Excel progress charts
Goal completion, target vs actual, percent to plan - the figures a dashboard exists to answer. Build a clean bar or radial ring, and understand the extra work behind a gauge.
Updated September 30, 2026.
For a goal with a real end point, split the value into "done" and "remaining." A stacked bar shows it in a line; a doughnut makes it a ring. Once the result can go past 100% or below zero, show actual against target instead of forcing it into a part-of-whole shape.
Progress bar: target vs actual
The workhorse. Put two numbers in cells, the actual and the remaining-to-target, and insert a stacked bar chart. Color the actual with your accent and the remainder a light track gray, then delete the axis, gridlines, title, and legend. You're left with a single clean bar that fills toward the goal. Stack several of them and you get a tidy "percent to plan" panel that scans top to bottom.
For the lightest possible version, skip the chart entirely: drop a percent in a column and apply a conditional-formatting data bar. It lives inside the cell, updates automatically, and is perfect for a table row. Use the chart version when the bar is a hero element; use the data bar when it's one column among many.
How to build a radial progress ring
Two values that add to 1
This two-slice ring is for completion from 0% to 100%. Put 65% in A1 and =1-A1 in A2. Format A2 as a percentage: it shows 35%. Change A1 within that range and A2 calculates what's left. If the actual value can exceed the target, or go negative, use a bar comparing actual with target instead.
Insert a doughnut
Select A1:A2, then Insert → Doughnut. You get a ring split into a filled part and an empty part.
Color the segments
Click once to select the series, click again to select one segment. Accent for the progress, a light neutral for the track.
Thin the ring
Format Data Series → Doughnut Hole Size to about 75-85%, so the ring is a clean band, not a fat donut.
Strip the chrome
Delete the title, legend, and borders. Only the ring should remain on the canvas.
Percent in the center
Drop a text box or a linked cell in the hole showing the percent, large. Now the ring reads as one indicator.
Gauge: a half-doughnut
A gauge uses a doughnut with half the circle hidden. For a 65% completion dial, the three inputs can be 65 completed, 35 remaining, and 100 hidden: the hidden slice is half of the total 200. This explains the dial, not an updating needle. A manually placed needle shape is a static marker; a dynamic needle needs a separate series linked to the value and checked at 0%, 65%, and 100%. This section is a conceptual overview, not a complete dynamic-gauge build. Gauges take more space than bars, so reserve them for a single headline number.
Whichever form you pick, the rule is the same as every other good chart decision: two colors, no chrome, and the number always visible. The shape is the garnish; the percent is the point. A set of these rings and tiles comes already built in the smart watch style designs file.
What ruins a progress chart
Related techniques
Excel KPI card design
Drop a progress ring onto a metric card for an at-a-glance goal tile.
Build a card →Excel dashboard color palette
Choose the accent and the track gray your progress charts should use.
Pick colors →Excel dashboard examples
See progress charts working inside finished, polished dashboards.
See examples →Progress & Comparison Chart Templates
Nine target-versus-actual charts, with the sample data and working Excel file.
See the chart files →Excel progress charts, answered
How do I make a progress bar in Excel?
The simplest way is a stacked bar chart with two values: the actual and the remaining-to-target. Color the actual with your accent and the remainder a light track gray, remove the axis and gridlines, and you have a clean horizontal progress bar. For an in-cell version, use a data bar from conditional formatting on a percent column.
How do I make a radial or circular progress chart in Excel?
For completion from 0% to 100%, use a doughnut chart driven by two cells - the percent and its remainder, which add to 1. Color the progress segment with your accent and the remainder a light gray, set the Doughnut Hole Size to 75-85% for a thin band, strip the title and legend, and drop the percent in the center as a text box or linked cell. Use an actual-versus-target bar if values can exceed 100% or go negative.
When should I use a progress ring instead of a progress bar?
Use a bar when you have several metrics to compare - stacked bars line up and scan top to bottom easily. Use a ring when one figure deserves the spotlight, like a single goal-completion percent on a KPI card. Rings draw the eye but take more space, so don't build a wall of them.
How do I build a gauge chart in Excel?
For a 65% dial, a half-doughnut can use 65 completed, 35 remaining, and 100 hidden. A manually placed needle shape will not move when the value changes. An updating needle needs a separate value-linked series; this page explains the concept, not the complete dynamic-gauge build.
What colors should a progress chart use?
Two colors: one accent for the completed portion and one light neutral for the track or remainder. Add green or red only if you want to signal on-target versus behind. Avoid coloring the whole chart - the contrast between the filled accent and the quiet track is what makes progress readable at a glance. More on color →
Try a movable waffle chart
Build a waffle chart from an XY scatter plot, using a 100-point grid and a minimum, maximum, and current value.