A Pivot Table stores the summary of a specific data set in a condensed manner or groups data together in a meaningful way. My personal favorite is to treat Pivot Tables as raw data export tables into Excel and Google Sheets for detailed analysis.

1. Pivot Table

Pivot Table in Google Data Studio
Pivot Table in Looker Studio (Formerly known as Data Studio)

  • In this chart, we are displaying Users by Age Group and Users Type for the selected time range.

Recommended: Yes [Table A]

  • Both Pivot Tables and Tables can handle large data sets and in most cases, these two types of charts are the most suitable choice for displaying an extensive data set.

2. Pivot Table With Bars

Pivot Table with bars in Google Data Studio
Pivot Table with bars in Looker Studio (Formerly known as Data Studio)

  • In this chart, we are displaying Users by Age Group and Users Type for the selected time range.

Recommended: Yes [Table A]

  • Both Pivot Tables and Tables can handle large data sets and in most cases, these two types of charts are the most suitable choice for displaying an extensive data set.

3. Pivot Table With Heatmap

Pivot Table with heatmap in Google Data Studio
Pivot Table with heatmap in Looker Studio (Formerly known as Data Studio)

  • In this chart, we are displaying Users by Age Group and Users Type for the selected time range.

Recommended: Yes [Table A]

  • Both Pivot Tables and Tables can handle large data sets and in most cases, these two types of charts are the most suitable choice for displaying an extensive data set.

4. Pivot Table With Bars: with "Expand — collapse" option

Pivot Table With Bars: with "Expand — collapse" option
Pivot Table With Bars: with "Expand — collapse" option in Looker Studio (Formerly known as Data Studio)

  • "Default expands level." Is fixed and not possible to deselect (country in the below example). Secondary expand level can be selected or deselect (Continent and Sub-Continent in the above example)

Recommended: No

  • Hard to digest the data and structure for most of the users. Please avoid "Expand —collapse" in a Pivot Table

  • [Expand — collapse] — it's recommended that this is avoided — even after working in the Data Analytics field for over eight years, I still find this confusing! However, if you do choose to use it, this operates similarly to Optional Dimensions for other charts, though there is no way to deselect the default dimension. An example is shown below.