Who is behind Datawrapper?
Datawrapper is created by a small team of designers, developers and journalists who worked in newsrooms like the New York Times, NPR, Deutsche Welle, Bloomberg and ZEIT Online. We are eight people, and all of us but two work part-time.
The company behind the tool is called Datawrapper GmbH, a German startup owned by Mirko Lorenz, Gregor Aisch, and David Kokkelink. We’re self-funded and paid for only by your subscription money. Our main office is in Berlin (Prenzlauer Berg), so if you’re in town, say hi! We love lunch breaks with visitors.
Which kind of charts and maps can I create with Datawrapper?
Just try it out! Create a Chart or a map now; no need to sign up. Or you can visit our Datawrapper River, which features hundreds of charts that other Datawrapper users built and which you can reuse. We also include our own charts in almost all our blog posts, especially in our Weekly Chart.
Can I use my charts in a commercial product or publication?
Yes, you have the full copyright to your charts. Even charts created with a Single 10k or Single Flat account can be embedded in commercial products – just make sure to keep the label “Created with Datawrapper” that you can find below your charts.
Can I use my charts in a printed publication?
Yes, you can use Datawrapper charts you’ve exported as PNG or PDF in your printed publication. If you’re using Datawrapper on a free plan and only need to export charts once or twice, you can work with screenshots or your browser’s “Print” function.
What happens when I exceed 10,000 chart views on the free plan?
No need to worry: Your charts will stay online, no matter what. Even if you have millions of chart views or close your account, your charts stay online and are visible to your readers. You simply won’t be able to create new charts anymore, unless you choose to upgrade your account.
How do I know how many chart views I have?
You can find the number of chart views in the right sidebar of your dashboard: Go to app.datawrapper.de if you're signed in. You will see the number of views your charts have received in the past 30 days.
Can I use custom fonts in my charts?
Yes. If you’re using the Custom plan, Datawrapper will provide a fully customized chart design for you, which includes own fonts. You can either send the font files to us and have them hosted on our high-performance server (the same one that makes sure your charts load fast), or you can send us links and we’ll load them from your site. We can also work with platforms such as TypeKit and load the fonts from there.
What does "Custom Branding" entail and what do you need from me?
If you choose a plan with chart styling customization (e.g. the Custom plan), all charts, maps and tables can be fully customized to fit in with your publication’s design guide. That can mean a change in font family, size & color, in background color and the color palette of all charts, extra borders or padding or adding a logo. For example, The Times asked us to add a black line on the top of their charts, De Tijd wanted a logo, and both of them requested a change in background color and custom typefaces.
To customize your charts, please send us your style guide at [email protected]. We can work with all kinds of different formats, so just send us whatever you think gives the best indication of what you’re looking for. At the minimum, we recommend to include the following:
- Font family, size and color for headline, description, chart and footer
- Color palette (a primary color and list of colors that suit your brand)
- Logo (if you’d like to include it in the chart)
Once we’ve received your style guide, we will create a first version of that design in your Datawrapper account. Then, we’ll fine-tune the design together with you to make sure it fits in well.
I need to create a specific map, but I can’t find it in Datawrapper. What now?
Our mapping tool features more than 500 maps with administrative boundaries, but we’re happy to add more if they will be helpful to other users as well: Get in touch with our map creator Anna at [email protected] and explain which map(s) you’ll need. To make sure that you get exactly what you want, we recommend sending links to the official geodata (shapefiles, TopoJSONs or GeoJSONs, e.g. from government sites). Anna will add your request to the end of the queue and add your map as soon as possible.
If you need a map urgently, you can sponsor it. For 300 Euro, your map request will become Anna's top priority, and she will add your map as quickly as possible. If you choose this option, write to us at [email protected] as well.
We’re also currently adding a TopoJSON and GeoJSON import for specific maps you might need, so if you have specific geodata you want to map in Datawrapper, you'll be able to use that soon.
I found an error in a map 😱
Please write to our map creator Anna at [email protected]. We have high standards when creating new maps, but with more than 500 maps, some mistakes might be made, or maps might simply be outdated. She will fix the map as soon as possible, and other users will benefit from the corrected map as well. We're thankful for every error or bug you let us know about.
I want to show my data with the chart type x. Why don’t you offer it?
It takes a lot of energy and time to build and maintain well-designed chart types. We have some exciting new ones in our pipeline, but they will be added slowly. Basically, we’re always trying to answer the question: What will be most useful for most users? Our current chart types won’t be the best fit for all kinds of data – but we hope they will be the best fit for most. Do write to us at [email protected] if you think that a specific chart type might be useful for lots of users and use cases.
That said, we also decide consciously against adding certain chart types. Our tool is designed to be easy to use by everyone, and we are reluctant to add chart types that could easily be misused or bring more harm than good to the data. We wrote down our thoughts on diverging stacked bars and on charts with a dual axis to explain why we have not added these chart types yet.
What happens to my charts in case Datawrapper should close one day?
First of all, we’re not planning to shut down or sell the company. We’re alive and well and we’re excited about the future. But you never know. If at some point we can’t host your charts anymore, we will make it easy for you to download all your charts from Datawrapper, to give you the option to host them yourself.
I have a question that isn’t answered here.
Write to [email protected] and we’re happy to answer all the questions you might have (about Datawrapper, that is).
If you want to know how to create or customize certain chart & map types, visit our Academy with dozens of How-to-articles.
If you need to freshen up your chart design skills, visit our blog "Chartable".
If you want to be kept updated about recent features, the “Datawrapper News” section of our blog and our Changelog might be useful.
And if you want to see what other users have created with Datawrapper or need some inspiration, visit our Datawrapper River, which features hundreds of charts that other Datawrapper users built and which you can reuse.