Animate rankings changing over time, bars overtake each other as the years tick by. Export as MP4 or GIF.
Free to try · No design skills · Ready in about two minutes
Overview
A bar chart race is an animated ranking: a set of horizontal bars that grow, shrink and swap places as a clock sweeps through time. Instead of showing one snapshot, it plays the whole history, so the viewer watches who was ahead, who caught up, and who overtook whom. It is the format behind those viral 'most popular X over the years' videos, and it is built to be watched and shared, not just glanced at.
Its power is narrative and emotional. A static chart tells you the final ranking; a race makes you feel the moment the underdog pulls ahead. That motion is exactly what stops the scroll on LinkedIn, X or YouTube. The trade-off is that a race is about the story of the ranking over time, not about reading precise values, when exact numbers matter more than the drama, a line chart or a plain bar chart is the better tool.
In Reochart, each row is a competitor and each column is a time period; a big period label ticks like a clock in the background while the bars glide past one another on every overtake. Because it is inherently a video, the race exports beautifully as an MP4 or GIF, on your brand colours and logo with Pro.
How it works
Every competitor is one row, and every time period (a year, a quarter, a month) is a column of values. A playhead sweeps from the first period to the last over the length of the clip, and at each instant every bar's length is interpolated between its surrounding periods, so growth looks smooth rather than jumping.
The bars are always sorted longest-to-shortest, so when one value passes another their rows animate past each other, that overtake is the whole point. A large period label tracks the playhead so viewers always know where they are in time.
Examples
Real charts made in Reochart, each with its own data and theme. Hover to play the animation.
Good fit
Reach for something else
Compare
Bar chart race vs the alternatives.
| Chart type | Best for | Avoid when |
|---|---|---|
| Bar chart race | A ranking that changes over time, as video | You need a static image or exact reading |
| Horizontal bar | A single ranking right now | The order changes over time |
| Multi-line | Precise trends for a few series | You want a dramatic, watchable ranking |
| Grouped bar | Comparing periods side by side | Many periods, or a fluid race |
Your data
One row per competitor, one column per time period (up to 30). Rename a column to rename a period. Paste from a sheet or import a CSV. 4 to 12 periods animates best.
| Name | Period 1 | Period 2 | Period 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netflix | 167 | 214 | 247 |
| Prime Video | 120 | 175 | 205 |
| Disney+ | 3 | 118 | 165 |
| Max | 8 | 70 | 98 |
Step by step
Drop your numbers in, or import a CSV.
Choose the chart, theme and animation speed.
Tune colours, labels and add your brand.
Download MP4, GIF, PNG or SVG.
Best practices
Watch out
A race needs change over time. With a single snapshot there is nothing to animate, use a ranked horizontal bar chart.
A race is about the ranking and the overtakes, not precise numbers. If the exact value is the point, use a line or bar chart.
Past about a dozen rows the bars get thin and the motion is hard to follow. Show the top competitors.
A frozen frame of a race is just a bar chart. Export it as an MP4 or GIF so the story plays.
Why Reochart
FAQ
An animated horizontal bar chart where the bars reorder as their values change over time, so you watch competitors overtake each other across the periods.
Enter one row per competitor and one column per time period (a year, quarter or month), then export. Reochart animates the sweep and the overtakes for you.
A grid: each row is a competitor, each column is a time period, and every cell is that competitor's value at that period. Paste it from a spreadsheet or import a CSV.
Up to about a dozen competitors stays legible, and 4 to 12 periods gives the overtakes room to play out. You can add up to 30 periods.
Yes. A race is built to be watched, export it as an MP4 or GIF. A static PNG or SVG only captures one frozen frame.
The bar chart race is a Pro feature. Pro also removes the watermark and adds GIF and SVG export, your brand colours and logo, longer videos and CSV import.
Yes. Charts animate by default, and you can export the animation as an MP4 or GIF, or grab a static PNG or SVG if you prefer.
Yes. The free plan lets you make every chart type and export an animated MP4 with a small watermark, no card needed. Pro removes the watermark and adds GIF and SVG, your brand colours and logo, longer videos and CSV import.
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