The top 20 data visualisation tools From simple charts to complex maps and infographics, Brian Suda's round-up of the best – and mostly free – tools has everything you need to bring your data to life One of the most common questions I get asked is how to get started with data visualisations. Beyond following blogs, you need to practise – and to practise, you need to understand the tools available. In this article, I want to introduce you to 20 different tools for creating visualisations: from simple charts to complex graphs, maps and infographics. Almost everything here is available for free, and some you have probably installed already. Entry-level tools At the entry level, we'll be looking at unexpected uses for familiar tools. You might not think of Excel as a visualisation package, for example – but it's capable of surprisingly complex results. If you are just getting started, these tools are musts to understand. If you deal with visualisations ever...