How to How to Create Marimekko Charts in Excel in Excel - Practical Guide

Learn to create Marimekko charts in Excel—a sophisticated visualization technique combining bubble and stacked bar charts to display three dimensions of data simultaneously. This tutorial covers data preparation, chart creation, and formatting to produce professional, publication-ready Marimekko charts that reveal complex relationships between categories and subcategories.

Why This Matters

Marimekko charts enable you to display market share, segment composition, and relative values in a single visual, making them invaluable for business presentations and data analysis.

Prerequisites

•Proficiency with Excel data entry and basic chart creation
•Understanding of at least two numerical dimensions plus categorical data
•Excel 2016 or later with charting capabilities enabled

Step-by-Step Instructions

Organize Your Data Structure

Create a table with three columns: Category (e.g., Product Line), Subcategory (e.g., Product Type), and two numerical values—one for the bubble size and one for the segment proportion. Ensure all values are positive numbers.

Calculate Segment Proportions

Add a helper column calculating the percentage of each subcategory within its category using formulas like =subcategory_value/SUMIF(category_range, category_criteria, value_range). This enables the stacked effect.

Insert Bubble Chart

Select your data > Insert tab > Charts > Bubble chart type. This serves as the foundation for your Marimekko visualization, representing categories as bubbles.

Modify Chart to Add Stacked Elements

Right-click the chart > Edit Chart Data > Adjust data series to represent subcategories as stacked segments within each bubble by manipulating the bubble series and adding secondary data series for each segment.

Format and Customize Appearance

Right-click chart > Format Chart Area to adjust bubble colors, add data labels showing percentages, adjust axis scales, and add a title. Use contrasting colors to distinguish subcategories clearly.

Alternative Methods

Using Treemap Charts as Foundation

Start with a treemap chart instead of bubble, which natively supports hierarchical data and can be modified to show three dimensions with careful formatting and secondary axes.

Creating Marimekko with Power BI Custom Visuals

Import your Excel data into Power BI and use the Marimekko custom visual, which is purpose-built for this chart type and requires less manual formatting than Excel.

Tips & Tricks

✓Use a color palette that allows subcategories to be visually distinct while maintaining professional appearance—avoid too many similar shades.
✓Keep category and subcategory names short (under 15 characters) to prevent label overlapping and maintain chart readability.
✓Test your chart with different bubble sizes by adjusting the scaling factor to ensure all segments remain visible and proportional.

Pro Tips

★Add a legend using the Layout tab that maps colors to subcategories, then position it outside the plot area to avoid obscuring data points.
★Use conditional formatting on your source data table to identify outliers before charting, ensuring your Marimekko accurately represents intended insights.
★Export your Marimekko chart as a PNG or PDF at high resolution (300+ DPI) for presentations, as the complexity can degrade at low resolutions.

Troubleshooting

Bubbles are overlapping and difficult to read

Adjust the bubble scale by right-clicking the chart > Format Data Series > Bubble Size and reduce the scaling percentage. Alternatively, sort your data so larger bubbles are positioned first.

Segment proportions don't add up to 100% within each bubble

Verify your proportion formulas are calculating based on the category total, not the overall total. Use SUMIF to sum only values within each category group.

Chart labels are truncated or hidden

Increase chart size via corner handles, reduce font size (Chart Design > Chart Layouts > Data Labels), or enable text wrapping in label formatting options.

Colors don't match my company branding

Right-click each data series > Format Data Series > Fill > Solid Fill and select custom colors using your brand RGB or hex values.

Related Excel Formulas

SUMIF SUM AVERAGE DIVIDE

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create a Marimekko chart in Excel 2013 or earlier?

No, native Marimekko support is limited to Excel 2016 and later. Earlier versions lack the advanced charting features required, though you can create a manual approximation using stacked bar charts combined with scatter plots.

What's the maximum number of subcategories I should include per category?

Aim for 5-7 subcategories per category maximum to maintain readability. Beyond this, consider aggregating smaller segments into an 'Other' category or creating multiple Marimekko charts by category.

How do I export a Marimekko chart for use in PowerPoint or Word?

Right-click the chart > Copy, then paste into PowerPoint or Word. For better quality, right-click > Save as Picture and select PNG or PDF format with 300+ DPI resolution for presentations.

Can I animate or interact with a Marimekko chart in Excel?

Excel doesn't natively support chart animation, but you can export to interactive formats like HTML using Power BI or Tableau for dynamic exploration of your Marimekko data.