Excel Waterfall Charts: Show Multiple Data Sets?

Excel’s built-in Waterfall chart is designed to show one running sequence of values at a time, not several data sets as parallel waterfalls in one chart. To compare separate scenarios or groups, use separate charts or build a more involved custom chart; if the values are simply more steps in the same sequence, put them in one series.

What Excel’s Waterfall Chart Shows

A waterfall chart explains how a starting value changes through a series of increases and decreases to reach an ending value. It is useful for a bridge such as opening cash balance, receipts, payments, and closing cash balance. The intermediate bars float at the running total reached so far, rather than all beginning at zero like ordinary columns.

In Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, the standard chart is created from a category column and one numeric value column. Select the data, then choose Insert > Insert Waterfall, Funnel, Stock, Surface or Radar Chart > Waterfall. Excel treats the numbers as a single ordered sequence. A chart can contain many steps, but that is different from displaying several independent series for comparison.

For example, a sequence might start at 100, add 40, subtract 25, and finish at 115. The first three values describe a running story; the last value is a reported ending balance. A waterfall chart does not automatically know that a row labeled Ending balance is a final total. Right-click that data point and choose Set as Total so it sits on the baseline as a total rather than being added as another change.

What Multiple Data Sets Can Mean

The phrase multiple data sets can describe two different charting needs. One is a single bridge with additional steps—for instance, revenue changes from several product lines that together explain one company-wide result. Those are still one sequence: arrange every contribution in the order you want it explained and put the contributions in the same value column.

The other need is to compare separate bridges, such as the monthly profit movement for three departments or the effect of three budget scenarios. Each department or scenario has its own starting balance, changes, and ending balance. These are independent sequences. Combining their values in one column would make Excel carry the running total from one set into the next, which can misrepresent the figures.

A quick decision rule is to ask whether each value should change the same running total. If yes, one waterfall series may be appropriate. If each group needs its own running total, it is a separate data set and should usually have its own waterfall chart or a deliberately designed custom visualization.

Example: One Bridge or Three Scenarios?

Imagine a team reporting operating profit. The starting profit is 500 thousand dollars. Price changes add 60, higher material costs subtract 35, and additional sales add 25, producing a final profit of 550. Those entries belong in one waterfall because every change contributes to the same profit bridge. The unit and period should be stated in the chart title or nearby text.

Now suppose the team wants to compare a base forecast, an optimistic forecast, and a cautious forecast. Each forecast begins with its own value and has its own changes and closing result. Putting all three sets of changes in a single value column would create one long cumulative chain, not three independent forecast bridges. A reader could mistake the ending point of one scenario for the starting point of the next.

If the scenarios share the same steps, three separate charts can make comparison straightforward. Use the same category order, scale, color meanings, and chart dimensions in each. Align the charts in a row or column and label each scenario clearly. If there are many scenarios, a table or another chart form may communicate the comparison more compactly.

Best Ways to Compare Separate Data Sets

For most workbooks, separate waterfall charts are the clearest practical choice. Each chart contains one scenario, so the running total remains meaningful. Reuse the category labels and formatting, and keep the vertical axis limits consistent when the charts are intended for side-by-side comparison. Otherwise, Excel may scale each chart differently and make similar changes look unequal.

Use small multiples when there are a few groups and each group needs a complete bridge. A reader can inspect the same steps across aligned charts.
Use a summary table when exact values matter more than the visual bridge. Show starting value, each change, and ending value for each group.
Use a line or column chart when the goal is to compare outcomes over time or compare category values, rather than explain how a total was reached.
Use a custom chart only when the benefits of putting several bridges in one visual outweigh the setup and maintenance work.

To make separate charts from similar data, create the first waterfall from one scenario, then duplicate it and change the copied chart’s source range through Chart Design > Select Data. Check the category order and the total markers after changing the range. A copied chart may preserve formatting, but the new series still needs to represent the intended sequence and totals.

