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Difference between Gantt Chart and

Bar Chart
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Key Difference: A bar chart consists of a number of

vertically or horizontally placed bars and the length of
the bars defines the relative magnitude of the values.
It uses rectangular bars with lengths proportional to
the values that they represent. A Gantt chart is a
horizontal bar chart used for project management. It
is used to represent the timing of various tasks that
are required to complete a project
Charts are used for pictorial representation and thus
are widely used for various purposes. Charts are
used to project the relevant information in an effective
manner. There are numerous kinds of charts that are
used and every chart has its own features and uses.
One such chart is known as a bar chart. Some
people may confuse between a bar and Gantt chart.
However, the fact is quiet simple; Gantt chart is
simply a type of bar chart. Let us understand the
definition of bar charts and then the definition of
Gantt chars, and on the basis of these definitions, it
will be clear that Gantt is a kind of bar chart.

A bar chart is also

known as bar
graph. A bar
graph is widely
used to compare
the items that are
displayed. Bar
graphs are
generally used for
data that can be
displayed as categorical data, meaning it fits to
certain categories. This categorical data is then to be
displayed against the amount or frequency of these
categorized data. A bar graph is made up of main
components like:-

1. Graph title: - it defines an overview of the bar

chart.

2. Axis and labels: - every bar graph has two axis and
the axis labels indicate that what information is
presented using that particular kind of axis.

3. Grouped Data Axis: - it is present at the base of

the bars indicating the type of data that is presented.

4. Frequency Data Axis: - it defines the frequency or

amount corresponding to the other axis’s data.

5. Axes Scale: - it depicts the range of values

presented in the frequency axis.

6. Bars. These are the rectangular blocks and

represents data corresponding to one of the data
groups.

Gantt charts are used to project the relation between

the task and the time associated with it. It is a
horizontal bar chart which was developed by Henry
Gantt in the year 1910. It is mainly used in the field of
project management.

Project management deals with scheduling of various

tasks and tracking them for the correct
implementation. Thus, it is very effective in depicting
the work breakdown structure of a project. These
charts help in keeping an eye on the various activities
and phases of a project.

Gantt chart is a bar chart and thus has two main

components-

1. A horizontal axis- it is constructed to represent

the total time span of a period. This line is broken
into increments to depict days, weeks or months.
This timeline illustrates when each activity starts,
how long it continues, and when it ends.
2. A vertical axis- it is constructed to represent all
the tasks related to the project. For example
software training may require tasks like theory
lectures and hand-on training.

Now,
the
most

important element that is used to synchronize the

task and the time span is the horizontal bar. It may be
of varying length as some tasks may take shorter
time than the other. As the project progresses, one
can use secondary bars, arrowheads or darkened
bars to reflect the completed task, or sections of
completed task.

In the image of simple Gantt chart, one can easily

see that the tasks are indicated on the vertical line
and time is indicated on the horizontal line. The time
increments are based on date. The horizontal bars
are depicting the relation between the date and the
task and thus providing the information that on which
date the task started and when it finished off.

Thus, one can easily say that a Gantt chart is a

specific type of bar chart that is used in project
management. Gantt is a horizontal bar chart thus all
Gantt charts fall in the category of bar charts,
whereas all bar charts are not Gantt charts.

Image Courtesy: snapsurveys.com, examplesof.com

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Comments
Thanks a lot !! Was indeed crisp and yet a clear
perspective. One doubt, can the GANTT charts be
used to compare the plan vs actual project status of a
project? And why in Histograms there is no gap and
why bar graphs are having gaps, whats the objective
of providing spacing between the bars Best Regards
Nandha Kumar
Fri, 07/21/2017 - 13:44

reply

Thanks , It was a helpful information

Jeswin John
Thu, 11/10/2016 - 07:26

reply

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