Bubble

A bubble chart plots X and Y values and uses bubble size for a third metric. Use it to compare three dimensions at once.

A bubble chart plots points on X and Y axes, and uses bubble size to represent a third metric.

Use it to compare three dimensions at once:

• X position: X-axis field

• Y position: Y-axis field

• Bubble size: Bubble size column

Bubble chart

Configure a bubble chart

Use the Plot panel to choose axes, grouping, and display settings.

Bubble chart options

Use these options to control how the bubble chart renders.

Option	Purpose	Typical values / notes
X-axis	Horizontal position of bubbles.	Common: timestamp, request_time, host, pod.
Y-axis	Vertical position of bubbles.	Numeric field. Examples: value, latency, response_size, cpu.
Bubble size column	Controls bubble radius (3rd dimension).	Numeric field. Examples: value, request_count, bytes.
Min bubble size	Smallest allowed bubble radius.	Prevents tiny values from becoming invisible. Example: 5.
Max bubble size	Largest allowed bubble radius.	Prevents large values from dominating the chart.
Group by	Splits bubbles into series (colors).	Examples: pod, instance, status_code, service.
Y-axis label	Display label for the Y axis.	Cosmetic only. Example: “HTTP Response Size (Bytes)”.
Y-axis scale	Scale for Y-axis values.	Linear for most data. Logarithmic for wide ranges.
Reference line	Horizontal threshold line.	Example: 500000 to mark a 500 KB limit.
Legend	Show/hide series names and colors.	Turn off for single-series charts or tight layouts.
Calculations	Stats derived from Y-axis values.	Count, Min, Max, Avg, P90, P95, P99.
Custom color	Manual color assignment per series.	Useful for consistent dashboard colors.
Apply	Applies changes to the widget.	Changes do not render until you click Apply.

Bubble charts work best when Y-axis and Bubble size column are numeric. If bubbles look “flat”, check that the size column isn’t constant or null.

When to use a bubble chart

Use a bubble chart when you want to:

• Compare three metrics at once (X, Y, size)

• Identify clusters and outliers with a “magnitude” dimension

• Show trade-offs (for example latency vs throughput, sized by traffic)

Typical use cases:

• Latency (Y) vs request rate (X), sized by error count

• CPU (Y) vs memory (X), sized by pod count

• Cost (Y) vs usage (X), sized by traffic volume

When not to use a bubble chart

Avoid a bubble chart when:

• You only need two dimensions (use Scatter)

• You need a clear ranking across categories (use Bar)

• You have too many points and it becomes cluttered (use Table/List or filter first)

• You mainly want trends over time (use Line/Area)