Sunburst Chart

  • Published on Jan 2, 2026
  • 1 minute(s) read
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The Sunburst chart is a hierarchical visualization that displays categorical data as concentric rings, enabling users to explore part-to-whole relationships across multiple dimensions. It is particularly useful for analyzing breakdowns where categories have a natural parent–child structure.

When to Use

Use a Sunburst chart when you want to:

  • Visualize hierarchical or multi-level categorical data
  • Compare proportions across nested dimensions
  • Enable intuitive drill-down exploration within a single chart

Common use cases include population counts by region → country → population, or revenue breakdown by category → item → brand.
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Chart Configuration

Query Mode

Sunburst charts operate in Aggregate query mode.
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Dimensions

Add one or more categorical columns to define the hierarchy:

  • The first dimension represents the inner ring (top-level category)
  • Each subsequent dimension adds an outer ring

Example:

  1. Region
  2. Country
  3. Population

The order of dimensions determines the hierarchy displayed in the chart.

Metric

Select a single metric that determines the size of each segment.

  • Typically a SUM, COUNT, or COUNT DISTINCT
  • The metric is aggregated at each level of the hierarchy

Example:

  • SUM(population)
  • COUNT(region)

Customize Tab

Color Scheme

Choose a color scheme to differentiate categories.

  • Colors are applied consistently across hierarchy levels
  • Inner-ring categories define the base color palette

Sort By

Controls how segments are ordered within each ring:

  • Metric value
  • Alphabetical order of dimension values

Labels

  • Labels are shown when there is sufficient space
  • Hover tooltips always display full context, including all hierarchy levels and metric values
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Drill Behavior

Clicking a segment:

  • Highlights the selected path across all rings
  • Can trigger cross-filters if enabled on the dashboard

This allows the Sunburst chart to function as an interactive control for other charts.

Dashboard Behavior

When added to a dashboard, the Sunburst chart supports:

  • Cross-filtering (acting as a filter source)
  • Native filters (responding to dashboard-level filters)
  • Hover tooltips for detailed context without clutter

Best Practices

  • Limit hierarchy depth to 2–4 levels for readability
  • Avoid high-cardinality dimensions in outer rings
  • Use meaningful ordering of dimensions to reflect analytical intent
  • Pair with tables or bar charts when exact values are required