What is a stacked line chart?

A stacked line chart shows multiple measures over time where each line's value is added on top of the previous one, so the topmost line represents the combined total. It answers two questions simultaneously: how each individual measure trends over time, and how the total accumulates. Use it when both the breakdown and the running total matter across a time series.

When should I use a stacked line chart instead of a regular line chart?

Use a stacked line chart when you have two or more measures that contribute to a meaningful total and you want to show how that total changes over time alongside each measure's share. Use a regular line chart when you have one measure, or when the measures are independent and should not be added together.

When should I use a stacked line chart instead of a stacked area chart?

A stacked area chart fills the space between stacked lines with color, emphasizing the volume each segment occupies. A stacked line chart shows the same stacked values as lines without the fill. Use the stacked area chart when you want viewers to focus on the relative volume of each segment. Use the stacked line chart when the line position itself is the signal and the fill would add visual noise.

How many measures can I add to a stacked line chart?

The stacked line chart requires a minimum of 2 measures and supports up to 10. Beyond 5 to 6 measures, the lines become close together, the legend grows long, and it is hard to trace an individual line across the chart. Keep to 4 or fewer measures for most time series dashboards.

Do all measures need to be in the same unit?

Yes. Because the stacked line chart adds each measure on top of the previous one, all measures must share the same unit for the total to be interpretable. Stacking revenue in dollars with headcount as an integer produces a combined total that has no real-world meaning.

What does Gradient Line Styles control?

Gradient Line Styles sets the start and end colors of the palette used to color each series line. The gradient is applied across the full set of lines - the first measure uses a color near the start color, the last measure uses a color near the end color, and intermediate measures are interpolated between them. Individual per-series color control is not available.

Why is it hard to read the value of a non-bottom series?

On a stacked line chart, only the bottom series has a fixed zero baseline. Every other series is stacked on top of the previous one, so its visual height represents its own value plus all the values below it. To read an individual series value, viewers must mentally subtract the position of the line below. Enable the tooltip with Axis trigger - it shows exact values for all series at the hovered time point, removing the need to estimate from the chart.

Can I show a stacked line chart without the stack?

No. The stacking is fixed on this chart type - all series always stack on top of each other. If you want to show multiple measures as independent lines without stacking, build multiple Line Charts side by side on the dashboard, or use a Grouped Bar chart if the dimension is categorical rather than time-based.

Stacked Line Chart | Edilitics Docs

Track how multiple measures accumulate over time with lines stacked on top of each other - best for the combined total and each measure's contribution.

A stacked line chart - also called a cumulative line chart - shows multiple measures over time where each line's value is added on top of the previous one, so the topmost line represents the running total of all measures combined. Drop one date or ordered categorical field into Column and two or more numeric fields into Row. Use it when both the cumulative total and each measure's individual contribution to that total matter across a time series.

When to Use

A stacked line chart answers two questions at once: how does the total change over time, and how does each measure contribute to that total at each point? It works when the measures are additive - they all share the same unit and the sum is meaningful. Revenue from three product lines, support tickets across four teams, user signups from five acquisition channels.

Non-bottom series are hard to read in isolation. Only the bottom series has a zero baseline. Every other series floats at the cumulative height of all series below it - its visual position encodes the total, not its own value. Viewers can see the shape of each series' trend, but comparing exact values between non-adjacent series requires the tooltip. If precise per-series comparison is the goal, use multiple Line Charts or a Grouped Bar instead.

Switch to a different chart when:

You have only one measure - use Line Chart
The measures are independent and should not be added - use multiple Line Charts side by side
You want the area between lines filled to emphasize volume - use Stacked Area
The question is about proportion rather than total - consider Stacked Area in 100% mode
Your dimension is categorical, not time-based - use Stacked Bar

Scenario	Dimension	Measures
Weekly revenue by product line	Week	Sum of product A revenue, Sum of product B revenue, Sum of product C revenue
Daily active users by platform	Date	Count of web users, Count of mobile users, Count of desktop users
Monthly support tickets by team	Month	Count of team A tickets, Count of team B tickets, Count of team C tickets
Quarterly headcount by department	Quarter	Count of engineering, Count of sales, Count of operations
Weekly signups by acquisition channel	Week	Count of organic, Count of paid, Count of referral

Required Inputs

Field	Type	Count
Dimension	Date or Ordered Categorical	Exactly 1
Measure	Numeric	2 to 10

All measures must share the same unit for the stacked total to be interpretable.

For step-by-step build instructions, see Build Your First Chart.

Formatting Options

The Format tab unlocks after at least one field is assigned. Once your chart is rendering, use these controls to define how it looks and how viewers interact with it.

Style

Use the chart title to state what the combined total represents and what the individual lines break it down by. Viewers need to understand what they are looking at the total of before they read the individual series lines.

