Basic Waterfall Chart — Plotly

A waterfall chart visualizes how an initial value is affected by a series of intermediate positive or negative values, leading to a final value. Each bar represents a change from the previous cumulative total, with positive values extending upward and negative values extending downward. This chart type is essential for understanding cumulative effects and breaking down the components that contribute to a final result.

Basic Waterfall Chart rendered with Plotly

Python source (Plotly)

""" anyplot.ai
waterfall-basic: Basic Waterfall Chart
Library: plotly 6.9.0 | Python 3.13.14
Quality: 91/100 | Updated: 2026-08-04
"""

import os
import sys


_orig_path = sys.path[:]
sys.path = [p for p in sys.path if p != os.path.dirname(__file__) and p != os.getcwd()]
import plotly.graph_objects as go


sys.path = _orig_path

# Theme colors
THEME = os.getenv("ANYPLOT_THEME", "light")
PAGE_BG = "#FAF8F1" if THEME == "light" else "#1A1A17"
INK = "#1A1A17" if THEME == "light" else "#F0EFE8"
INK_SOFT = "#4A4A44" if THEME == "light" else "#B8B7B0"
GRID = "rgba(26,26,23,0.10)" if THEME == "light" else "rgba(240,239,232,0.10)"

# Imprint palette
COLOR_POSITIVE = "#009E73"  # brand green (first series) — increases
COLOR_NEGATIVE = "#AE3030"  # matte red — decreases (semantic loss anchor)
COLOR_TOTAL = "#4467A3"  # blue — start/end totals

# Data - Quarterly financial breakdown from revenue to net income
categories = ["Revenue", "Product Costs", "Operating Expenses", "Marketing", "Other Income", "Taxes", "Net Income"]

# Values: positive for increases, negative for decreases
# Revenue is the starting total, Net Income is the ending total
values = [500000, -180000, -95000, -45000, 25000, -51250, 153750]

# Define measure types: absolute for start, relative for changes, total for end
measures = ["absolute", "relative", "relative", "relative", "relative", "relative", "total"]

# Running/cumulative total after each step, so intermediate bars can display it
running_totals = []
cumulative = 0
for value, measure in zip(values, measures, strict=True):
    cumulative = value if measure != "relative" else cumulative + value
    running_totals.append(cumulative)

# Bar labels: delta amount for relative steps (with the running total below it),
# and the total itself for the absolute/total anchor bars
bar_labels = [
    f"${value:,.0f}"
    if measure != "relative"
    else f"{'+' if value >= 0 else '-'}${abs(value):,.0f}<br>(${running_total:,.0f})"
    for value, measure, running_total in zip(values, measures, running_totals, strict=True)
]

# Create waterfall chart using Plotly's native Waterfall trace
fig = go.Figure(
    go.Waterfall(
        name="Financial Breakdown",
        orientation="v",
        measure=measures,
        x=categories,
        y=values,
        textposition="outside",
        text=bar_labels,
        textfont={"size": 13, "color": INK},
        connector={"line": {"color": INK_SOFT, "width": 1.5, "dash": "dot"}},
        decreasing={"marker": {"color": COLOR_NEGATIVE}},
        increasing={"marker": {"color": COLOR_POSITIVE}},
        totals={"marker": {"color": COLOR_TOTAL}},
        showlegend=False,
    )
)

# Add dummy traces for legend (to explain colors)
fig.add_trace(
    go.Scatter(
        x=[None],
        y=[None],
        mode="markers",
        marker={"size": 10, "color": COLOR_POSITIVE},
        name="Increases",
        showlegend=True,
        legendgroup="colors",
        hoverinfo="skip",
    )
)

fig.add_trace(
    go.Scatter(
        x=[None],
        y=[None],
        mode="markers",
        marker={"size": 10, "color": COLOR_NEGATIVE},
        name="Decreases",
        showlegend=True,
        legendgroup="colors",
        hoverinfo="skip",
    )
)

fig.add_trace(
    go.Scatter(
        x=[None],
        y=[None],
        mode="markers",
        marker={"size": 10, "color": COLOR_TOTAL},
        name="Totals",
        showlegend=True,
        legendgroup="colors",
        hoverinfo="skip",
    )
)

# Update layout for 3200x1800 px canvas with theme colors
fig.update_layout(
    autosize=False,
    title={
        "text": "waterfall-basic · python · plotly · anyplot.ai",
        "font": {"size": 19, "color": INK},
        "x": 0.5,
        "xanchor": "center",
    },
    xaxis={
        "title": {"text": "Category", "font": {"size": 12, "color": INK}},
        "tickfont": {"size": 10, "color": INK_SOFT},
        "linecolor": INK_SOFT,
        "showgrid": False,
    },
    yaxis={
        "title": {"text": "Amount ($)", "font": {"size": 12, "color": INK}},
        "tickfont": {"size": 10, "color": INK_SOFT},
        "tickformat": "$,.0f",
        "showgrid": True,
        "gridwidth": 1,
        "gridcolor": GRID,
        "linecolor": INK_SOFT,
    },
    paper_bgcolor=PAGE_BG,
    plot_bgcolor=PAGE_BG,
    font={"color": INK},
    template="plotly_white",
    showlegend=True,
    legend={
        "x": 0.98,
        "y": 0.98,
        "xanchor": "right",
        "yanchor": "top",
        "bgcolor": "rgba(0,0,0,0)" if THEME == "light" else "rgba(255,255,255,0)",
        "borderwidth": 0,
        "font": {"size": 10, "color": INK_SOFT},
    },
    margin={"t": 90, "b": 70, "l": 100, "r": 40},
)

# Save as PNG and HTML with theme-suffixed filenames
fig.write_image(f"plot-{THEME}.png", width=800, height=450, scale=4)
fig.write_html(f"plot-{THEME}.html", include_plotlyjs="cdn")

Part of Basic Waterfall Chart on anyplot.ai.

Other implementations