Percentage Half Moon Chart in Excel: How to Create One

To create a percentage half moon in Excel, build a doughnut chart from three values: the completed percentage, the amount remaining, and a spacer equal to 100%. Format the spacer with no fill and rotate the chart until that blank half sits at the bottom. The remaining colored semicircle shows progress, and a center label can display the percentage.

This is a visual gauge for a target such as task completion, capacity used, or a survey result. It is a chart rather than a special Excel feature, so you can change the input percentage and update the display. The steps below use Microsoft Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows.

What You’ll Need

Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, with a workbook you can edit. The same doughnut chart approach is available in recent desktop versions of Excel.
A percentage between 0% and 100%. For the example, the value is 65%.
A small data table with a completed amount, a remaining amount, and a blank-half spacer. No add-in or macro is required.

Step-by-Step

Enter the chart data. In a blank worksheet, make a table with the headings Part and Value. Put Completed in A2, Remaining in A3, and Blank half in A4. Enter 65% in B2 and format it as a percentage if Excel does not do so automatically. Enter the spacer value 1 in B4; it represents 100% of one semicircle, not a 100% completion result. With B2 set to 65%, the table will ultimately contain 65%, 35%, and 100%. The chart uses those three values as slices of one doughnut.
Calculate the amount remaining. With the completion value in B2 and the remaining amount in B3, enter =1-B2 in B3. If B2 contains 65%, the formula returns 35%. Keep the chart values in the same units: the two progress values should add to 100%, while B4 should be 100% (the numeric value 1). If you enter 65 rather than 65%, use 100 as the base and calculate the remainder accordingly; mixing 65 with 1 will give the wrong proportions.
Select the chart range. Include both headings and all three rows of data, for example A1:B4. Including the labels helps Excel assign names to the chart slices. If your table is somewhere else, select its equivalent range rather than using the example addresses.
Insert a doughnut chart. On the ribbon, choose Insert > Insert Pie or Doughnut Chart > Doughnut. Excel creates a full ring with three slices. If the chart shows generic labels or the wrong data, use Chart Design > Select Data and check that the series values are the three cells in the Value column and the category labels are the Part cells.
Make the spacer slice invisible. Click the slice representing Blank half once to select the doughnut series, then click that same slice again to select just that data point. Right-click it and choose Format Data Point. In the formatting pane, open Fill & Line, choose Fill > No fill, and choose Border > No line. The chart will now show only the two progress slices, leaving an open half. If selecting the point is difficult, click the chart and use the Chart Format tab’s Current Selection list to choose the Blank half data point.
Rotate the chart to put the gap at the bottom. Select a visible slice, right-click, and choose Format Data Series. Under Series Options, set Angle of first slice to 270 degrees. Excel’s rotation can make the result look different if the data order or chart orientation has changed, so use the visible gap as your guide: the transparent half should be at the bottom, with the colored arc across the top. Adjust the angle until it is in that position. The Completed slice should start at the left end of the arc and proceed toward the right as its value grows.
Choose the ring thickness and colors. In Format Data Series, adjust Doughnut Hole Size to suit the space available; a value around 55% to 70% usually leaves room for a center label. Click the Completed slice and use Format Data Point > Fill to choose a strong color. Give the Remaining slice a pale neutral color so the completed amount stands out. Avoid coloring the spacer, since it must remain transparent.
Add a percentage label in the middle. With the completion value in B2 and an unused label cell such as A6, enter =TEXT(B2,"0%") in A6. For a 65% input, this returns the text 65%. Add a text box from Insert > Text Box, draw it in the center of the ring, select its border, click the formula bar, type =A6, and press Enter. Format the label with a readable font size and center alignment. Because the text box is linked to A6, changing B2 updates the displayed label.
Clean up and check the chart. Remove the legend if it adds no useful information: select it and press Delete. Add a concise chart title if readers need context, such as “Tasks complete.” Resize the chart and verify that the gap is at the bottom, the percentage is legible, and the label agrees with the input. Change B2 to a different value as a test, then restore the intended percentage.

For the 65% example, the data values are 65%, 35%, and 100%. Their total is 200%; the two progress slices occupy 100 out of 200 units, or half the ring, and the completed slice occupies 65 out of 200 units, or 32.5% of the full ring. Since the visible progress arc is only half the ring, that completed slice fills 65% of the visible semicircle. This is why the extra spacer value is essential.

Common Mistakes

Using only completed and remaining values. Those two values add to 100%, so Excel fills the entire doughnut. The chart then looks like a circular progress ring rather than a half-moon gauge. Add the 100% spacer as a third data point, then make that point invisible.

Making the spacer zero or hiding the wrong slice. A zero-size value cannot create a blank half. The spacer must be as large as the combined progress values: 100 when the completion and remaining values add to 100. If you hide Completed or Remaining instead, the gauge will show the wrong amount. Confirm the category name before setting No fill.

