Sankey Diagram
Create Sankey diagrams on Windows to show how quantities move between stages. Enter or import flow data, choose a color palette, arrange nodes and highlight important connections.
New to flow data? Start with the Excel import guide and sample workbook.
See the current price and license terms in Microsoft Store.
Supported operating systems:
Windows 10 and Windows 11
Get Sankey Diagram
What a Sankey diagram shows
A Sankey diagram connects stages or categories with bands whose widths represent the quantities moving between them. Wider bands mean larger flows, making it easier to compare the main paths through a system.
Follow the worked Excel example below to prepare a flow table, map its columns and check the resulting diagram.
Use consistent units, label the stages clearly and check that the values match the system you want to describe. Colors can distinguish categories; band width carries the numerical information.
Build a Sankey diagram from an Excel table
Each row describes one flow: where it starts, where it ends and how much it carries. This example turns a small spreadsheet into a diagram of 100 kWh split between useful output and two kinds of loss.
Prepare one row per connection
Source is the starting node and Target is the destination. Value is the quantity that controls the band width. An optional Note can describe the row. The sample worksheet has these four columns; its three connections are:
| Source | Target | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Energy supply | Useful output | 60 |
| Energy supply | Conversion losses | 25 |
| Energy supply | Distribution losses | 15 |
Download the energy-flow example (ZIP, 5.0 KB). Extract the XLSX workbook, the saved .sad diagram and the README. The data are invented for this tutorial; they are not an estimate of typical energy losses.
Select the data in Excel format
- In a new Sankey Diagram document, choose Import data to the table, the import icon below the grid, and open sankey-energy-example.xlsx.
- On the Flows worksheet, select A2:D4. This includes all three data rows and leaves out the headers in row 1. Choose Import Selected.
- Answer No when asked whether the selected columns contain headers, because this selection starts in row 2.
Map the columns and generate the diagram
In the Mapping window, drag column A → Source, column B → Target, column C → Value and column D → Note. Choose Ok. Columns left unmapped are not imported.
Check the grid before generating: it should contain three rows with values 60, 25 and 15, and show Rows: 3, Sum: 100.00. Then choose Generate Diagram. Useful output is the widest band; the two loss bands together represent the remaining 40 kWh.
To label the unit as in the screenshot, open Diagram Options, change Header to “Energy example (kWh)” and choose Ok.
Save your work with File → Save As. To inspect the supplied finished example, use File → Open and select the .sad file. Use the import command for the XLSX workbook.
Check the data before interpreting the picture
- Use one unit throughout. Keep Value cells numeric: enter 60, not “60 kWh”; put the unit in the title or notes.
- Keep node names consistent. Check spelling and stray spaces so that the same stage has the same label in every row.
- Exclude headers and total rows from this example’s selected range. Check accidental duplicate connections before drawing conclusions from a wider band.
- For several stages, check quantities entering and leaving each stage. A sum of all links can count the same quantity again as it moves through successive stages; it is not necessarily the total entering the whole system.
Tested on 14 September 2026 in Sankey Diagram 1.0.23.0 from Microsoft Store, including XLSX import, generation, saving and reopening this example. Screenshots show the actual application.
Need help with your own data? Contact DefinedBytes support.