Control	What it does
Show Chart Title	Shows or hides the title. The text is preserved when hidden so you can toggle it back without re-entering.
Enter Chart Title	Title text. Maximum 50 characters.
Font family	Font applied to the title.
Font size	5 to 30.
Bold / Italic	Weight and style.
Alignment	Left, center, or right within the chart container.

Gradient Line Styles sets the color palette applied across all series lines. The first series receives a color near the start color; the last series receives a color near the end color; intermediate series are interpolated between them. Individual per-series color control is not available.

Control	What it does
Gradient Start Color	The color assigned to the first (bottom) series line.
Gradient End Color	The color assigned to the last (top) series line. Set Start and End to contrasting colors so that series are visually distinct, especially when many measures are stacked.

Symbol Styles controls whether data point markers appear on the lines and how they look. The same symbol type and size applies to all series - per-series symbol control is not available.

Control	What it does
Show Symbols	Shows or hides the marker at each data point across all series. Turn off when the time series is dense and markers clutter the lines.
Symbol Type	The marker shape across all series: Circle, Rectangle, Triangle, Diamond, Pin, Arrow, or None.
Symbol Size	Diameter of each marker, 0 to 20. Default is 7. Reduce for dense time series where markers from adjacent lines overlap.

Data labels on a stacked line chart print values at each data point on each series. With multiple overlapping series, labels from different lines will collide unless the data is very sparse. Use data labels only on charts with 2 to 3 measures and fewer than 10 time periods.

Control	What it does
Show Data Labels	Shows or hides value labels at each data point.
Font family	Font applied to data labels.
Font size	Maximum 18. Keep at 9 or 10 on stacked charts to reduce label collision.
Bold / Italic / Color	Text styling.
Position	Alignment of the label relative to the data point. Top places the label above the point.
Number Type	Default, Scientific, Decimal, or Percentage.
Display Unit	None, Thousand, Million, or Billion. Match to the Y-axis Display Unit.
Decimal Places	0 to 6. Available when Number Type is not Default.

The legend is essential on a stacked line chart - without it, viewers cannot identify which line corresponds to which measure. Keep it visible and position it where it does not overlap the lines.

Control	What it does
Show Legends	Shows or hides the legend. On by default.
Vertical position	Top, middle, or bottom alignment of the legend block.
Horizontal position	Start, center, or end alignment.
Show Name	Default: labels always visible. On Hover: labels appear only when viewer hovers the legend. Use Default on shared or exported dashboards.
Orientation	Vertical or Horizontal legend layout. Horizontal works best when measure names are short and there are 4 or fewer series.
Item Gap	Spacing between legend items.
Font Size	Legend label font size.
Color	Legend label text color.

Axes

The Y-axis on a stacked line represents the cumulative total at each time point - name it with the shared unit of all measures so viewers understand what the top line's height means.

Select X or Y before making changes. Settings apply to the selected axis only.

Control	What it does
Show Axis Name	Shows or hides the axis name label.
Axis name text	Label text. Maximum 20 characters. Defaults to the field name.
Font family	Font applied to the axis name.
Font size	5 to 30.
Bold / Italic	Weight and style.
Offset (%)	Distance between the axis name and the axis line. Increase if the name overlaps the axis labels.
Alignment	Start, center, or end along the axis.

Leave these at their defaults unless you are building a minimal dashboard layout.

Select X or Y before making changes.

Control	What it does
Show Axis Line	Shows or hides the axis line. Hiding it also hides ticks.
Line Color	Color of the axis line.
Line Width	Thickness of the axis line, 0 to 5.
Line Type	Solid, Dashed, or Dotted.
Show Ticks	Shows or hides tick marks on the axis line.
Tick Color	Color of the tick marks.
Tick Length	Length of the tick marks, 5 to 10.
Boundary Gap	When off, the lines start and end at the chart edges. Turn off for a clean edge-to-edge time series.

Select X or Y before making changes. Hiding axis labels also hides the axis name.

Control	What it does
Show Axis Label	Shows or hides labels along the axis.
Font family	Font applied to axis labels.
Font size	Label font size.
Bold / Italic / Color	Text styling.
Rotation	Angle of label text. Useful on X-axis when date labels are long and overlap.
Text case	Title Case, Uppercase, or Lowercase. Available on the categorical axis (X) only.
Display Unit	Auto, None, Thousand, Million, or Billion. Available on the value axis (Y) only. The Y-axis represents the cumulative total - set Display Unit to match the scale of that total, not individual series values.

Y-axis grid lines help viewers read cumulative values from the top line against the value scale. Keep them on.

Select X or Y before making changes.

