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How to Make a Gantt Chart in Excel

Excel has no Gantt chart button, but you can build one in a few minutes from a stacked bar chart. The trick: the first bar series is the start date, made invisible, and the second is the duration, which becomes the visible task bar.

Excel CSE · 3 min read

Step 1: set up the task list

The end date in D2 is =B2+C2. If you'd rather enter start and end dates, calculate the duration with =D2-B2 instead. The chart only needs Task, Start and Days.

Step 2: insert a stacked bar chart

1. Select A1:C6 (Task, Start, Days).
2. Go to Insert › Bar Chart › Stacked Bar.

You now see two-coloured bars: the first part runs from 0 to the start date, the second part is the duration.

Step 3: hide the start bars

1. Click one of the bars of the Start series (the left part).
2. Right-click › Format Data Series › Fill & Line.
3. Set Fill to No fill and Border to No line.

What's left are floating bars: your Gantt chart.

Step 4: put the first task at the top

Bar charts start at the bottom, so Plan ends up last. Click the task names on the vertical axis, open Format Axis and tick Categories in reverse order.

Step 5: fix the date axis

The horizontal axis starts at an early date, leaving a big empty space. Set the start to your first date:

1. Click the date axis and open Format Axis.
2. Under Bounds › Minimum, enter the date's serial number. For 2 March 2026 that's 46083. Find it by typing the date in a cell and formatting it as Number.
3. Set the Major unit to 7 for weekly gridlines.

Finish with a title, a smaller gap width (Format Data Series › Gap Width ~50%) and, if you like, data labels with the number of days.

Quick version: conditional formatting

A Gantt chart in the cells themselves is easier to update and print:

1. Put dates across row 1, starting in F1 (2-Mar-26, 3-Mar-26, …). Make the columns narrow.
2. Select F2:AQ6 and go to Home › Conditional Formatting › New Rule › Use a formula.
3. Enter =AND(F$1>=$B2, F$1<$D2) and choose a fill colour.

Each cell lights up when its date falls within the task. The $ signs keep the formula pointing at the date row and the start/end columns; see absolute references. Add a second rule =F$1=TODAY() with a red border to mark today.

Tips

• Use =WORKDAY(B2, C2) for end dates that skip weekends. See NETWORKDAYS and WORKDAY.
• Make the task list a table so new tasks appear in the chart automatically.
• Add a "% done" column and a third series to show progress inside each bar.