Mixing percentage and whole-number scales. Excel stores 65% as 0.65. If the completion is entered as 65 and the remainder as 0.35, the chart proportions will be badly skewed. Use 65% and 35% with a spacer of 100%, or use 65 and 35 with a spacer of 100. Keep the entire value column consistent.

Relying on default slice orientation. Excel may put the opening at the side or top, depending on the first-slice angle and data order. Set the angle and check where the transparent half actually appears; do not assume a particular default orientation. Changing the order of the rows also changes which colored segment appears first.

Leaving a border around the blank half. Setting Fill to No fill but keeping a visible border can leave an unwanted line across the open side. Set both Fill to No fill and Border to No line for the spacer data point.

Tips

Keep the source values together in a clearly labeled table, even if you hide the worksheet gridlines or move the chart elsewhere. A reader can then understand what the gauge represents and maintain it later. For multiple gauges, create a separate three-value series for each measure, and label each chart with its own metric rather than relying on color alone.

Use a lighter color for the remaining portion, but retain enough contrast to distinguish it from the chart background. If the chart will be printed in grayscale, choose two shades with visibly different lightness and include a text label. The number in the center is important: color by itself does not tell someone the exact percentage.

Decide how to handle values outside the 0%–100% range. A simple half-moon gauge is designed for that range; an input such as 115% makes the remainder negative and does not form a sensible three-slice chart. If values can exceed the target, consider displaying a separate over-target message or cap the chart display at 100% while keeping the actual value elsewhere. Make clear which number is being shown.

When copying the chart to another sheet, keep the source cells accessible and check the linked center label. If you copy a chart and its text box separately, the label link may still refer to the original sheet. For a workbook used by other people, add a short note beside the input cell explaining that it expects a percentage from 0% to 100%.

Troubleshooting

The chart is a full circle. Check that the table has three rows, including Blank half, and that the spacer value equals 100% when the first two values add to 100%. Then set the spacer’s fill and border to none. A full ring usually means the third value is missing, too small, or not included in the selected chart range.

The opening is not at the bottom. Reopen Format Data Series and change Angle of first slice. Confirm that the Blank half point is the invisible one. If you reordered the table after creating the chart, the slice arrangement may have changed; check the labels and adjust the angle again until the transparent semicircle is below the colored arc.

The percentage looks wrong or the arc does not match it. Check the cell’s underlying value and the formula for Remaining. A displayed value of 65% should be stored as 0.65, and the remaining value should be 0.35. Make sure the chart references the intended cells, including the spacer, and that the center text box links to the correct label cell.

The spacer will not select. First click the chart, then click the spacer’s location again to select its point rather than the whole series. If it is hard to see, use Chart Format > Current Selection to pick the relevant data point from the list. Avoid changing the formatting of the entire series when you only intend to make the spacer transparent.

The center label does not update. Verify that the label cell formula refers to the input cell, and that the text box is linked to that label cell through the formula bar. A text box containing typed text will not update when the percentage changes. Re-link it by selecting the text box border, entering =A6 in the formula bar, and pressing Enter, replacing A6 with your actual label cell.

The chart looks different on Mac or Excel for the web. The doughnut chart and data-formatting options are available in current Excel releases, but ribbon labels and pane layouts can vary. Look for the equivalent Format Data Point or Format Data Series pane and the setting for Angle of first slice. Excel for the web may offer fewer detailed formatting controls than the Windows desktop app; if you cannot set a point to No fill or adjust the angle, open the workbook in desktop Excel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make the half moon update when the percentage changes?
Yes. The remaining amount is calculated from the input cell, and the chart reads those cells. If the center text box is linked to a formula cell, both the arc and label update when you change the percentage.

Why does the chart need a spacer value?
The spacer takes up half of the doughnut’s total angle. Making that slice transparent exposes the chart area beneath it, leaving the other two slices visible as a semicircle. Without the spacer, the progress values fill the complete ring.

Can the half moon face downward or open at the top?
Yes. Change Angle of first slice until the transparent half is in the desired position. The rotation changes the chart’s orientation without changing the underlying percentage. Check the opening after every adjustment.

Can I show 0% or 100%?
Yes. With 0%, the completed slice has no visible width; with 100%, the remaining slice has no visible width. Keep the spacer at 100% in both cases. The center label is especially helpful at these endpoints because the colored arc alone can be hard to interpret.

Can I use this chart for values over 100%?
Not directly with the basic setup. The completed and remaining values are meant to divide a 100% target, so an input above 100% creates an invalid negative remainder. Show the actual over-target figure separately or define a different display rule before building the chart.

Can I make the gauge without a formula?
Yes, if the percentage will not change: type the completed value, its remainder, and the spacer into the table manually. A formula is more dependable when the percentage may be updated, because it keeps the remaining slice in step with the input.

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

More in Charts & pivot tables

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

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