Sample CSV
| Node | Parent | Spend |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | ||
| Paid Search | Marketing | 42000 |
| Paid Social | Marketing | 31000 |
| Organic Content | Marketing | 18000 |
| Google Ads | Paid Search | 27000 |
| Bing Ads | Paid Search | 15000 |
| Instagram Ads | Paid Social | 19000 |
| Facebook Ads | Paid Social | 12000 |
How to Create a Sunburst Chart
A step by step walkthrough for turning a spreadsheet of parent, child and value rows into a published sunburst chart in PlotSet, from shaping the sheet to exporting the finished rings.
About 9 minutesRings sized by value and coloured by branch, published as a live embed or exported as a static image: this guide is how to create a sunburst chart in PlotSet from your own spreadsheet. The columns below are the exact node, parent and value columns the PlotSet sunburst template expects, not a simplified stand-in for them.
Nine minutes gets you there when your rows are already three clean columns: node, parent, value. A source report that only lists department totals adds another five, since you'll need to add the missing middle level of the hierarchy yourself before anything renders correctly.
The data you need
One row per node, three columns: the node's own name, the name of its parent (blank for the top level), and its value. Every parent name must match another row's node name exactly.
Leave the parent column blank only for the root node or nodes. Every other row needs a parent value that matches another row's node name exactly, including case.
Leave the value blank on any node whose number should be computed from its children. PlotSet sums descendants automatically, and typing your own figure there is how rings end up not matching their children.
Node names must be unique across the whole sheet, not just within one branch. If two branches each have a leaf called "Other," rename them ("Search Other," "Social Other") or PlotSet will merge them into one segment.
Keep the value column numeric with no currency symbols or thousands separators. A stray comma or dollar sign turns the whole column to text and every arc collapses to zero.
The steps
The exact click path in PlotSet, from a blank template to a finished chart.
- 01
Open the Sunburst Chart template
From the PlotSet dashboard, start a new project and choose the Sunburst Chart template. It loads with a small sample hierarchy already bound, so you can see exactly how a node, parent and value row turns into a ring before you touch 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 node, parent and value
Give every row a node name, the name of the node it sits under, and a number. Top level nodes get a blank parent. If your source is a pivot table with only totals, add the missing middle rows yourself: PlotSet cannot infer a level you never wrote down.
- 03
Bring your spreadsheet into PlotSet
Use the data panel to import a CSV or .xlsx file, paste rows directly from a spreadsheet, or connect a Google Sheet if you want the rings to update 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
Map the node, parent and value columns
Confirm which column PlotSet is reading as the node, which as the parent, and which as the value. This usually maps itself correctly when your headers say what they mean, but check it by hand if your sheet carries extra columns PlotSet had to guess between.
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
Check that children sum to their parent
Before you style anything, scan each branch and confirm its children add up to the number you expect for the parent, or that the parent's value cell is simply blank. A mismatch here is the single most common reason a sunburst chart looks broken once it renders.
- 06
Colour by branch and label what fits
Assign one hue per top level branch and let PlotSet shade its descendants lighter going outward, rather than colouring by depth or leaving the palette random. Turn labels on for rings with room to show them and off for the thin outer ring, where hover tooltips do the job instead.
The Preview tab for a Sunburst 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. - 07
Turn on drill-down for anything past two levels
If your hierarchy runs three or four levels deep, enable click-to-zoom so a reader can click a segment and make it the new centre. Past two levels a static sunburst is hard to read on its own; drill-down is what makes the extra depth usable.
- 08
Publish, embed or export the finished rings
Publish for a live, interactive chart with hover tooltips, drill-down and a shareable link, grab the embed code to drop it into a page, or export a PNG, SVG or PDF if you need a static image for a deck or a report.
Start from the Sunburst 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 Sunburst Chart
Stop at three levels unless you truly need a fourth
Two or three levels is where a sunburst chart is easiest to read. A fourth level is workable with drill-down turned on; a fourth level on a static export is usually just noise.
Sort each branch's children by value
Within a single parent, order the children largest to smallest before uploading. It gives every ring the same reading direction and makes the size comparison between siblings obvious without labels.
Reserve one colour family per branch
Pick a base hue per top level node and let PlotSet's depth shading handle the rest. Mixing unrelated colours within one branch defeats the one thing colour does for this chart: letting the eye follow a branch outward.
Group small leaves into an explicit "Other"
If a branch has a dozen tiny children and three large ones, roll the tiny ones into a single "Other" node with its own row. It keeps the outer ring legible instead of scattering slivers nobody can click.
Common mistakes when making a Sunburst Chart
Rings show a gap or an overlapping seam
This means a parent's arcs do not add up to that parent's own value, whether it was typed by hand or the children are missing a row. Sum the children yourself against the parent's number, fix the mismatched row, and leave the parent's value cell blank going forward so PlotSet computes it.
The whole chart is one flat colour, or every segment is a different one
Both come from the colour mode being set to depth or to a default palette instead of branch. Open the colour settings and switch to colour by branch, which is what keeps a parent and its descendants visually connected as you read outward.
The outer ring is a wall of unreadable slivers
This is almost always too many leaf categories on one branch, sometimes combined with a level that did not need to exist. Roll the smallest leaves into an "Other" node in your source sheet, or turn on drill-down so the reader can zoom into one branch at a time instead of seeing all of them at once.
Learn more about the Sunburst Chart
Not sure the Sunburst Chart is the right choice? See what it is, when to use it and when not to.
Sunburst Chart: common questions
Three columns: a node name, its parent's name, and a value. Top level nodes leave the parent blank, and every other row's parent must match another row's node name exactly. CSV and .xlsx both work, and a pasted range from any spreadsheet tool is fine too.
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