Build a heatmap
Compare a measure across two categories at once, with each cell shaded by its value.
3 min readUpdated October 29, 2026
A heatmap answers where a measure runs high or low across two categories at once - sales by region and month, say. It lays one dimension down the side, one across the top, and shades each cell by its value. Pick Heatmap from the chart type selector.
Fill the shelves
| Shelf | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Rows | Required. One dimension for the row labels. |
| Columns | Required. One dimension for the column labels. |
| Color | The measure that sets each cell's color. |
| Tooltip | Optional. Extra fields to show on hover. |
- Pick Heatmap from the chart type selector.
- Drag a dimension to Rows.
- Drag a second dimension to Columns.
- Drag a measure to Color.
Note: Rows and Columns take one field each. To compare a third category, add it as a filter or build small multiples instead.
Format options
Open the format pane and find Heatmap options.
- Color scale - sequential Blues, Reds or Greens, Heat, Cool, Viridis, two diverging scales, or Custom.
- Normalize values - Raw values, % of Row Total or % of Column Total. Use a percentage to compare the mix inside each row or column rather than raw size.
- Show cell values - prints the number in each cell.
- Show color legend - and Legend position: Top, Bottom, Left or Right.
Tip: A heat map on its own is this chart, not a map. To shade a map by location, pick one of the map chart types instead.
Build it from the chat
Ask the chat for something like "heatmap of profit by category and month". It puts one dimension on Rows, one on Columns and the measure on Color.