# KPI Charts
URL: https://docs.valsight.ai/kpi-charts/
Description: Show a single key figure as one large number, optionally with a reference value and a comparison.
A KPI chart displays one key figure as a single large number with its unit, so the figure that matters is readable at a glance rather than being read off an axis.

## What it is

A new KPI chart uses the first two years of your project horizon as its values, and **Year** as its level. Any other level of your dimensionality can be chosen instead, under **Level** in the chart editor.

Of the two level values, the **primary** one is displayed large in the middle of the chart and the **secondary** one small in the lower left. That arrangement is the point: the primary value is the KPI, and the secondary one is context for it. The default order emphasizes the most recent year.

![A KPI chart showing one large figure with a reference value below it](./images/5310382130.png)

## When to use it

* One number is the message, for example this year's gross profit or a CO2 total.
* You want that number readable from across a room when presenting.
* You want a year-over-year reference beside it without drawing a whole chart.

Use a **table** when several figures matter at once, or a **line chart** when the shape of the development matters more than the latest value. See [Chart Types](/chart-types/).

## Configuration

| Setting        | Where it is                           | What it does                                                       |
| -------------- | ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Level**      | **Level** section of the chart editor | Chooses which level the two values come from. **Year** by default. |
| **Sort**       | **Sort** dialog, **Level** section    | Decides which value is primary and which is secondary.             |
| **Filters**    | **Filters** section                   | Selects which level values are shown.                              |
| **Comparison** | Chart editor                          | Adds the delta between the two selected level values.              |

A comparison appears in the bottom left corner by default, showing a positive delta in green and a negative one in red.

![The KPI chart settings, with the level and sort options](./images/5310349382.png)

## Good to know

* **Exactly two level values, no more.** Selecting a third produces an error saying the chart type does not support more than two values. Delete the comparison or narrow the selection in **Filters**.
* **A comparison needs exactly one other value.** With more than one other value selected, the comparison cannot be displayed as a secondary value.
* **The large number is the primary value, not the newest one.** If the wrong figure is large, change the order in the **Sort** dialog rather than the filter.

## Related

* [Chart Types](/chart-types/): the other chart types and tiles.
* [Delta Comparisons](/scenario-time-or-dimension-level-comparison-delta/): how the comparison methods, including CAGR, are calculated.