Introduction
Happy Wednesday Power BI Folks! This is my first time creating a Power BI Workout Wednesday exercise, and I’m excited (and a little nervous) to share it with you all! Thank you for being part of my learning and teaching journey. Let’s grow together!
Have you ever wanted to create a Lollipop Chart in Power BI but didn’t want to use custom visuals? Good news- you don’t have to! Here is a simple trick to create a Lollipop Chart using only one native Power BI visual. Using native visuals ensures that your report works seamlessly across all users and environments. This method keeps your reports lightweight, customizable, and free from external dependencies.
Let’s dive in!
What is a Lollipop Chart?
A lollipop chart is a variation of a bar chart where each bar is replaced with a line and a dot at the end- making it look like a lollipop. It’s useful when you want a cleaner, a more minimalistic version of a bar chart.
Why do Lollipop Charts work better than Bar Charts in some scenarios?
– More visually appealing: They look cleaner and more modern.
– Easier to read: The thin bars and bold dots highlight key values.
– Reduces clutter: Perfect for reports with many categories.
Bar charts are great, but sometimes they feel too heavy when we just want to emphasize values clearly. Lollipop Charts solve this beautifully!
Requirements
Using the starter file, create the following:
- Insert a stacked bar chart visualizing item type and total price
- Customize the bar chart – hint: change the space between categories
- Add and customize error bars – hint: play around with the upper and lower bound values. Enable markers to get the lollipop.
Voila! Your Lollipop Chart is ready.
Bonus:
Just by playing around with the formatting settings, you can create multiple variations of the Lollipop Chart like below:
Limitations:
1. Works best when there are 5 or more categories to display.
2. Not supported in older Power BI Versions
Dataset
Use the starter file or use any dataset of choice!
Share
After you finish your workout, share on social media using the hashtags #WOW2025 and #PowerBI. Tag me (Santhanalakshmi) on LinkedIn, along with Meagan, Kerry, and Shannon.
On Bluesky, tag @mmarie.bsky.social, @shan-gsd.bsky.social, and @merrykerry.bsky.social.
Solution
Download the solution file from the Data Stories gallery to see exactly how the report is built!