Show where a total flows: ribbons sweep from sources to outcomes, sized by value. Export as PNG, SVG, GIF or MP4.
Free to try · No design skills · Ready in about two minutes
Overview
A sankey diagram shows how a total splits and where it lands: value-proportional ribbons connect sources on the left to outcomes on the right, so the width of a ribbon is literally its size. It answers the question a funnel can't — where did the rest go? Traffic doesn't just convert or vanish; it converts, bounces, or signs up at different rates from different sources, and a sankey shows all of those paths in one picture instead of forcing a single narrowing line.
The format's real strength is branching. A funnel is one path getting narrower; a sankey is several sources feeding several outcomes, which is the shape of most real flows — traffic sources into signup outcomes, a budget into spend categories, a pipeline into won, lost, and pushed. The moment you have more than one source or more than one outcome, a sankey earns its keep.
Reochart animates each ribbon sweeping left to right in sequence, so the audience watches the total find its destinations rather than absorbing a static tangle of lines all at once. Export it as an MP4 or GIF for a deck or a post, or a static PNG or SVG when a still image is all you need.
How it works
Each row in your data is one flow: where it starts (the From column), where it lands (the To column), and its size (the value). Reochart groups rows sharing a From into one source node and rows sharing a To into one outcome node, stacking each node's height in proportion to its total.
Ribbons connect each From to its To, drawn as smooth curves whose width is proportional to the flow's value, so two ribbons of very different sizes are visually unmistakable. Ribbons sweep in left to right, one after another, so the total's journey reads as a sequence rather than landing all at once.
Examples
Real charts made in Reochart, each with its own data and theme. Hover to play the animation.
Good fit
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Compare
Sankey vs the alternatives, at a glance.
| Chart type | Best for | Avoid when |
|---|---|---|
| Sankey | Branching flows: many sources, many outcomes | A single narrowing path, or only 2-3 flows |
| Funnel | One path narrowing through stages | Multiple sources or multiple outcomes |
| Stacked bar | A simple split into a few segments | You need to show the flow itself, not just totals |
| Waterfall | What moved a number from start to end | You're showing where volume lands, not a running total |
Your data
One row per flow: where it starts, where it lands, and its size. Repeat a From across rows to split it into several outcomes. Paste straight from Excel or Sheets, or import a CSV. Up to about 12 flows reads cleanly.
| From | To | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Organic search | Signed up | 84 |
| Organic search | Bounced | 46 |
| Social | Signed up | 32 |
| Social | Bounced | 41 |
Step by step
Drop your numbers in, or import a CSV.
Choose the chart, theme and animation speed.
Tune colours, labels and add your brand.
Download MP4, GIF, PNG or SVG.
Best practices
Watch out
Past about 12 rows, ribbons overlap so much the diagram becomes a tangle instead of a story. Group smaller sources into "Other".
A sankey's value is branching. One source into one outcome with no splits is a funnel, or just a number.
"Signed up" in one row and "Sign-up" in another creates a phantom extra node. Keep To labels exactly consistent.
Ribbon width is a visceral read, not a precise one. If exact figures matter, add them in the title, subtitle, or a companion table.
Why Reochart
FAQ
A flow diagram where ribbon width is proportional to flow size, connecting sources to destinations — ideal for showing where a total actually went.
One row per flow: where it starts (From), where it lands (To), and its size. Repeat a From across several rows to split it.
A funnel shows one path narrowing through stages. A sankey handles branching — multiple sources, multiple outcomes — in a single picture. If your flow is a single sequence, use the funnel chart generator instead.
It stays readable up to about 12 flows. Past that, ribbons start crossing enough that the picture stops resolving — group smaller sources into an "Other" row.
Reochart's sankey is two-stage (sources → outcomes). For a multi-stage flow, chain two sankeys or use a funnel if the path is a single sequence.
Yes. Ribbons sweep in left to right by default, and you can export the animation as an MP4 or GIF, or grab a static PNG or SVG.
Yes. Pro exports a crisp, scalable SVG vector, alongside MP4, GIF and PNG. Every export renders at 1080p.
On Pro, yes. Set a brand palette and add a logo that replaces the watermark on every export.
Yes. The free plan lets you make every chart type except the animated bar chart race, and export an animated MP4 with a small watermark, no card needed. Pro adds the bar chart race, removes the watermark, and adds GIF and SVG, your brand colours and logo, longer videos and CSV import.
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