Combo chart: Stacked columns & line with secondary axis

I am trying to create a combo chart using a Column Chart as Primary and a Line Chart with a separate axis for scale. This is easy.

The trick that I'm trying to accommodate is that I need to have the rows of data on the Column section be displayed as stacked columns instead of side-by-side.

Is there a solution built-in, or do I need to do two separate charts and have one be transparent and then overlap?

Posted on Dec 3, 2025 2:22 PM

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4 replies

Dec 5, 2025 9:01 AM in response to wkdavis

How about this, using the 2-axis chart to make the labels on both sides:


  • For the 2-axis chart, include a blank column as a series so you can assign it to Y1 to get the Y1 axis labels to show up. Set it to white if you are going to have a legend (so it will be invisible in the legend).
  • Set the 2-axis Y1 and the bar chart Y axis to the same min and max and steps.
  • Use the grid lines for the bar chart. Turn off its y axis labels and axis line.
  • The bar chart is behind the 2-axis chart.


Enabling the Y1 axis makes the two charts align properly.


Dec 4, 2025 8:01 PM in response to wkdavis

If you need a right-side Y axis, I'm afraid it might not be all that good with the charts overlaid, either. To align the points of the line with the center of the bars, the 2-axis chart and stacked bar chart aren't in the exact same place on the sheet. This causes some problems with the gridlines. If you use gridlines for the stacked bar chart, they overlap with the Y axis labels on the right (as shown below). If you instead use gridlines for the 2-axis chart, they don't reach all the way to the Y axis on the left. If you chart an extra row for the 2-axis chart (and use the stacked bar grid lines) to make some extra room, the Y axis labels on the right become too far from the chart (plus you'll have to realign the charts whenever you include more data). I have not yet seen a way to make it look right.



If you use normal line chart for the line so the Y axis is on the left and both charts have the same Ymin and Ymax, there is no problem:


Dec 5, 2025 3:54 AM in response to Badunit

Thanks,

This is, unfortunately, what I have found as well and isn't going to be just right. On the two axis solution, one further workaround, is to take the "background" graph that you've used above with the gridlines that are too long, and, before you overlay the top graph, add a box with a background color and no outline to block the right hand edges of the gridlines and then apply the top overlay... but this is clearly NOT a clean - or frequently reproducible -solution.

Combo chart: Stacked columns & line with secondary axis

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