How to make a bar chart race video without coding

What you need

• Your data in Google Sheets, Excel or as plain text.
• Up to 12 names and 12 periods (years, months or seasons).
• An AnimateMyVideo account to download the video (you sign in with Google).
• Any video editor, for the voiceover and the music.

Step by step

1. 1

   Step 1: Shape your data as a table

   Put the periods across the first row and the names down the first column, one value per cell. For example: a first row with 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020, then one row per country with its value for each year.

   Every value should use the same unit: all in millions, or all in percent. Write plain numbers (2700, not «2.7K») and keep the unit for later. The race rounds to whole numbers, so if your values are small decimals like 1.25, scale them up first or round them.

2. 2

   Step 2: Paste it into the bar chart race maker

   Select the cells in your sheet, including the header row and the names, copy them and paste them into the box in the free bar chart race maker. Comma-separated text works too, one line per name. The race starts moving right away, together with four ranking templates (a top 5 countdown, a league table, racing bars and a podium) that use the values of your last period.

   Open the bar chart race maker →

3. 3

   Step 3: Check the story before you style it

   Watch the preview to the end. A good race has at least one overtake. If the order never changes, a ranking or a podium of the final year tells the same story in less time. Remove rows that never get near the top: fewer bars read better on a phone.

4. 4

   Step 4: Customize it in the editor

   Click «Customize & export» under the race. The editor opens with your table already in it. Set the title, the unit (M, %, km) in its own field, how many bars are visible at once, the accent color and the format: 16:9 for YouTube, 9:16 for Shorts.

   Then set the length. Around three to five seconds per period keeps it readable without dragging, so six periods make a race of 20 to 30 seconds.

5. 5

   Step 5: Choose the background and export

   Pick how you want the file, then click Export and sign in with Google to download. During the open beta, new accounts get export credits at no cost.

   • With a background: a normal MP4 with the chart full screen. The usual choice for a bar chart race video.
   • No background: a transparent .mov (ProRes 4444), to put the chart over your own footage or a talking head.
   • On my video: upload your clip and get the chart already placed on it, as an MP4.
6. 6

   Step 6: Finish it in your editor

   Add your voiceover and music under the chart, and credit your data source on screen or in the description: viewers do ask.

   • CapCut: Import the MP4 and put it on the main track, with the music and voiceover on the audio tracks below.
   • Premiere Pro: File → Import, then drag it into your sequence. A transparent .mov goes on V2, above your footage on V1.
   • DaVinci Resolve: Import it into the Media Pool and drag it to the timeline. If a transparent .mov shows black, right-click it and set Clip Attributes → Alpha Mode to Premultiplied.

Tips for a race people watch to the end

Put the question in the title: «Most popular programming languages, 2004–2024» tells the viewer what to watch for. Keep 8 to 12 items; with more, the labels get too small on a phone. Talk over the overtakes, not over the steady parts. And hold the final ranking for a second or two so people can read it: a lot of viewers pause on the last frame.

Other ways to make one, and when they're better

If you have thousands of rows or need to update the chart every week, code is the better tool: Python libraries such as bar_chart_race build one from a CSV file. Web chart tools are great for interactive charts that live on a website. After Effects gives you full control if you already know it. For a YouTube video made from a small table, a template saves you the setup.