How to Create a Donut Chart in Google Slides (The Modern Alternative to Pie Charts)

February 7, 2026

Let's be honest: pie charts get a bad rap.

Data scientists often roll their eyes at them. Designers tolerate them. But if you’ve ever sat through a presentation where a pie chart looked more like a disorderly pizza than a data visualization, you understand the problem. They are heavy, hard to compare, and often messy.

Enter the Donut Chart.

It’s essentially a pie chart with the center cut out, but that simple change makes a massive difference. It looks lighter, cleaner, and—crucially—it gives you valuable screen real estate right in the middle to display the total value or the main takeaway.

If you are trying to modernize your slide decks, swapping pies for donuts is one of the quickest wins you can get. Here is how to create them in Google Slides without getting a headache.

Why the "Hole" Matters

Before we get into the clicking and dragging, you might be wondering: Is this just aesthetic?

mostly, yes, but form follows function here.

  1. Reduced Visual Load: By removing the center, you remove the ink (or pixels) that doesn't actually convey data. The brain focuses on the length of the arcs rather than the area of the wedges. It's easier to read.
  2. The "Summary" Spot: In a standard pie chart, the legend is off to the side, forcing your audience to scan back and forth. With a donut chart, you can place the total number (e.g., "100%," "$5M," "300 Leads") smack in the center. The context sits inside the data.

The Native Way vs. The Better Way

You can insert a donut chart using Google Slides' native features. It involves going to Insert > Chart > Pie, and then tweaking it. But here is the friction point: Google Slides forces you to use a linked Google Sheet.

Every time you want to change a number or a label, you have to wait for a spreadsheet to open in a new tab, make your edits there, switch back to Slides, and hit "Update." It breaks your flow.

This is where ExtraChart changes the game. It lets you build, edit, and style the chart directly inside the Slides interface. No spreadsheets, no tab switching.

Step-by-Step: Creating a Donut Chart with ExtraChart

Here is my workflow for getting a professional donut chart onto a slide in under 60 seconds.

1. Fire Up the Add-on

First, make sure you are in your slide deck. Go to the top menu and select Extensions > ExtraChart > Create & Edit Charts.

This opens the sidebar on the right. You’ll see a list of over 20 chart types.

2. Select the Donut Chart

Scroll down to the Pie & Donut section. You'll see icons for Pie, Half Pie, and Donut. Click on the Donut Chart icon.

Sidebar menu: Selecting the Donut Chart icon

3. Paste Your Data

A popup window will appear. This is your command center.

On the Data tab, you don't need to fiddle with a complex spreadsheet. If you have your data in Excel or a CSV, just copy it and paste it directly into the grid here. The preview on the left updates instantly.

  • Pro Tip: Donut charts work best with fewer than 5 categories. If you have 15 slices, no chart type can save you—you need a table or a bar chart.

4. Customize the "Donut Hole"

This is the fun part. Switch to the Settings tab.

Unlike the native tool, ExtraChart gives you granular control over the Inner Radius.

  • Make it thin: A large inner radius creates a sleek, thin ring (great for minimalist designs).
  • Make it thick: A smaller inner radius looks more like a traditional pie chart but still keeps that modern feel.

You can also move the legend to the bottom or right, change the font to match your brand (Roboto and Inter are favorites of mine), and adjust your color palette.

5. Insert and Done

Once it looks sharp, click Create. ExtraChart inserts the visualization as a high-resolution image on your slide.

The "Edit Later" Superpower

Here is the feature that saved me last week during a client revision cycle.

Usually, if you insert a chart as an image, it's dead pixels. If the client says, "Hey, Q3 sales were actually $40k, not $30k," you usually have to delete the image and start over.

With ExtraChart, you just click the chart image on the slide, open the ExtraChart sidebar again, and it pulls all your data and settings back out of the image metadata. You change the number, click Update, and you're done.

Quick Design Rules for Donuts

To wrap up, if you are going to use a Donut Chart, follow these three rules to keep it professional:

  1. Order your data: Sort your data from largest to smallest (clockwise). It makes the chart much easier to read at a glance.
  2. Limit your slices: Try to stick to 2-5 categories. Any more than that, and the arcs get too small to distinguish.
  3. Use the center: If you are presenting on "Market Share," put the leading competitor's percentage right in the middle of the donut using a text box.

Give the Donut Chart a try on your next status report. It’s a small tweak that makes your slides look years newer.