Side by Side, Stacked, or something else?

1. What is a side-by-side bar graph best used for?
2. How is a stacked bar chart different from a side-by-side bar chart?

What is a side-by-side bar graph best used for?

A side-by-side column graph can be used to organise and display the data that arises when a group of individuals or things are categorised according to two or more criteria.

How is a stacked bar chart different from a side-by-side bar chart?

Both side-by-side bar and stacked bar charts add a second dimension based on a standard bar chart. But stacked bar charts tend to show the part-to-whole relation. By contrast, side-by-side bar charts focus on the sub-category comparison on the second dimension.