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Radar Chart

A radar chart is a multivariate polar plot — values plotted on spokes around a shared center, so a profile across several axes reads as a polygon rather than a set of bars.

The pattern is profile across axes: use when users need to compare several metrics on a shared scale at once. Unlike a bar chart, all axes radiate from one origin so the shape itself is the comparison. Unlike a pie, the values are independent magnitudes, not shares of a whole.

Also known as

  • Spider chart — the everyday name for the same plot of values on radiating axes

Component Anatomy

PartRole
Chart (Root)Plot container — data, series colors, and animation
RadarPolar series — a polygon whose vertices encode values on each spoke
PolarGridConcentric rings and radial spokes behind the plot
PolarAngleAxisCategory labels around the perimeter
PolarRadiusAxisRadial value scale from the center outward
TooltipHover readout for the nearest series
LegendSeries key overlay — optional, often clickable to isolate a series
DotResting and hover vertex markers on a series

Common use cases

Use a radar chart when users need to read a profile across several axes at once:

  • Skills — competency scores for a person, team, or role
  • Product scores — features, plans, or SKUs rated on the same attributes
  • Player stats — speed, defense, finishing, and the rest on one sheet
  • Survey dimensions — Likert scores for satisfaction, trust, effort, and similar axes
  • Competitors — two or more series overlaid on the same spokes

Avoid a radar chart when there are more than a handful of axes (the web turns into clutter), when the axes are not on a comparable scale (a 0–100 next to a 0–10,000 warps the shape), or when the question is one ranking or a trend (use a bar or a line). Do not fill every series when several polygons overlap; the fills hide each other. Do not treat the area of the polygon as a total — radar axes are independent, not parts of a whole.

Default radars fill the polygon. Lines-only drops the fill and keeps the outline, which is the usual choice for several series. Polygon PolarGrid follows the spokes; circle PolarGrid draws round rings instead. Pair a Tooltip and Legend on dashboards; add Dots at vertices when the exact scores matter; show PolarRadiusAxis when users need the numeric scale, not only the shape.

<Radar Chart />

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