Build Your Pareto Chart

A Pareto chart is a combination bar and line chart where categories are ranked from highest to lowest frequency or impact, with a cumulative percentage line overlaid on a secondary axis. It is based on the Pareto principle - commonly called the 80/20 rule - which observes that roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. It is a core tool in quality management, Six Sigma, and root-cause analysis.

The 80/20 rule in a chart refers to the visual boundary where the cumulative percentage line crosses the 80% mark. Categories to the left of that line are the 'vital few' - the small number of causes responsible for the majority of outcomes. Our 80/20 rule chart maker draws this reference line automatically so you can read the threshold at a glance without any manual calculation.

Enter your categories and their frequency or impact values into the data table, then MakeCharts sorts the bars automatically, overlays the cumulative percentage line, and adds the 80% reference marker. You can also describe your data in plain language to the AI and it will generate the Pareto chart for you. The whole process takes under two minutes.

Yes. The core 80/20 rule chart maker is free with no signup required. You can create, customize, and download Pareto charts at no cost. Free AI credits are included so you can also try AI-powered chart generation. Paid plans unlock more AI usage, file upload, and embed codes.

Absolutely. Pareto charts are a standard tool in Six Sigma, Lean, ISO quality frameworks, and DMAIC root-cause analysis. Our chart maker produces correctly formatted Pareto diagrams with sorted bars, a cumulative line, and an 80% reference line - everything required for a quality improvement report or a DMAIC presentation.

A standard bar chart can display categories in any order and shows only individual values. A Pareto chart always sorts bars from largest to smallest and adds a secondary cumulative percentage line. This combination lets you see both the individual contribution of each category and its running total impact simultaneously, making the vital few immediately obvious.

Yes. You can change the bar color, cumulative line color, and 80% reference line color independently. Toggle frequency value labels and percentage labels on or off, adjust bar width, and add a prefix or suffix to values - for example a currency symbol or unit abbreviation. All changes preview instantly without any page reload.

You can download your Pareto chart as a PNG image suitable for slides, documents, and social media, or as an SVG vector file that scales crisply at any size. Plus and Pro users also get an embed code to add the live chart to a website, internal tool, or dashboard.