How to Make a Half-Round Chart in Excel

In Excel for Microsoft 365, make a half-round chart by inserting a doughnut chart from your values plus a final spacer value equal to their total, then hide the spacer slice and rotate the chart until the open half is at the bottom. This creates a half-doughnut, also called a semicircle doughnut chart. You will need a small table of labels and numbers; no formula or add-in is required.

What You’ll Need

Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows. The same chart approach is available in current Excel for Mac, though ribbon details may vary slightly.
A short list of categories and positive numeric values. For example, use four category values of 25, 25, 20, and 30.
A spacer value equal to the sum of the categories. In this example, the category total is 100, so the spacer is also 100.
Optional: a preferred color palette, chart title, and labels to explain the values.

Step-by-Step

Set up the chart data. In a blank worksheet, enter category names in A1:A5 and values in B1:B5. For example, enter Product A, Product B, Product C, Product D, and Spacer in column A; enter 25, 25, 20, 30, and 100 in column B. The four real categories add to 100, and the spacer is another 100. The spacer therefore takes up half of the complete doughnut, leaving the other half for the real categories. Keep the spacer row last so it is easy to identify and format. You can use different category values, but the spacer must always match their total.
Insert a doughnut chart. Select the two-column data range, including the headers if you have added them. Choose Insert > Insert Pie or Doughnut Chart > Doughnut. Excel creates a full ring because the chart initially includes both the real categories and the spacer. If Excel puts the category names in the legend and the values in the slices, the data range is set up correctly. If it produces one slice per row label in a different way, check that labels and values occupy separate columns.
Rotate the slices so the spacer is at the bottom. Click a slice, right-click, and choose Format Data Series. In the pane, open Series Options and adjust Angle of first slice. The aim is to move the spacer slice into the lower semicircle, with the real categories forming the upper arc. The exact angle depends on the order of your rows and the chart’s starting orientation, so change the angle and inspect the chart rather than assuming one number will suit every layout. Excel lets you set an angle from the pane; make small adjustments until the spacer occupies the bottom half. If the spacer is on top, rotate the chart by about 180 degrees.
Make the spacer invisible. Click the spacer slice once to select the series, then click that slice again to select just the data point. Right-click and choose Format Data Point. In the formatting pane, select Fill & Line, set Fill to No fill, and set Border to No line. The lower half should now appear open, while the real category slices remain visible across the top. If a colored wedge remains, you probably formatted the whole series or a different point; select the spacer slice individually and repeat.
Set the ring thickness and chart size. Select a visible slice, open Format Data Series, and adjust Doughnut Hole Size under Series Options. A value around 60% is a useful starting point: a smaller hole makes a heavier band, while a larger hole makes a thinner band. Resize the chart using its corner handles, keeping it wide enough for labels and any legend. A half-doughnut can look cramped if the chart area is too narrow or the ring is too thick.
Add a useful title and labels. Select the chart and use Chart Design > Add Chart Element to add a chart title or data labels. You can also use the chart’s plus button when it appears. For a simple chart, label each slice with its category name or value. Remember that Excel calculates a doughnut chart’s percentages from the full circle, including the hidden spacer. In the example, a value of 25 represents 12.5% of the full chart, even though it is 25% of the visible categories. Avoid showing Excel’s default percentage labels if readers are likely to mistake them for shares of the visible half. Use category names and values, or create labels based on the category total separately.
Polish the presentation and check the result. Apply distinct but coordinated colors to the real slices, remove a legend if it repeats labels, and make the chart title explain what the categories measure. Select the chart and drag it into position; use Chart Design > Add Chart Element for elements you want to show or remove. Confirm that the open area is at the bottom, the category order makes sense, and no label is clipped. If the chart will be read without surrounding text, add a text box or subtitle that states the units and the total represented.

On Excel for Mac, the doughnut chart and formatting options are broadly similar. Use the Insert tab to insert the doughnut chart, then open the formatting pane for the series or selected point to change the angle, hole size, fill, and border. If your mouse has no right button, Control-click the slice. In Excel for the web, chart formatting options can differ; use the desktop app if you cannot find the angle or no-fill controls.