Can One Chart Display Several Waterfalls?

Not as a straightforward, built-in grouped waterfall chart in Excel. Selecting multiple value columns does not turn the standard waterfall into a set of parallel bridges in the way multiple series can appear in some ordinary column charts. Depending on the selected data and chart editing, the result may be confusing or may not present each series as an independent running total. Do not assume that several visible colors mean Excel has calculated several separate bridges correctly.

Excel charts can be customized, and experienced users sometimes create a waterfall-like display with helper data and a stacked column chart. Such a chart can place an invisible offset beneath visible increase, decrease, and total bars. However, the helper structure must calculate a separate cumulative path for each group, and positive and negative changes need careful treatment. It is not equivalent to simply adding several columns to the source data.

A custom chart is most appropriate when the layout is a firm requirement and the workbook owner can maintain the helper calculations. Test it with known examples, label the legend and categories carefully, and verify that the displayed bars reconcile to each reported final total. For a report that other people must update, separate native charts are generally easier to audit.

Preparing Data and Marking Totals

Organize a standard waterfall as one label column and one value column, with one row per step. Keep the steps in the order in which the explanation should unfold. Include starting and ending values as appropriate, and use consistent units. A compact source layout might contain Opening balance, Customer payments, Operating costs, Other changes, and Closing balance as the labels, with one number beside each.

After inserting the chart, mark closing balances and any intermediate subtotals as totals. In Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, right-click the relevant bar and choose Set as Total. Repeat for every subtotal that should stand on the baseline. This point-level setting matters: without it, Excel interprets a subtotal as another change and adds it to the running total.

Use colors to distinguish increases, decreases, and totals, but do not rely on color alone. Add clear labels, retain a readable zero baseline, and state whether the figures are dollars, thousands, units, or percentages. If the chart is copied for another data set, verify the total settings again because the new chart points may not have the correct points marked.

Common Problems and How to Avoid Them

The ending balance is too high or low: Check whether the final balance was marked as a total. If it is treated as a change, Excel adds it to the preceding running balance.
A decrease appears to increase the total: Check that the source value is negative and that the data has not been imported as text. A minus sign displayed as part of a text string may not behave as a numeric value.
Two groups appear to run together: They are probably being treated as one sequence. Split them into separate charts unless they truly contribute to one cumulative result.
Charts look unlike one another despite similar values: Compare their axis bounds, chart sizes, units, and category order. Automatic scaling can make visual comparisons misleading.
Extra blank or unexpected categories appear: Recheck the selected source range in Chart Design > Select Data and remove empty rows or unrelated columns.

Also distinguish a waterfall from a comparison chart. A waterfall answers how a total changed; a clustered column chart answers how separate values compare. Choosing a chart based on the question prevents a polished graphic from implying a calculation the data does not support.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an Excel waterfall chart have two data series?

The built-in waterfall is intended for one running sequence, not two independent series shown side by side. To compare two separate sequences, make two waterfall charts or create a custom chart with helper data and validate its calculations.

How do I compare two scenarios in Excel?

Create one waterfall chart per scenario using the same step labels and order. Keep the charts the same size and use matching axis limits and colors so differences are easier to judge. Use a table instead if readers need to compare exact figures quickly.

Can I put more steps in one waterfall chart?

Yes. Add the extra contributions as rows in the same category and value columns when they affect the same running total. Keep the order meaningful, and mark subtotals or final balances as totals rather than ordinary changes.

Why does my waterfall chart show the wrong final total?

Common causes include a final balance that has not been set as a total, an omitted or duplicated contribution, or a value stored as text. Check the source figures and each step’s sign, then verify the total-point setting on the chart.

Can I make a waterfall chart with multiple groups using a workaround?

Yes, a helper-data layout and stacked column chart can imitate multiple waterfalls, but it requires extra calculations and formatting. It is more fragile than separate native charts, so use it only when a single combined graphic is essential and can be maintained.

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

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