The Bar Chart illustrates comparisons between individual items. Categories are organized horizontally and values vertically. In a bar chart, each item is represented as a vertical column. This chart type is also known as Column Chart.

The Horizontal Bar Chart is similar to a bar chart as it also illustrates comparisons among individual items. However, categories are organized vertically and values horizontally. In a horizontal bar chart chart, each data point is represented as a horizontal column.  The advantage in using a Horizontal Bar Chart is that the category labels may be easier to read. It is aslo very useful for diplaying benchmarks.

Both chart types are suitable for presenting discrete data.