Common Mistakes

Using the wrong spacer size. The spacer must equal the sum of the visible values, not the average or the largest category. If your category values total 240, use 240 for the spacer. A different spacer size makes the visible arc larger or smaller than half a circle.
Leaving the spacer visible. Hiding the spacer is what turns the complete doughnut into a half-round chart. Setting it to white is less reliable than choosing No fill, especially if the worksheet or chart background is not white.
Formatting the wrong slice. A single click selects the data series; a second click on the same wedge selects that individual point. Check that the formatting pane says Format Data Point before changing the spacer’s fill.
Showing misleading percentages. Excel treats the hidden spacer as part of the chart total. Default percentages describe slices as shares of the complete doughnut, not shares of the visible categories. Use values or category labels when that distinction matters.
Expecting a half-round chart to show a trend over time. A doughnut is best for showing how categories divide a whole. It is harder to compare small differences precisely than with a bar chart, so do not use it when exact ranking is the main point.

Tips

Sort the category rows in the order you want people to follow around the arc. The chart preserves the source order; changing the angle rotates the slices but does not reorder them.
Use a consistent color for the most important category and quieter colors for the rest. Too many bright colors can make the arc difficult to scan.
Keep labels short. If category names are long, put them in a legend or use text boxes near the chart rather than squeezing them onto narrow slices.
For a value that represents progress toward a fixed target, include the uncompleted amount as a real category and use a clear label. Do not confuse that remainder with the invisible spacer: the remainder is part of the visible story, while the spacer only creates the half-circle shape.
When the source numbers change, update the spacer too so it remains equal to the sum of the visible values. If values are frequently updated, calculate the spacer in a worksheet cell with a SUM formula over the category values, then use that cell as the final chart value.
Leave enough white space below the arc for a title, total, or explanatory note. A centered text box can show the category total, but make sure it is a separate chart element and does not cover labels.

Troubleshooting

The chart is a full ring or the lower half is colored. Confirm that you added a spacer equal to the category total, then set that individual slice to No fill and No line. If the transparent portion is at the top, rotate the series using Angle of first slice until the hidden half is at the bottom.
The chart is not exactly half round. Recheck the arithmetic. Add all visible category values and compare the result with the spacer. For instance, 25 + 25 + 20 + 30 = 100, so the matching spacer is 100. If you add a category later, update the spacer as well.
The wrong wedge disappears. Select the chart, click once on the intended spacer wedge, then click that same wedge again. The pane should identify a data point. If selecting it is difficult, temporarily give the spacer a bright fill, verify which slice it is, and then apply No fill and No line.
Labels show unexpected percentages or overlap. Remove percentage labels and add category names or values instead. To reduce crowding, enlarge the chart, move the legend, shorten category names, or show labels only for the most important slices. Avoid putting labels over the transparent half.
The arc seems reversed or the categories appear in an odd order. Change the row order in the source data or rotate the first-slice angle. Rotation changes where the series begins; changing row order changes the sequence of categories. Use whichever adjustment preserves the reading order you want.
The ring is too thick or too thin. Reopen Format Data Series and adjust Doughnut Hole Size. If the formatting pane is missing, right-click a visible slice and choose the series formatting command again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a half-round chart the same as a half-doughnut chart?

Usually, yes. The common Excel method uses a doughnut chart with half of its circle occupied by an invisible spacer. The visible categories form a semicircular ring. A gauge chart may also look like a half-round chart, but it needs additional formatting and often represents a value against a scale.

Can I make a half-round chart without a spacer?

Not with the standard doughnut-chart method described here. The extra spacer creates the unused half of the circle. Hide it with No fill and No line; do not delete the spacer row, or the chart will return to a full ring.

Does the spacer need to equal 100?

No. It must equal the sum of the category values, whatever that total is. A total of 100 is convenient for percentages, but values totaling 35 or 2,000 work too as long as the spacer matches the total.

Can I show percentages that add up to 100% across the visible half?

Excel’s built-in doughnut percentages use the entire chart, including the spacer, so those labels will add up to 50% for the visible categories. To show percentages that add to 100%, calculate each category’s share of the category total in worksheet cells and use those values as custom data labels, or show the category values without percentages.

Can the chart update when my data changes?

Yes. Keep the chart linked to worksheet cells and update the category values there. Also make the spacer cell equal the updated category total; otherwise the chart will no longer be exactly half round. A spacer formula can help keep it in sync.

When should I use a bar chart instead?

Use a bar chart when readers need to compare categories closely, especially when values are similar or there are many categories. A half-round chart is most useful for a small number of parts of a whole where the semicircle shape supports the presentation rather than replacing a precise comparison.

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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