How to Make a Bar Chart Race Video

When a bar chart race is the right chart

A race is ranking plus time. Every frame is a sorted bar chart, and the motion between frames is the drama. That only works if the ranking actually changes.

• Use a race when several items compete over time and the lead changes at least once: countries by output over decades, brands by market share, players by career points.
• Use a line chart when one or two values change over time. A race with one bar is just a bar growing.
• Use a top 10 countdown when the ranking is fixed and you want to reveal it one entry at a time.
• Use a single counter when there is one number that matters.

The best race topics have a familiar cast and a surprise: people know the names but not how the order changed. Your own data works too. Sales per product or views per video make a strong post for a business page.

Preparing bar chart race data in five steps

The data is most of the work. A clean table gives a clean race.

1. One row per item, one column per period. Each row is one bar. Periods (years, months, seasons) run left to right in order.
2. Use the same unit everywhere. All values in millions, or all in percent. Note the unit once, in the title or the axis.
3. Decide what to do with gaps. Carry the last value forward, or start the bar later. Say which, because a bar dropping to zero looks like a collapse.
4. Choose how many bars to show. Top 10 is the classic for 16:9. Top 5 to 8 reads better on a 1080x1920 phone screen.
5. Set the pace. About one to two seconds per period. Twenty years at 1.5 seconds each is 30 seconds, plus a few seconds of title and a final hold.

Bar chart race tools: Flourish, Python and Otto

Three routes come up most when people search for this. Times are typical estimates for a 20 period race once the data is clean, not measured results.

If you already work in Python, the library route is free and repeatable for many races. If you want a phone ready video with music, a title and pacing that slows at the big overtake, describing it is usually faster than coding it.

Bar chart race prompt to paste into Otto

Adapted from real requests Videotto users sent to Otto. Paste your table where the placeholders are.

Make a bar chart race video, vertical 9:16, about 40 seconds.
Data (one row per item, one column per year):
[item], [year 1 value], [year 2 value], [year 3 value]
[item], [year 1 value], [year 2 value], [year 3 value]
Show the top 8 bars, sorted, largest at the top. Each item keeps one colour.
Name on the left of each bar, value counting at the end. A large running year in the corner.
Bars glide smoothly when they overtake. Ease the pace when the leader changes.
Title at the top: [your title]. Steady background music, soft tick on each new year.
Hold the final ranking for three seconds. Keep every number exactly as given.

Short bar chart race requests

• "Turn this spreadsheet into a bar chart race, top 10, one second per year."
• "Use flags as icons at the end of each bar."
• "Dark background, bright bars, big year counter."
• "Slow down when the leader changes, then speed back up."

Worked example: a 35 second streaming race

An illustration with made up items, not real market data. Six fictional streaming apps, subscribers from 2012 to 2025, 14 periods.

The one overtake is the reason to watch, so the pace eases around it and a short note explains the jump. The late entrant gives a second, smaller surprise. Six bars keep every label readable at 1080x1920.

Checklist before you post a chart race

• Every item keeps the same colour all the way through.
• No more than 10 bars, or 8 on vertical.
• Units match, and the unit is shown once.
• The leader changes at least once.
• The year counter is large enough to read at a glance.
• The final ranking holds for at least three seconds.
• A source line appears at the end, especially for public data.
• Logos and flags are images you have the right to use.

FAQ