Make a Sankey diagram without writing code
Search for how to make a Sankey diagram and half the answers are code: a Plotly snippet, a D3 example, an R package. They work, and they are the right tool for a dashboard a developer maintains. For a one-off diagram in a report, a slide or a budget review, there is a shorter route: type the flows, and let the editor draw them.
Make your Sankey diagram now, no signup required
Open the editor and type your nodes one per row, with where each one flows and how much. The diagram draws itself as you type. Your work is saved automatically in your browser.
Create Your Sankey Diagram FreeWhat the code route asks of you
A charting library draws a Sankey from two lists: the nodes, and the links between them, where each link names its source and target by position in the node list. Building those lists from a spreadsheet is the real work, and every change means editing indices, rerunning the script and exporting the picture again.
- An environment to run it in: Python with Plotly, JavaScript with D3, or R
- Node names turned into index numbers, kept in step with every link
- Colours, labels and spacing set in code, one option at a time
- A rerun and a new export for every correction
What the typed route asks instead
In SankeyCharts.app the same diagram is a sheet you can read. One row per node: its name, the nodes it flows to (by name, not by index), and how much goes to each. The diagram redraws on every keystroke, so a corrected number is a corrected chart, with no script and no export loop.
If the data is already a source, target, value table, paste it. The editor turns each distinct name into a node and each row into a flow, and sums a pair that appears twice.
What you give up, honestly
Code is still the better choice when the diagram has to refresh from a database every night, sit inside your own web app, or follow a styling system to the pixel. A typed editor is the better choice when a person, not a pipeline, owns the numbers, and when the diagram has to be right today rather than automated next quarter.
From a typed list to a finished diagram
Once the flows are in, the editor does the parts that take longest in code: it sizes every band by its amount, lays the nodes out in columns, keeps one unit across the chart, and flags any node whose inflow and outflow disagree. Groups give related nodes a shared colour; stages put a title over each column. For a full walkthrough of planning and building a Sankey, QueryChart's guide covers it step by step.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a Sankey diagram in Excel without code?
Excel has no built-in Sankey chart type. The usual workaround is an add-in or a script. A simpler route is to copy your source, target, value rows from Excel and paste them into SankeyCharts.app, which draws the diagram from them.
Is a no-code Sankey less accurate than one made with Plotly or D3?
No. Band widths are drawn from the same amounts either way. The editor also checks each node's inflow against its outflow, which a plotting script does not do for you.
Can I still change colours and labels?
Yes. Groups colour related nodes, flow labels put text on a band, stages title the columns, and the chart's theme sets the palette, all from the sheet and the toolbar rather than from code.
When should I use code instead?
When the diagram must refresh automatically from a database, live inside your own application, or be produced in bulk. For a diagram a person edits and presents, typing it is faster.
Ready to draw your first flow?
The editor opens with a starter Sankey diagram. Type your own nodes and amounts, and the diagram rebuilds itself as you type. No signup required to get started.
Create Your Sankey Diagram Free