--- title: "How to Create Animated Charts – 5 Ways | chart.video" description: "Five ways to create animated charts: a browser tool, PowerPoint, Excel, Canva and After Effects. Compare the effort, cost and output, then make one free." url: https://chart.video/how-to-create-animated-charts --- Guide · with a free chart maker # How to create animated charts The quickest way, then PowerPoint, Excel, Canva and After Effects, with what each is good at, what it costs and what kind of file you end up with. You can create an animated chart in three broad ways: with a data-driven chart tool that animates your numbers for you, with a presentation app that adds entrance effects to a static chart, or with motion-design software where you animate every shape by hand. The first is quickest, the second is fine for slides, and the third gives the most control for the most effort. The tool at the top of this page is the first kind: paste a table, pick a chart, and export an MP4, GIF or transparent video without an account. The sections below walk through all five methods so you can pick the right one. ## The quickest way: in your browser With the free tool on this page: 1. ### Pick a chart Under **Pick a chart to start**, choose Bar race, Line, Pie, Counter or another chart, or start from one of the [animated chart templates](https://chart.video/animated-chart-templates). 2. ### Bring your data In **Data**, use **Paste data** with cells from Excel or Google Sheets, or **Open a file**. 3. ### Set the pace In **Timing**, choose **Time per step** or a **Total length**, and how long to **Hold at the end**. 4. ### Export In **Export**, choose **Video (MP4)**, **GIF** or **Transparent video (WebM)** and a **Format**, then export and download. ## In PowerPoint Insert a chart, select it, open **Animations** and choose an effect such as Wipe, then **Effect Options** → Sequence **By Series** or **By Category** so the bars or lines arrive in turn. On Windows, **File → Export → Create a Video** saves an MP4 with the animation. On a Mac, PowerPoint’s movie export doesn’t play animation effects, so the chart arrives all at once. Keynote on a Mac does keep its builds in exported movies; see [how to animate a chart in Keynote](https://chart.video/how-to-animate-a-chart-in-keynote). Good for: slides you’re presenting anyway. Limits: effects are generic wipes and fades, values don’t count up, and nothing moves between periods. Full steps: [how to animate a chart in PowerPoint](https://chart.video/how-to-animate-a-chart-in-powerpoint). ## In Excel or Google Sheets Neither app animates charts. The usual route is to copy an Excel chart into PowerPoint with **Paste → Use Destination Theme & Link Data** and animate it there, or to paste the cells into a dedicated tool. Google Sheets can publish a sheet as a CSV link, which this site can read directly. See [Excel or Google Sheets chart to video](https://chart.video/excel-chart-to-video). ## In Canva Add a chart from **Elements → Charts**, edit its data, then use **Animate** for an entrance effect. Canva also has a dedicated **Bar race chart** element. Download with **Share → Download** and the MP4 Video or GIF file type. It needs an account, and charts other than the bar race animate as whole elements rather than value by value. Steps: [how to animate a chart in Canva](https://chart.video/how-to-animate-a-chart-in-canva). ## In After Effects Draw the chart with shape layers and animate it by hand: **Trim Paths** for lines and pie rings, Scale with the anchor point at the base for bars. For real data, import a CSV or JSON file and link properties with expressions. The result can look like anything you want, but even a simple chart takes an hour, and it needs a paid Creative Cloud subscription. Steps: [how to animate a graph in After Effects](https://chart.video/how-to-animate-a-graph-in-after-effects). ## Which method should you use? ### You need a video file of real data, quickly Use a data-driven tool such as the one on this page. It handles races, counting numbers and rescaling axes for you, and exports MP4, GIF or transparent WebM. ### The chart only appears in a live presentation PowerPoint or Keynote entrance effects are enough, and you keep everything in one file. ### It’s a branded piece for TV or a launch film After Effects, ideally starting from a data-driven export (a transparent WebM overlay works well) so you only design around it. 1. Write down the one point the chart should make; animation should reveal it, not decorate it. 2. Keep it short: 10–30 seconds for social media, with a hold at the end so the final values can be read. 3. Pick the chart for the data first: a race for rankings over time (see [how to make a bar chart race](https://chart.video/how-to-make-a-bar-chart-race)), a line for trends, a pie for shares of one whole, a [bubble chart](https://chart.video/bubble-chart-maker) for three measures at once. Then animate. ## Animated chart questions ### What is the easiest way to create an animated chart? Paste your data into a data-driven chart tool and export a video. On this page that takes a couple of minutes and needs no account. ### Can PowerPoint export an animated chart as a video? On Windows, yes: **File → Export → Create a Video** keeps the animations. PowerPoint for Mac’s movie export doesn’t play animation effects. ### Can Excel make animated charts? Not on its own. Copy the chart into PowerPoint to animate it, or paste the data into a dedicated tool. ### Are there free animated chart templates? Yes. The [template gallery](https://chart.video/animated-chart-templates) has 22, free for any use, each ready for your own data. ### What file format should an animated chart be? MP4 for YouTube, presentations and social media; GIF for chats and email; a transparent WebM to lay over other footage. ## More charts and guides * [ Animated chart maker All eleven chart types, every format and export, starting from a blank or a template. ](https://chart.video/) * [ Animated chart templates A gallery of free, editable chart videos to start from. ](https://chart.video/animated-chart-templates) * [ How to animate charts in PowerPoint Effect Options by series or category, then File → Export → Create a Video. ](https://chart.video/how-to-animate-a-chart-in-powerpoint) * [ Excel and Google Sheets chart to video The PowerPoint route, Google Sheets options, and pasting or linking a sheet. ](https://chart.video/excel-chart-to-video) * [ How to animate charts in Canva Bar race charts, Animate effects and Share → Download as MP4 or GIF. ](https://chart.video/how-to-animate-a-chart-in-canva) * [ How to animate graphs in After Effects Trim Paths, anchored Scale, stroked pies and data-driven animation from CSV. ](https://chart.video/how-to-animate-a-graph-in-after-effects)