How to shade the area between two lines in a line chart in Excel?
When creating a line chart for two data series, do you know how to shade the area between the two lines as shown in the screenshot below? This tutorial provides two methods to help you get it done step by step.
Shade the area between two lines in a line chart by inserting helper columns
Easily shade the area between two lines in a line chart with an amazing tool
| Feature | Helper Columns + Stacked Area Chart | Kutools for Excel |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Users who want full control over how the shaded area is created and formatted | Quickly shading the area between two data series with minimal setup |
| Formula required | Yes; formulas are used to create the helper data | No |
| Chart setup | Create or modify a Line chart, then convert helper series to Stacked Area | Select the data and use Difference Area Chart |
| Setup complexity | Advanced; requires multiple chart-editing steps | Very simple |
| Customization | High; fill colors, labels, legend, and chart elements can be adjusted manually | Easy built-in setup with less manual configuration |
| Main advantage | Uses Excel’s built-in chart tools and provides detailed control | No helper columns and only a few steps are required |
| Main limitation | Time-consuming and requires helper formulas plus chart configuration | Requires Kutools for Excel |
Shade the area between two lines in a line chart by inserting helper columns
Suppose you have a monthly sales table for two years and want to create a line chart for them, shading the area between the two lines. Please do as follows to handle it.
1. Firstly, you need to create two helper columns.
2. Select the whole range, click Insert > Insert Line or Area Chart > Line to insert a line chart.
Tip: If you have already created the line chart, skip this step and proceed to the Note.
Now a line chart is created as shown in the screenshot below.
Note: If you have already created a line chart for the original series (see the following screenshot) and want to shade the area between the lines. After creating the two helper columns, you need to do as follows.
3. Right click on any line in the chart and select Change Series Chart Type in the right-clicking menu.
4. In the Change Chart Type dialog box, change the chart type of the Base and Difference series to Stacked Area and click the OK button to save the changes.
The chart now is displayed as follows.
5. Select the largest highlighted area in the chart, and then click Format (under the Chart Tools tab) > Shape Fill > No Fill.
6. Now you need to remove the newly added series from the legend as follows.
Tips: If you want to remove the entire legend from the chart and display only the series names on the corresponding lines in the chart, please do as follows.
7. Select the shaded area in the chart, click Format (under the Chart Tools tab) > Shape Fill. Then choose a lighter fill color for it.
8. Change the chart title as you need.
The chart now is finished. And the area between the two lines is highlighted as shown in the screenshot below.
Easily shade the area between two lines in a line chart with an amazing tool
The above method has many steps and is very time-consuming. Here I recommend the Different Area Chart feature of Kutools for Excel to help you easily solve this problem. With this feature, you don’t need to create helper columns, just need several clicks to get it done.
1. Select the whole data range, click Kutools > Charts > Difference Comparison > Difference Area Chart.
2. In the Difference Area Chart dialog box, you can see that the fields are automatically filled with corresponding cell references, click the OK button directly.
The chart is created. See the screenshot below.
Note: You can right-click on any element of the chart to apply a different color or style as you want.
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Conclusion
Shading the area between two lines can make differences between two data series much easier to identify and compare visually.
Use helper columns with a Stacked Area Chart when you need full control over the chart structure, colors, labels, and other formatting details. For a faster approach, Kutools for Excel can create a Difference Area Chart directly from the source data without requiring helper formulas or multiple chart-editing steps.
Choose the method based on whether you need detailed chart customization or a quicker way to visualize the difference between two data series.
Demo: Shade The Area Between Two Lines In A Line Chart In Excel
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