Pie charts are honest only when the parts make a whole and the slices are few. If you have more than five categories, you don’t have a pie; you have a pizza nobody ordered. Use a pie when the message is share of a fixed total (“Which bucket dominates?”). Order slices by size and label clearly… legends are small obstacles that become big in a hurry. If comparisons across groups matter, skip pies and use bar charts; side-by-side circles are a visual tongue twister. The goal isn’t to be clever; it’s to be clear about how the whole divides. When the story is relative share, slice it. When the story is rank or change, pick another chart.
