Create a Progress Bar in Excel Using REPT Formula – No Charts Needed!

Create a Progress Bar in Excel Using REPT Formula – No Charts Needed!

Want to add visual flair to your Excel dashboards without using complex charts? In this tip, you'll learn how to create a sleek, text-based progress bar using nothing but a simple formula.

This trick is especially useful when tracking progress percentages across tasks, projects, or goals in a clean, minimalist way.

💡 No VBA. No add-ins. Just a smart use of the REPT function.

🔧 The Formula

=REPT("●", ROUND(L11*10, 0)) & REPT("○", 10 - ROUND(L11*10, 0))

This formula creates a 10-character progress bar by repeating:

• Filled circles (●) to show progress

• Empty circles (○) to show remaining steps

🔍 How It Works

Let’s break it down:

✅ REPT("●", ROUND(L11*10, 0))

• L11 holds your percentage value (e.g., 0.75 for 75%)

• Multiply by 10 to scale it for 10 segments → 0.75 * 10 = 7.5

• Round to the nearest whole number → ROUND(7.5, 0) = 8

• Repeat the symbol ● 8 times → ●●●●●●●●

✅ REPT("○", 10 - ROUND(L11*10, 0))

• Subtract from 10 → 10 - 8 = 2

• Repeat the symbol ○ 2 times → ○○

✅ Final Output:

●●●●●●●●○○

This visualizes that your project is 80% complete in an easy-to-read, text-based format — perfect for tables, compact dashboards, or KPI summaries.

🧠 Pro Tip:

You can change the symbols to anything else that fits your theme:

• 🔵 ⚪️

• ▓ ░

• █ ▄

• ✅ ❌

Just replace the characters in the formula accordingly.

📌 Why Use This Instead of a Chart?

• Simple to insert in cells or tables

• No need to format axis, labels, or colors

• Easily copy-paste into dashboards or reports

• Compatible with Google Sheets too!

🔗 Want More?

Explore our full collection of dashboard tricks and Excel tutorials:

• 📥 Download Ready-Made Excel Dashboards

• 📺 Watch Video Tutorials on YouTube