Control	What it does
Show Gridlines	Shows or hides grid lines for the selected axis.
Grid Color	Color of the grid lines.
Left / Right / Top / Bottom	Plot area margins as a percentage. Increase Top when the topmost line's data labels are clipped. Increase Bottom when X-axis date labels overflow.

Interactivity

The tooltip is the most important interactivity control on a stacked line chart. Set Trigger to Axis - it shows all series values for the hovered time point in one pop-up, which is the only reliable way viewers can read exact values for non-bottom series.

Control	What it does
Show Tooltip	Shows or hides the tooltip on hover. Keep on.
Trigger	Item: tooltip shows data for the specific hovered line only. Axis: tooltip shows all series values for the hovered time point. Always use Axis on a stacked line chart.
Pointer	When Trigger is Axis: Line, Shadow, Cross, or None. Line draws a vertical rule at the hovered time point and is the clearest indicator on a time series.
Background Color	Tooltip background color.
Headers / Values tabs	Separate styling for the time period label row (Headers) and the measure value rows (Values). The Values tab includes Number Type, Display Unit, and Decimal Places.

Keep animation on when presenting the chart for the first time - the progressive left-to-right draw reveals the accumulation over time. Turn it off on dashboards that auto-refresh.

Control	What it does
Enable Animation	Turns the draw animation on or off.
Duration	How long the animation runs, 0 to 3000ms. Default is 1000ms.
Delay	Time before the animation starts after the chart loads, 0 to 2000ms.
Easing Function	The motion curve. Cubic Out (the default) gives a natural deceleration at the end of the draw.

Enable Data Zoom for time series with more than around 60 data points, or when viewers need to focus on a specific date range without changing the underlying query.

Control	What it does
Show Data Zoom	Shows or hides the zoom control.
Zoom Type	Slider: a draggable range bar below the chart. Inside: scroll-to-zoom on the plot area. Use Slider for dashboards.
Slider Size (px)	Height of the slider bar, 10 to 100.
Position	Position of the slider relative to the chart.
Alignment	Alignment of the slider control.
Orientation	Horizontal for a stacked line chart - scrolls through the time axis.
Show Detail Label	Shows the date or category values at the slider handles.
Background Color	Slider background.
Filler Color	Color of the selected range inside the slider.
Border Color	Slider border.
Handle Color	Color of the drag handles.
Brush Selection	Enables click-and-drag to zoom into a range.

Avoid Zoom Type "Inside" on dashboards that viewers scroll with a trackpad. Scroll events captured by the chart zoom the chart instead of scrolling the page.

Series focus is the most useful emphasis mode on a stacked line chart - it highlights one series at a time and dims the rest, letting viewers trace a single measure's path through the stack without losing it among adjacent lines.

Control	What it does
Show Emphasis	Enables or disables the hover effect.
Focus Type	Item: highlights the hovered data point only. Series: highlights all points in the hovered series and dims all others - use this on a stacked line chart with more than 3 series. None: no visual change on hover.
Enable Scale	Scales the hovered marker slightly larger.
Scale Size	How much the marker scales. Keep at 1.2 or below.

Enable the Toolbox when viewers need to export the chart or inspect the exact values behind each series at a given time point.

Control	What it does
Show Toolbox	Shows or hides the toolbox icon bar.
Save as Image	Adds a download icon that saves the chart as a PNG.
Data View	Adds an icon that opens the underlying data table in the chart area.

Best Practices

Only stack measures in the same unit. Adding revenue to headcount produces a top line that represents a meaningless number. All measures must share the same unit so the cumulative total the topmost line represents is interpretable.

Always use Axis tooltip trigger. Non-bottom series float at the cumulative height of all series below them - their visual position does not directly encode their own value. The tooltip is the only reliable way to read exact values for these series. Keep it on and set Trigger to Axis.

Keep measure count at 4 or fewer. Beyond 4 series, lines stack close together and the space between adjacent lines becomes too narrow to read. Series in the middle of the stack are especially hard to trace. Pre-aggregate minor series into an "Other" category in Transform if you have more than 4 measures.

Put the most important or most stable series at the bottom. The bottom series is the most readable because it has a zero baseline. Place the series that viewers most need to read precisely at the bottom. Place volatile or secondary series higher in the stack where they are read primarily through the tooltip.

Resolve null values before publishing - they distort every series above the gap. A null in one series does not just break that series' line; because every series above it stacks on the cumulative value below, a null shifts the visual position of all series stacked on top of it at that time point. The builder shows a null value prompt automatically - choose to filter, zero-fill, or fix the source data so the stack stays consistent across the full time range.

Use Series focus in Emphasis. With multiple stacked lines, hovering a single data point does not make it obvious which series you have selected. Series focus highlights the entire selected line and dims the others - much easier to trace across time.

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Stacked Line Chart