Charts in SSRS

This SSRS article shows the list of charts available to display the data visually. Reporting tools are useful for analyzing the data as per the business requirements. While investigating the data, some companies might be interested in Table or Matrix reports. However, most companies use SSRS Charts (Graphical Representations of data) to see the Trends, Sales Comparisons, etc.

Although each chart in SSRS has its specialties and importance, you can use different charts for a single dataset to understand (visualize) the data from different angles. Some charts help to display aggregated information, few represent data over a time series, and others use multiple values against the text. Each SSRS chart has a values section for aggregated numeric data, a category groups section for text columns, and an optional series section. I suggest you understand every chart with utmost concentration.

Like other reporting tools, SQL Reporting Services provides several built-in charts to visualize the data. And in this section, we show the list of available charts in SSRS.

List of Charts in SSRS

The below SSRS screenshot shows the available list of charts in SQL Reporting Services.

And the detailed list of SSRS Charts is shown below. All the below-specified headings are Hyperlinks. So clicking on them will show you a particular example.

A Column Chart is also known as a vertical bar chart, representing aggregated numeric values on the Y-axis and the grouped text columns on the X-axis. Each category group will be placed on the column chart X-axis, and each vertical bar represents the aggregated data(sum, avg, etc.) belonging to a particular group. It is suitable for comparisons. You can use this SSRS chart to compare Sales By Month, Sales this year vs. previous years, etc. Remember, we also explained the formatting column options in Formatting Column, so refer to the same. Try 3D Cylinder Chart for cylinder shape chart.

Bar Chart is the same as the column chart, but the rectangles are displayed horizontally. In the SSRS Bar chart, category groups will be on Y-axis and aggregated numeric values on the X-axis.

A Line Chart helps visualize the trends over a period of time. For instance, you are checking the product sales trend lines (going upon down) from the start date to the end date. Adding another column to Values can help you compare multiple measures against a single dimension. Similarly, adding a text column to the series divides the lines further and helps to compare multiple series. You can use this SSRS chart to display the Trend. For example, Sales Trend a temperature at a continuous period.

The Area Chart is the same as the line chart, but the empty space between the X-axis and lines will fill with a solid color. You can use this type of chart in SSRS to graphically display the area-wise changes in a time series or quantitative data. Please use the Smooth Area Graph to avoid sharp edges.

Pie Charts help display small and high-level information. You can use SSRS pie charts to compare region- or product category-wise sales. If you use more columns, it becomes a useless chart. Remember, we also explained the formatting Pie technique at Formatting Pie.

Doughnut Chart: As the name suggests, this SSRS chart looks like a donut, similar to a pie chart. You can use donut charts to visualize KPIs or three to four values.

Treemap is one of the best alternatives to the SSRS pie chart. It displays the data in rectangles; each rectangle size depends on the numeric value. When you see the treemap, you can identify the highest and lowest. If you have large data points to display, go for the tree map.

Bubble Chart: Each bubble represents the category group item, and the size depends on the values of that particular group. You can use this SSRS chart to display the three-dimensional data. Or You can use them on top of the Maps.

Funnel Chart: It is helpful to display a single text column against the numeric values. You can use this to visualize the aggregated data stage-wise or product against the goals, etc.

Pyramid Chart is similar to the SSRS Funnel, and it is helpful to view the data in different stages, sales opportunities, wastage at each stage, production against the goals, etc.

Radar Chart: It is very useful to visualize numeric data in 360 Degrees. The SSRS Radar Charts plot points from the central point(0, 0) to the given distance in a radial fashion.

Scatter Plot: This plot helps visualize the relationship between any two sets of data. The horizontal X-axis represents one numeric field, and the vertical Y-axis represents another numeric field.

Range Chart: This SSRS chart can visualize the data between the minimum and maximum values.

A map helps visualize analytical data and spatial information.

SSRS also provides Data Bars, Gauges, Spark Lines, and Indicators. You can use these types of charts inside the SSRS Matrix or Table reports.

Gauges help visualize the KPIs or Key Performance Indicators.
Data Bars are used within the Tables or Matrices as an extra column to show the measures across time. Otherwise, you can use it to show the sub-data to users. Please refer to the Design Data Bars in Matrix article.
Spark Lines work the same as the Data bars. We can use sparklines within the Tables or Matrices as an extra column to show the trends over a period of time.
Indicators work the same as the Data bars and Sparklines. We can use indicators within the Tables or Matrices to visualize the stars (going up or down).

The following list shows the SSRS 3D and 100% clustered and stacked charts.

The SSRS Stacked Bar Chart helps divide the columns or bars further. Generally, a Bar chart represents the relationship between category groups and values. However, suppose you add another text column to the Series section. In that case, it becomes a stacked bar chart where each series represents the individual field relationship against the whole bar.

100% Stacked Bar Chart: It is the same as the SSRS Stacked Bar Chart, but it displays the percentages as the bars, and each series value further divides the 100% horizontal bars.

The Stacked Column Chart is the same as the Stacked Bar Chart but represents the vertical rectangles.

The 100% Stacked Column Chart is the same as the SSRS 100% Stacked Bar Chart with vertical bars of percentages.

3D Clustered Column Chart: Generally, the SSRS Column chart visualizes the aggregated values for each category group. However, Clustered Column Chart uses the series groups to future divide the category group to see the detailed information of each series. To replace the vertical bars with cylinders, use the 3D Clustered Cylinder Chart.

A few more charts in SSRS are