Bullet Chart Maker

How the Bullet Chart Maker works

Bullet chart maker: writing the rows

The first line is a header and each line after it is one measure: a name, the actual value, the target, then any number of band thresholds. Bands are the upper edges of each shaded range, so 150,225,300 shades poor up to 150, acceptable to 225 and good to 300; they are sorted for you, so order does not matter. Leave the band columns empty on a row to draw a single light background for that measure. Each row has its own scale, so revenue in thousands and satisfaction out of five can sit in the same chart. Tabs work in place of commas.

Reading a bullet

The dark tick is the target. The coloured bar is the actual value: when it reaches or passes the tick the measure is on target, when it stops short the gap shows how far off it is. The grey bands go from darkest for the lowest range to lightest for the highest, so a bar ending in the pale band reads as good performance even before you check the number. Value text under each label prints actual of target, and hovering shows the band thresholds too.

Choosing thresholds

Bands are optional but they are what make a bullet chart better than a plain bar. Common choices are last year's figure, the budget and the stretch goal, or the bottom, middle and top of the acceptable range. Three bands is the classic layout; two or four also draw correctly, and each row can have a different number.

Stats

The panel under the chart counts how many measures are on or above target and how many fall short, and gives the average of actual divided by target across all rows. That average is a quick single-number summary for a dashboard heading.

Exporting

Download SVG gives a vector file with the measure names as editable text, ready for Inkscape, Illustrator, Figma or a report template. Download PNG renders at one, two or three times the preview width. Copy SVG puts the markup on the clipboard. Everything is drawn in your browser; the figures never leave your machine.

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