Turn connected values into a Sankey flow.

Show how quantities move through a system

A Sankey diagram represents each transfer as a band whose thickness is proportional to its value. Nodes mark sources, intermediate steps, and destinations. This makes the chart useful for customer journeys, budgets, energy balances, material flows, migrations, and process outcomes.

Use one flow per row

Provide a source, target, and positive numeric value for every connection. Import CSV, TSV, TXT, JSON, XLSX, or XLS data and map those three fields in the preview. Duplicate source-target pairs can be aggregated automatically or rejected for review.

Build a forward-moving network

This maker lays out directed acyclic flows. A node may split into several destinations or combine several inputs, but a path cannot circle back to an earlier node. Cycle validation identifies that situation before rendering so the diagram does not imply an impossible layout.

Reduce crossings automatically

The automatic order repeatedly arranges nodes near the weighted centers of their neighbors. This reduces avoidable link crossings while preserving stage direction. Input, name, and value ordering remain available when the sequence itself carries meaning.

Make dense flows easier to read

Drag a node across its stage to refine a crowded layout. Adjust node spacing, width, flow curvature, opacity, and label position together. Source-to-target gradients clarify where a band begins and ends, while source or target coloring is better for emphasizing ownership.

Label values in context

Use prefixes and suffixes for currency, energy, people, or percentages. Node values show the larger of incoming and outgoing volume; flow labels show the individual connection value. Percentages use total starting volume as the denominator.

Interpret conservation carefully

Incoming and outgoing values do not have to balance, but unexplained differences can confuse readers. Add explicit loss, remainder, or other destination nodes when missing volume matters. The node summary table helps identify imbalances before export.

Export a readable diagram

PNG and SVG exports preserve orientation, node positions, colors, flow widths, labels, and transparency. SVG keeps nodes, text, and flow bands as vector geometry for editing in design and publishing software.

Practical example: trace an energy balance

Source rows can connect generation types to conversion stages and then to residential, commercial, industrial, and loss destinations. Band width represents quantity on one shared scale, so the reader can follow both the origin and destination of major flows. Add explicit loss nodes rather than allowing unexplained volume to disappear.

Prevent double counting

Each row should represent one transfer, not a cumulative total repeated at several stages. Confirm whether node values represent throughput, stock, or a period total, and keep every link in the same unit. If a process recirculates or contains cycles, simplify the scope or explain how repeated flow was handled.

Reduce visual complexity before adding decoration

Combine negligible categories into a meaningful “other” node, shorten labels, and arrange stages in a logical order. Color should communicate source, destination, or group membership consistently. A funnel chart is clearer for one narrowing path, while a waterfall chart is better for signed changes to one running total.