Tables and charts compared

A table lists values in cells arranged in rows and columns. A chart draws those values as bars, lines or slices. They can present the same data, but they are not the same form of notation.

When each works best

Charts and graphs are better than tables for showing trends and patterns quickly. If you want to see whether something is rising, falling or repeating, a line graph or bar chart lets your eye follow the shape at once. For example, a line graph of a school's weekly recycling weight makes a steady rise easy to spot.

A table can hold far more detail than a chart of the same data. Extra columns can record cost, quantity, category or a date, so a reader can find exact values rather than estimate from a bar. Tables may be preferred where precision is essential, because every exact value is visible and can be checked.

Charts can mislead

A chart can mislead if its axis scale is altered, because a scale that does not start at zero makes a small change look dramatic. Pictures scaled in two directions mislead as well. If a pictogram draws a value of 10 as a 2 cm by 2 cm picture and a value of 20 as a 4 cm by 4 cm picture, the second picture has four times the area, so it looks four times as big even though the value is only doubled. A table of the same figures would avoid that impression.

Organisations often use a chart to show the pattern and a table underneath to give the exact figures, so the reader gets both the quick view and the precise detail.