How to make an org chart in PowerPoint
The org chart ends up on a slide either way. The question is whether the slide is where you draw it, box by box in SmartArt, or where it lands, exported from a chart that was built from the list of people and can be built again next quarter. The SmartArt steps first, then the other route.
What the export draws
The SmartArt way
Microsoft's own steps for PowerPoint. The same SmartArt exists in Excel and Word.
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Insert a hierarchy
On the Insert tab, in the Illustrations group, click SmartArt. In the Choose a SmartArt Graphic gallery, click Hierarchy, then an organization chart layout such as Organization Chart, and click OK. The chart is inserted with the Text pane open.
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Fill it in
Click in a box and type, or click [Text] in the Text pane and type there. Copied text can be pasted into the Text pane; its indentation becomes the levels. If the pane is hidden, click the control on the edge of the graphic.
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Add boxes
Click the box nearest to where the new one goes. Under SmartArt Tools, on the Design tab, open Add Shape and choose After, Before, Above or Below. Add Assistant is offered in the organization chart layouts.
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Or start from a template
In the search box for online templates and themes, type "org chart" and pick one. It is still SmartArt underneath, with the same limits.
Where the slide becomes the problem
A SmartArt chart is a drawing that lives in one deck. The deck gets copied for the board pack, the all-hands and the onboarding kit, and within a month there are four versions and nobody knows which is current. Every change is manual: find the box, add a shape, watch the others shrink to make room. Past thirty or so boxes the text is unreadable, and the answer is a second slide per department that nobody keeps in step with the first.
The slide is the right place for the chart to be seen. It is a poor place for it to live.
The export route
Build the chart from the list of people instead: a spreadsheet with names and managers, imported, drawn by a layout engine, kept current by editing it or re-importing the sheet. Then export it to PowerPoint. Every card arrives as a native PowerPoint shape with real text, so a name can still be corrected in the deck, and the lines are lines rather than pixels. A second slide gives the span of control: how many people, managers and departments, how many open roles, and the average number of reports per manager.
Next quarter, change the chart and export again. The deck gets a fresh slide; the chart stays the one copy that is true.
Side by side
| SmartArt in PowerPoint | Exported from a chart built here | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts from | Boxes you type into | A spreadsheet, or the chart you already have |
| On the slide | A SmartArt graphic | Native shapes, one per card, editable |
| Someone with two managers | One line per box | A dotted line |
| Open roles, assistants, contractors | Boxes you label yourself; Add Assistant | Drawn as such, from the data |
| A second slide | Make it yourself | Span of control: people, managers, departments, open roles, average span |
| When things change | Find the box, move the others | Change the chart, export again |
| Cost | Part of PowerPoint | Free to build; the PowerPoint export needs a pass ($4.99) or a plan |
PowerPoint facts from Microsoft's support pages, read on 5 September 2026. The export facts are what the code does today; the PowerPoint export needs a pass or a plan, and the pricing page says exactly what.
Questions people ask
- How do I make an org chart in PowerPoint?
- Insert tab, Illustrations group, SmartArt. Choose Hierarchy, then an organization chart layout such as Organization Chart, and click OK. Type into the boxes or the Text pane; grow it with Add Shape After, Before, Above or Below; Add Assistant puts an assistant beside a manager. PowerPoint also offers org chart templates: type "org chart" into the search box for online templates and themes.
- Can PowerPoint build an org chart from an Excel list?
- Not from a column of managers, no. SmartArt lets you paste text into its Text pane, and the indentation of what you paste becomes the levels, but the indenting is yours to do. To go from a list to a slide, build the chart from the list here and export it to PowerPoint.
- Is the exported PowerPoint editable?
- Yes. Every card is a native PowerPoint shape with real text, so you can change a name, recolour a department or move a box in PowerPoint itself. A second slide carries the span-of-control summary: how many people, managers and departments, the open roles, and the average span.
- What does the PowerPoint export cost?
- Building the chart is free at any size. The PowerPoint, PDF and SVG exports come with a three-day pass for $4.99, or with the Pro or Business plan. The free export is a PNG with a small footer line, which is fine for a slide that will not be edited.
- Can I just paste a picture of the chart into the deck?
- Yes. Export a PNG, free, and paste it. It is the right choice when the slide is a snapshot nobody will touch; the editable export is for the deck that will be reused next quarter with two names changed.
Draw it once, export it every quarter
Build the chart from your spreadsheet, keep it current, and export a PowerPoint where every card is a shape you can still edit. Building is free; the editable export is what a pass or a plan buys.