# Bin

> A chart word, with the charts that use it.

**Definition.** A bin is a range of values grouped into one bar, so a distribution shows its shape. Every value falls into exactly one bin, and the bar's height is how many fell there.

Updated Nov 2, 2026

## 006 · Histogram

- **01 One bin.** One bar covers one range of values.
- **02 The count.** The bar's height is how many values fell in that range.

## Where you see it

- [006 · Histogram](https://usechartory.com/charts/histogram): Distribution · AI data
- [071 · Volume profile](https://usechartory.com/charts/volume-profile): Distribution · Crypto data

## Common mistakes

- **Bins that are too wide** A few wide bins hide the shape. Narrow them until the peak and the tail show.
- **Bins of different widths** Uneven bins make some bars look bigger than they are. Keep one width.

## Questions

### How many bins should a histogram have?

Enough to show the shape: often 15 to 40. Fewer hides detail, more turns into noise.

### Is a bin the same as a bar?

A bin is the range; the bar is how it is drawn.

## Related terms

- [Distribution](https://usechartory.com/glossary/distribution): How values spread across a range: where they cluster and where they thin out.
- [Range](https://usechartory.com/glossary/range): The span between a low and a high value, drawn as one bar or one line.
- [Outlier](https://usechartory.com/glossary/outlier): A value far from the rest, drawn on its own so it is not hidden.
- [Median](https://usechartory.com/glossary/median): The middle value: half the data sits above it, half below.

## Histogram, volume profile and the other types.

In Figma and React, in four sizes, light and dark. Pay once, every update. [See plans](https://usechartory.com/pricing)

Every chart word, A to Z. [Open the glossary](https://usechartory.com/glossary)