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In Lightdash, the data in your results tables can be visualized in a bunch of different ways. Custom is one entry in the chart type menu covering two kinds of chart. A Vega chart is a one-off spec written in a JSON editor and belongs to that chart alone. A project chart type is reusable: you describe the chart you want, Lightdash builds it, and anyone in the project can then apply it like a built-in chart type. The visualization type that you pick determines how Lightdash shows the data series in your chart. To change how your data is displayed, click Configure when you’re querying from a table. You have the option to change the chart type in the drop-down:

Bar chart

Use bar charts to compare things between different groups or track how a number changes over time

Line chart

Use line charts to show changes in a number over a short or long period of time

Area chart

Use area charts to show how values develop over time when the total is as important as its parts

Mixed chart

Use mixed charts to combine bars, lines, and scatter charts on the same visualization

Scatter chart

Use scatter charts to look at the relationship or correlation between two variables

Pie chart

Use pie charts to visualize data that adds up to a meaningful whole

Funnel chart

Use funnel charts to show pipeline performance, product conversion metrics, or any process with discrete stages

Treemap chart

Use treemap charts to show parts of a whole using nested rectangles

Sankey chart

Use Sankey charts to visualize flows between categories, showing how values move from sources to targets

Table

Use tables for looking at tabular data or lists of things like user IDs or transactions

Big value

Use big value charts to display a single value prominently

Gauge

Use gauges to highlight a single value against a qualitative range, like performance against a target

Map

Use maps to display geographic data on an interactive map

Custom Vega charts

One-off charts written as a Vega-Lite spec in a JSON editor, plus worked templates you can copy

Custom project charts

Reusable chart types you build once for your project, then use like any built-in chart type