How To Add A Secondary Axis In Excel

Plotting line graphs and bar charts on Microsoft Excel is a great way of visualizing your data, making it even more accessible and digestible to the reader. However, sometimes plotting these charts and graphs by a single axis can be counterintuitive and actually make the data really hard to read. Usually, this is because the scale that the primary axis is using is too large to read one of the data series/sets by. 

Adding a secondary axis in Excel is super easy. To learn how to do it, simply follow our step-by-step guides below. For all other information, or if you have further questions, please direct your attention to our FAQ section at the end of this article.

How to automatically add a secondary axis in Excel

  1. Open Microsoft Excel on your device, and load a test document, then quickly enter in a data set from which you can plot a chart or graph
  2. Highlight the data set by clicking the first cell in the series and dragging the highlight box to cover all the data you wish to plot
  3. Click the ‘Insert’ menu tab along the top toolbar
  4. Next, in the ‘charts’ section, click the ‘Recommended Charts’ button
  5. From this selection of recommended charts, scroll through until you locate one which already has a secondary axis. Click it to add it to your document.

How to manually add a secondary axis in Excel

  1. Open Microsoft Excel on your device, and load a test document, then quickly enter in a data set from which you can plot a chart or graph
  2. Highlight the data set by clicking the first cell in the series and dragging the highlight box to cover all the data you wish to plot
  3. Click the ‘Insert’ menu tab along the top toolbar
  4. Choose a standard chart or graph with a single axis and click on it to add it to your document
  5. Now, to add a secondary axis onto this chart or graph, right-click on any one of the data series plotted in the chart or graph (i.e. any one of the coloured lines or blocks)
  6. From the pop-up menu, select ‘Format Data Series’
  7. A formatting window will pop-out on the right of the page; under ‘Plot Series On’ click ‘Secondary Axis’
  8. Your highlighted data series will now be plotted on a secondary axis with a scale relevant specifically to it. The secondary axis will be instantly added to your chart or graph.

And that’s really all there is to add a secondary axis to your graphs and charts in Microsoft Excel! If you have any more questions or would like some further information on the subject, please see our FAQs below.

FAQs

What is a secondary axis in Microsoft Excel, and why would I need one?

Microsoft Excel is a data entry and spreadsheet program used by millions of people all around the world on a daily basis. It is beloved by accountants, those in finance, and anyone keen on organizing themselves and/or their finances.

One of the most useful functions in Excel is the ability to plot and chart graphs and charts using your various data sets, and doing so is super simple. You just highlight the data, click ‘Insert’, and choose a chart from the ‘charts’ tab.

However, it’s super important to represent your data in a clear, concise, and accessible way, and sometimes that’s not possible with a single axis. If you’re trying to measure sales and profit margins by the same scale, for example, it would be easy to see differences in sales from year to year (since you’d be operating in large numbers), but would be very hard to tell if there was any difference in profit margins over the same years if using the same axis scale to measure them (since profit margins are often measured in very small numbers). 

To correct this, you’ll want to add a secondary axis to your chart or graph. A secondary axis usually refers to a second Y axis, positioned opposite the first, primary axis. This secondary axis will have a scale that corresponds more appropriately to the data set you’ve chosen to connect it with, making it far easier to read any complex chart or graph.

Can I delete a secondary axis in Microsoft Excel if I change my mind?

Of course! If you added a secondary axis, but then decided later that you actually didn’t need it, you’d simply have to return to the formatting options for the data series you just plotted on the secondary axis, and choose to replot it on the primary axis. Simple as that. You’ll immediately notice that the secondary axis disappears.

Can I add a tertiary axis or more axis on top of a secondary one?

No. You are limited to plotting your graphs and charts on two axes only.

What’s the easiest method of adding secondary axes in Microsoft Excel?

The best, easiest method of plotting and adding secondary axes in Microsoft Excel is simply to choose a graph or chart from the ‘Recommended Charts’ button which already includes a secondary axis. Microsoft Excel is smart, so you should rely on its ingenuity wherever you can! Of course, if you forgot to do this and are stuck, the manual process is equally simple.