Sample CSV
| Channel | Budget |
|---|---|
| Paid Search | 42000 |
| Social Ads | 31000 |
| 18500 | |
| Content | 12000 |
| Events | 9500 |
| Other | 6000 |
How to Create a Donut Chart
A step by step walkthrough for turning a spreadsheet into a published donut chart in PlotSet, from shaping the sheet to filling the centre hole and exporting or embedding the finished ring.
About 7 minutesA marketing budget split across five channels, paid search, social ads, email, content and events, with one honest "Other" row for the rest, is the working example for how to create a donut chart in PlotSet. By the end you'll have a published, interactive ring chart with the total budget sitting in the centre hole, built from your own categories, not a screenshot of someone else's.
If your spreadsheet is already two columns, category and value, this takes about seven minutes. Add a few more if you're pulling the numbers out of a wider report, or if you're still deciding what belongs in "Other". Budget the walkthrough below and treat the rest as buffer.
The data you need
Two columns, one row per category: the category name first, its raw value second. No totals row, one header row, and categories that genuinely add up to the whole you're describing.
Keep the value column as raw numbers, not percentages you've already worked out. PlotSet calculates each segment's share of the total itself, so a percent sign in that column throws the math off.
Roll anything under a few percent of the total into a single "Other" row before you upload. Eight thin slivers read worse than one clearly labelled bucket.
Delete a totals row before uploading, the same rule as any summed chart. Uploaded as data, a "Total" row becomes its own segment, usually the biggest one on the ring.
Category names need to be unique. Two rows both labelled "Misc" or "Other" get merged or duplicated depending on your spreadsheet's export, so rename one before you upload.
The steps
The exact click path in PlotSet, from a blank template to a finished chart.
- 01
Open the donut chart template
From the PlotSet dashboard, start a new project and pick the Donut Chart template. It loads with sample data already in place, so you can see the two-column shape it expects before touching your own file.
Every guide starts here. Pick the category, then the template: it is the same grid whichever chart type you are after. - 02
Shape your sheet into two columns
Category name in the first column, its number in the second, one row per category. If you're working from a pivot table, flatten it first: the upload should be nothing but categories and values, no subtotals mixed in.
- 03
Import your data or connect a sheet
Import a CSV or .xlsx from the data panel, paste rows straight from a spreadsheet, or connect a Google Sheet if you want the ring to refresh later without a re-upload. PlotSet reads the first row as headers automatically.
The data view, shown here on a bar chart project. Upload a CSV, lift the numbers out of an image with Magic Import, or sync a Google Sheet. The panel is identical for every chart type. - 04
Point PlotSet at the category and value columns
Confirm which column feeds the segment labels and which feeds the angles. PlotSet usually guesses right when your headers are clear, but check it manually if the sheet carries extra columns it might have picked up by mistake.
Bindings decide which column becomes the label, which supplies the values and which drives the colour. Auto Binding guesses them from your headers, so check it rather than assume it. - 05
Order the segments and switch on percentage labels
Sort largest to smallest so the eye has a path around the ring instead of hunting for it. Turn on percentage labels directly on each segment: angles alone are hard to judge, and the number removes the guesswork.
- 06
Put the total in the centre hole
Set the centre text to the sum of your value column, not a default label PlotSet might have picked. This is the one thing a donut can do that a pie can't, so it's worth checking rather than leaving on auto.
- 07
Pick a colour set and a title
Use shades of one hue for a ranked set of related categories, or distinct colours only when the categories are genuinely different things. Reserve a stand-out colour for the one segment you want to highlight. Give the chart a title that states what's being split, not just the word "budget".
The Preview tab for a Donut Chart. Every styling control lives in the outlined panel, each on its own tab: appearance, header, footer and the options specific to this chart type. - 08
Publish, embed or export the ring
Publish for a live, interactive ring with hover tooltips and a shareable link, grab the embed code for a page, or export a PNG, SVG or PDF if you need a static image for a deck or report.
Start from the Donut Chart template with sample data already loaded, then swap in your own.
Open the templatePublish, embed or export it
The last stretch is the same for every chart type: Share turns the chart into a live public link and an embed code, Export writes it out as a static file.
Share: public link and embed code
Activating the embed code and public link publishes the chart. The link is safe to send to anyone, and the embed code drops into any page as an iframe that keeps the hover tooltips and the interactivity. Edit the chart later and hit Recreate to push those changes out to both.
Export: SVG, PNG or JPG
Export writes a static copy at whatever size you need. SVG stays sharp at any scale and can still be edited in a design tool; PNG and JPG are the safe choices for slides and documents. The scale multiplier is what gets you a crisp image on a retina screen.
Styling tips for a Donut Chart
Keep the hole wide enough to read
A thin ring with a cramped centre makes the total illegible and the segments hard to click. Widen the hole until the centre number sits comfortably on its own line, with a small caption underneath naming what it is.
Label segments directly once you're under six
With five categories or fewer, put the label and percentage right on or beside each arc and drop the separate legend. It removes the lookup step between colour and category entirely, which a legend never quite avoids.
Match colour intensity to size, not to preference
For a ranked breakdown, ordering shades from darkest (largest share) to lightest (smallest) reinforces the sort visually. Save a genuinely different colour for a category you're calling out on purpose, like this year's new channel.
Round the centre number to something readable
A centre total of $118,517.42 is precision nobody needs at a glance. Round to a sensible unit ($119K, or 42%) and let the data table underneath carry the exact figure for anyone who wants it.
Common mistakes when making a Donut Chart
The ring doesn't visually read as a full 100%
This usually means two categories overlap, or one is a rate or an average rather than a slice of the same total. Check your source data for a row that doesn't belong to the same whole as the rest, and pull it into its own chart if it doesn't.
Small segments overlap their own labels
Below a few percent, a label has nowhere to sit without colliding with its neighbour. Roll those rows into a single "Other" category before upload rather than fighting label placement after the fact.
The centre shows the wrong number
Left on its default, the centre sometimes displays a segment count or the largest value instead of the total you want. Open the centre text setting and point it at the sum explicitly, then re-check it after any edit to the underlying rows.
Learn more about the Donut Chart
Not sure the Donut Chart is the right choice? See what it is, when to use it and when not to.
Donut Chart: common questions
Two columns and one header row: category names in the first column, one raw number per category in the second. CSV and .xlsx both work, and a pasted range from any spreadsheet tool is fine too. Don't pre-calculate percentages; PlotSet does that from the raw values.
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