How to Make a Venn Diagram in Word, Google Docs and Python

To make a Venn diagram in Microsoft Office, insert a SmartArt graphic from the Relationship category and pick a Venn layout. In Google Docs, draw the circles in the Drawing tool. For a figure built from counts, such as the overlap between two literature-search result sets, use the Python library matplotlib-venn. One Office detail trips people up: text for the overlapping area cannot be typed in the Text pane and needs a separate text box.

What it is used for in research

A Venn diagram shows which items belong to one set, to another, or to both. In research writing it is most often used to show the overlap between two or three groups: records retrieved by different database searches, participants who meet several criteria, or samples that carry more than one attribute. The shared region is the intersection, and the region covered by all circles together is the union. The same idea underlies the addition rule for events that can occur together, covered in mutually inclusive events: count the overlap once, not twice.

A Venn diagram is a figure, so give it a caption that names each set and states what the numbers count; see figure legend. If you want to plot measured values instead of set membership, a bar chart, histogram or scatterplot is the better fit, and choosing a statistical test comes before either.

Install or access (official source only)

• Microsoft Office. SmartArt is built into Excel, Word, Outlook and PowerPoint. Microsoft’s instructions for Venn diagrams apply to Microsoft 365, Office 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016.
• Google Docs. The Drawing tool is part of the Google Docs editors; nothing to install.
• Python. The matplotlib-venn package is published on GitHub under the MIT license. Install it with python -m pip install matplotlib-venn.

Step-by-step: make a Venn diagram

In Word, PowerPoint, Excel or Outlook

1. Open the Insert tab, then in the Illustrations group choose SmartArt.
2. In the Choose a SmartArt Graphic gallery, select Relationship, choose a Venn layout such as Basic Venn, and click OK.
3. Add text to a circle by selecting the shape and typing in the Text pane, or by clicking the circle and typing.
4. For the overlapping area, insert a text box over it. The Text pane cannot hold text for the overlapping portions. In Excel, Outlook and Word use the Insert tab, Text group; in PowerPoint use Text Box in the Text group.
5. To add a circle, click the nearest existing circle, open SmartArt Tools, Design, then in the Create Graphic group click the arrow next to Add Shape and choose Add Shape After or Add Shape Before.
6. To recolor, select the graphic and use Design, SmartArt Styles group, Change Colors. To change one circle, right-click its border, choose Format Shape, then Solid fill and Color. For the outline, use Format Shape, Line, Color.

In Google Docs

1. On a computer, choose Insert, then Drawing, then New.
2. Click Shape, choose a shape, and click and drag on the canvas to draw each circle. Use the editing tools to add lines and text for the set labels.

In Python with matplotlib-venn

The package draws two-set and three-set diagrams from the region sizes you give it. Import the function for the number of sets and pass the counts as subsets:

from matplotlib_venn import venn2
venn2(subsets = (3, 2, 1))

from matplotlib_venn import venn3
venn3(subsets = (1, 1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 2), set_labels = ('Set1', 'Set2', 'Set3'))

The package also provides venn2_circles and venn3_circles, which draw only the circles. It supports two and three sets only.

Output and how to read it

Read a Venn diagram region by region. A region inside only one circle holds items in that set and no other (A only, B only). The lens where circles overlap holds items in both (A and B, the intersection). Everything covered by any circle is the union. With three circles there are seven regions, which matches the seven numbers passed to venn3 above.

Check that the numbers add up before you publish. For two sets, the size of the union equals A only plus B only plus the overlap, so adding the full sizes of A and B counts the overlap twice. In an illustrative case where a search in Database A returns 40 records, a search in Database B returns 30, and 10 appear in both, the union is 60 distinct records, not 70.

Troubleshooting

• Cannot type in the overlap. The Text pane does not accept text for overlapping portions; add a text box on top of the overlap instead.
• Need a third circle in Office. Click the nearest circle and use Add Shape After or Add Shape Before in the Design tab.
• Circle color is wrong. Use Change Colors for the whole graphic, or Format Shape for one circle.
• Python install fails with a bare pip command. Use python -m pip install matplotlib-venn, the form given in the package README.
• More than three sets in Python. matplotlib-venn supports two and three sets only.

Free alternatives compared

Tool	How the diagram is built	Text in the overlap	Sets
Office SmartArt (Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint)	Pick a Venn layout in the Relationship category	Separate text box over the overlap	Add circles with Add Shape Before or After
Google Docs Drawing	Draw shapes and text by hand on the canvas	Text added with the drawing editing tools	Shapes you draw
Python matplotlib-venn (MIT license)	Region counts passed as subsets	Region counts supplied as numbers	Two or three

FAQ

How do I make a Venn diagram in Word?

Use Insert, SmartArt, Relationship, then choose a Venn layout such as Basic Venn. Type set names in the circles and put overlap text in a text box.

How do I make a Venn diagram in Google Docs?

Choose Insert, Drawing, New, then draw circles with the Shape tool and add text with the editing tools.

Can I make a Venn diagram from data?

Yes, for two or three sets: matplotlib-venn takes the region counts through venn2 and venn3.

Sources (official docs)

• Microsoft Support, Create a Venn diagram: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/graphics-visuals/create-a-venn-diagram (checked 2026-10-29).
• matplotlib-venn README (MIT license): https://github.com/konstantint/matplotlib-venn (checked 2026-10-29).
• Google Docs Editors Help, drawings: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/179740 (checked 2026-10-29).