as Total to anchor it to the axis.

Will a manually colored bar keep its color when the data changes?
It may retain its formatting, but that does not mean it will still meet the rule or represent the same event. Review manually formatted points after changing the data or chart structure.

Bottom line

Excel waterfall charts support separate colors for increases, decreases, and totals, plus manual formatting for individual points. They do not provide automatic, custom value-based conditional coloring for native waterfall bars. Use the built-in categories for direction, mark subtotals correctly with Set as Total, and choose a helper chart or another automated approach only when a threshold rule truly needs to update with the data.

Try it: the Percentage Formula Generator: percent of, percent change, increase and decrease, with the formula.

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Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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