Five-Stage Pastel Gradient Sankey Diagram Generator

What is a Five-Stage Pastel Gradient Sankey Diagram?

A five-stage pastel gradient Sankey diagram is a flow visualization that splits a complete chain into five columns of nodes — for example source → transit → hub → channel → destination. Every column sums to the same total, and each flow band is proportional in width to its value, so you can read directly how much is split off and how much is recombined at each level.

What sets this style apart is its visual language. Nodes are not heavy solid blocks but slim bars, and every node draws its own color from a pastel sequence. The bands between nodes are not flat-colored: each one blends smoothly from the source node color to the target node color and is drawn at low opacity, so multiple flows mingle naturally into layered shading in the middle of the canvas. Inner-column node names sit in white pill labels above their nodes, staying legible even on top of the ribbons. The overall palette is soft and light, giving the result the feel of an infographic or poster — ready to drop onto a report cover or an external presentation.

Features

• Template-driven auto layering: download the CSV template, fill in source,target,value and upload — the tool derives each node’s level automatically, so the number of columns follows your data with no manual stage declaration
• Source-to-target gradient ribbons: every band computes its own gradient, blending from the source node color to the target node color at low opacity, so overlaps mix naturally and depth is easy to read
• Individual pastel color per node: even with 36 nodes, each one keeps its own color — distinct within a column, free to echo across columns — making branches far easier to tell apart than a single color ramp
• Slim nodes with pill labels: 12px bars; the first column’s labels are right-aligned to the left of their nodes, the last column’s are left-aligned to the right, and inner columns are centered above their nodes on a white pill backdrop so ribbons never obscure the text
• Three color palettes: Soft Pastel, Elegant Cool and Morandi Warm — switch with one click; dark mode lightens the palette automatically to keep contrast
• Light / dark modes: one-click background switch that is carried into the export
• Multiple export formats: high-resolution PNG (2x pixel ratio) and vector SVG, the latter editable in design software
• Privacy-first: all data is parsed and rendered locally in your browser, never uploaded to any server

Use Cases

• Supply chain & logistics: supplier → transit warehouse → distribution hub → channel → end market, showing how goods split at every level
• Budget and funding flows: total budget → department → project → spend category → final use, revealing where money is reallocated
• Channel attribution & marketing funnels: traffic source → landing page → conversion path → closing channel → customer type
• Energy and resource flows: primary energy → conversion → transmission network → consuming sector → end use, exposing losses and splits
• Recruiting and admissions funnels: application source → screening → interview → offer channel → role distribution
• Data journalism & reports: add a soft-toned, information-dense multi-stage flow chart to in-depth stories and research reports

How to Use

1. Click “Download CSV template” to get the sample file (71 sample flows that render as a complete five-stage chart out of the box)
2. Fill in your data following the format: source,target,value
3. Click the upload area or drag & drop your CSV file onto the page
4. The five-stage Sankey diagram is generated automatically; switch palettes and light / dark mode to preview
5. Optionally type a heading into the “Chart title” field — leave it empty to hide the title
6. Click “Download PNG” or “Download SVG” to save your chart

Data Format

Field	Required	Description
source	Yes	Name of the node the flow leaves (the upstream level)
target	Yes	Name of the node the flow enters (the downstream level)
value	Yes	Numeric value of the flow (positive number); band width is proportional to it

Limits: up to 150 data rows; at most 14 nodes per stage. The number of stages is derived automatically from the hierarchy — you never declare it in the CSV. Data must form a one-way layered structure; circular flows are reported as an error.

Note: the same name is always treated as the same node. If different stages need identical category names, prefix them per stage (for example Stage1-North and Stage3-North), otherwise they will be merged.

How to read this chart

Read the five stages left to right: first see how the leftmost nodes spread the total, then follow the ribbons to see where each level splits. Because every level is conserved, a band’s width represents both its absolute volume and its share. The pastel palette separates the branches within a level, while the gradient direction tells you where a flow comes from and where it is heading — whichever color a band fades out of is its source node. Hover a ribbon or node to check exact numbers.

About Gotokit

Gotokit is dedicated to providing simple, efficient and beautiful online tools. This five-stage pastel gradient Sankey diagram generator is powered by the ECharts rendering engine — no sign-up required, ready to use out of the box, with all data processed locally to protect your privacy.