How to Make a Scatter Plot in Google Sheets (With a Trendline)

A scatter plot is the chart you use when you suspect two things are connected. Does posting more often bring more website visits? Do longer videos get more watch time? Do warmer days mean more orders for your iced drinks stall? Each dot is one observation, and the pattern of dots tells you whether the hunch holds up.

Google Sheets calls it a scatter chart. It's quick to build, but only if your columns are in the right order, so I'll start there and then cover trendlines, which are what make a scatter plot useful.

Setting up columns for a Google Sheets scatter plot

Google's scatter chart help is specific about the layout:

Where	What to enter
First column	Values for the X axis, the thing you think drives the change
First row (optional)	A category name for each column, which shows as a label in the legend
Other columns	Y values. Each column of Y values becomes its own series of points
Each row	One point on the chart

So if you're testing whether posts per week affect weekly visits, posts go in column A and visits in column B. Swap them and the chart still draws, but it'll answer a different question.

Making a scatter plot in Google Sheets on a computer

1. Select both columns, including any heading row.
2. Click Insert, then Chart.
3. In the chart editor, go to Setup and open the Chart type dropdown.
4. Choose Scatter chart.
5. Check the X axis and series listed in Setup match your columns.

If the editor isn't showing, double-click the chart. Google's chart help says Setup holds the chart type and Customize holds the styling.

Making a scatter plot in the Google Sheets mobile app

1. Open the spreadsheet in the Google Sheets app on Android, iPhone or iPad.
2. Select the cells you want to plot.
3. Tap Insert, then Chart.
4. Tap Type and pick the scatter chart.
5. Tap Done.

On a phone you can change the type, legend, titles and colours through Edit chart. Trendlines and axis settings are easier on a computer.

Adding a trendline to your Google Sheets scatter plot

A trendline draws the general direction through your dots, so you don't have to eyeball it. According to Google's trendline help:

1. Double-click the chart.
2. Click Customize, then Series.
3. If you have more than one series, pick one under Apply to.
4. Tick Trendline.

Google says that if you don't see the Trendline option, trendlines don't work with your data. You can then change the trendline type, its colour, opacity, thickness and labels.

Trendline type	Good for
Linear	Data that roughly follows a straight line
Polynomial	Data that rises and falls
Logarithmic	Fast change that then flattens out
Moving average	Smoothing out bumpy, unstable data

Google also lists exponential and power series trendlines. If you're not sure which to pick, start with linear and only switch if the dots clearly curve away from it.

Reading what your scatter plot is telling you

Google's help gives the key rule: the closer the dots come to making a straight line, the stronger the link between the two things you're measuring. A loose cloud with no shape means there probably isn't much of a connection.

• Dots rising from left to right: as X goes up, Y tends to go up.
• Dots falling from left to right: as X goes up, Y tends to come down.
• A few dots far from the rest: check them before drawing conclusions, because one odd week can pull a trendline.

It's also worth remembering that two things moving together doesn't prove one causes the other. A scatter plot shows a pattern; it doesn't explain it.

When a bubble chart beats a scatter plot in Google Sheets

Google lists the bubble chart as a related type. It adds a third dimension: the size of each bubble. Google's layout uses five columns: a label, the X values, the Y values, a series name and a number for the bubble size.

For a creator, that might be video length on X, watch time on Y, and number of shares as bubble size. It's busier than a scatter plot, so I'd only use it when the third measure matters.

Tidying your scatter plot for reports

• Give both axes clear titles under Customize, then Chart and axis titles.
• Set a minimum or maximum on the vertical axis if the dots are squashed into one corner. Google's help lists this under Vertical axis.
• Use Series to change point colours or add data labels.
• Click Add axis and series set if you need to plot another group.

If you're gathering the numbers week by week, you might also want a total row beneath them. My walkthrough on summing a range in Google Sheets covers that, and if you'd like to flag which weeks you've reviewed, a checkbox column in Google Sheets is a tidy way to do it.

If your Google Sheets scatter plot looks wrong

• Dots line up in a strange pattern: the X values may not be in the first column.
• Two clouds of dots in different colours: you've plotted two Y columns. That's fine if intended, otherwise narrow the selection.
• No trendline option: Google says trendlines don't work with every data set.
• Text in the number columns: a stray word stops values plotting, so check for typed notes.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make a scatter plot in Google Sheets?

Put X values in the first column and Y values beside them, select both, click Insert, then Chart, and choose Scatter chart from the Chart type dropdown.

Which column should be the X axis?

Google's help says the first column holds the X values. Each other column becomes a series of Y values.

How do I add a line of best fit?

Double-click the chart, click Customize, then Series, and tick Trendline. Linear is the usual choice for a straight-line pattern.

What does a scatter plot show?

Google says the closer the dots come to a straight line, the stronger the correlation between the two variables.

Can I make a scatter plot on my phone?

Yes. Select the cells in the Sheets app, tap Insert, then Chart, tap Type, choose the scatter chart and tap Done.