How to create a thermometer chart in Excel

A thermometer chart is an effective way of comparing two values. Although Excel doesn’t support this specific chart type, there is a way to create a thermometer chart. In this article, we are going to show you how to create a thermometer chart in Excel.

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Converting a column chart to a thermometer chart

What can resemble a thermometer more than a column chart? So, let’s start by creating a column chart.

1. Organize your values as a table and select any cell in the table. Selecting entire table is OK as well. 
2. Activate Insert tab in the ribbon
3. Click Insert Column or Bar Chart icon in Charts section
4. Select Clustered Column under 2-D Column Chart
   
   

Now, we have a column chart which is still far from a thermometer.

Let’s start to modify the chart. First step is to activate secondary axis for one of the data series.

1. Select one of the data series and right-click to open the context menu
2. Click on Format Data Series to display properties pane at right
3. Select Secondary Axis in Series Options
   

These steps make columns overlap each other.

The next step is to distinguish data series.

1. Select the data series you kept at primary axis
2. Re-open the properties pane.
3. Reduce the Gap Width. Our value is 98%.
   

As a final touch, remove the secondary axis to improve look and feel.

1. Right-click on the secondary axis to open the context menu
2. Select Delete to remove
   

In this guide, we tried to summarize how to create a thermometer chart in Excel. Here is the final product: