How to Create a Line of Best Fit in Google Sheets [Ultimate Guide]
A line of best helps visualize patterns to data in a Scatter Plot chart
In this article we will show you how to create a line of best fit in Google Sheets.
What is a Line of Best Fit?
A line of best fit is a type of trendline for scatter plot charts and is used to express a relationship in a scatter plot of different data points. It is an overlay that is superimposed onto the data. It can help discover patterns and upcoming trends for a series of data points within the chart.
If you want to learn how to add trendlines for other types of graphs in Google Sheets, check out our Google Sheets trendline tutorial.
How to Add Line of Best Fit in Google Sheets
A line of best fit is applied to a scatter plot chart therefore it is necessary we create a scatter plot chart first before we can add a line of best fit.
Creating a Scatter Plot Chart
A scatter plot chart is a mathematical tool that utilizes dots to give a visual representation of the values for two different numeric variables. A scatter plot chart is also referred to as a scatter chart or scatter graph.
Have a look at our scatter chart tutorial for the full tutorial and how to create your own Google Sheets scatter chart.
Sample Sheet
For our example we have created a data set in Google Sheets relating to 20 boxers and their weights. Click here to access this data set was used in our screenshots and examples.
Click on the link to follow along and master your skills.
Adding Line of Best Fit
Step 1: Double Click the Scatter Chart
Double click on the scatter chart, The Chart editor menu will appear on the right hand side.
Ensure the Customize tab is selected within the Chart editor.
Step 2: Click the Series Section
In the customize section select the section labelled Series , this will open a drop down set of further options.
Scroll down until you can see three checkboxes labelled “Error bars”, “Data labels” and “Trend line”
Step 3: Apply the Line of Best Fit
Select the checkbox labelled Trend line, this will superimpose the line of best fit onto the scatter chart and present further options to customize this.
There you have it, we can now easily see a clear visual representation of the trend of data. You can now customize this to be of a different color, opacity, thickness or with a custom label.
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