A 2x3 grid of mini bar charts, one per facet. Same scale, easy comparison.
A free, animated small multiples (bar grid) you can read here or embed on any website, from Scrollchart.
Small Multiples (Bar Grid)
Small multiples repeat an identical chart template, here a bar chart, across a grid of panels, one per facet. Every panel uses the same axis ranges, bar widths, and color encoding. Differences between panels therefore reflect the data, not design variation. Edward Tufte introduced the term in "The Visual Display of Quantitative Information" (1983) and elaborated the principle throughout "Envisioning Information" (1990): multiplying a consistent frame is the most reliable method for enabling direct visual comparison across many dimensions.
This bar-grid variant suits cross-sectional data: a single point-in-time metric broken down by geography, demographic segment, product line, or any other categorical partition. It answers "how does this distribution differ across groups?" in a single view.
All panels share the same Y-axis scale, so bar heights are directly comparable across panels. Scanning horizontally across a row lets the reader compare specific categories (the same bar position in each panel) against one another. Scanning the overall height profile of each panel reveals which facets have a balanced distribution versus a dominant category.
The highlighted panel, typically the one with the largest total or the most notable pattern, draws attention first. From there, the reader compares the highlighted panel against the others to understand what is unusual or typical about each facet. Panel titles identify which group each chart represents.
Editorial pages where a quick visual replaces a wall of text
Content-marketing posts that need a clean, branded illustration
Source & accuracy
This small multiples (bar grid) is an editorial illustration built to represent the concept accurately. Where it shows figures, they are typical or representative values chosen to make the relationship clear, not a single underlying dataset. The diagram and its explainer are reviewed and maintained centrally, and updated over time as understanding improves.
Faceted comparison at consistent scale
Small multiples (often called "faceting" or "trellis" plots) repeat the same chart type across different subsets of your data. A 2x3 grid of mini bar charts might show sales by region, with each chart displaying the same product categories. Because all mini charts share the same axis scales, comparison across facets is direct and fair.
This layout shines when you want to compare patterns across groups without overwhelming readers with overlapping series on one mega-chart.
When to use instead of a grouped bar chart
Grouped bars work well for 2-3 groups. Beyond that, they become crowded and hard to parse. Small multiples trade horizontal space for cognitive clarity, scaling gracefully to 6, 9, or 12 panels. The tradeoff: readers must look at multiple areas of the page rather than one contiguous space.
Embed this diagram
Add this animated small multiples (bar grid) to your own site. Copy one line of HTML, or use the embed builder for theme and sizing options.
Reference
What this is
A free, embeddable, animated small multiples (bar grid) for any website.
Who uses it
Data journalists, Researchers & academics, Content marketers, News organizations.
How to embed
Copy one line of HTML. No signup. No watermark. Works in WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, Substack, plain HTML.
File size
iframe embed, ~80 KB gzipped (loads on demand, does not block your page paint).
License
Free forever. Editorial explainer text included; updated centrally over time.
Copy the universal HTML snippet, the WordPress shortcode, or an iframe fallback -
see the WordPress plugin page for details. Any format keeps
the same Core Web Vitals profile and the same explainer text.
By embedding, you acknowledge the diagram and explainer text are served from scrollchart.com and may be updated from time to time to reflect new research or to link to relevant sources within the explainer.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I get a free animated "Small Multiples (Bar Grid)" for my website?
Scrollchart provides "Small Multiples (Bar Grid)" as a free, embeddable animated diagram you can add to any website with one line of HTML. No signup is required and there is no watermark. The diagram and its explainer text are served from scrollchart.com, so the embed stays current without any maintenance on your end.
How do I embed a small multiples (bar grid) in a blog post or article?
Paste the one-line HTML snippet from the Scrollchart diagram page into your post editor. It works in WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, and plain HTML with no plugin required. The animated diagram and its explainer text load from scrollchart.com and render directly in your page DOM.