Alignment chart maker
Alignment Chart Maker
Put anything on a 3×3 grid. Name both axes, add your picks, download a clean PNG or share a link. Free, no account, and the chart is generated in your browser.
The editor
Build your alignment chart
The sample is loaded so you can see the shape. Change the title, rename the axes, then click a cell and type an item. Press Enter to add it; click the × to remove it.
- Schindler's List
- Requiem for a Dream
- The Godfather
- Parasite
- Paddington 2
- Spirited Away
- Blade Runner 2049
- Dune
- Inception
- The Matrix
- Back to the Future
- Groundhog Day
- The Room
- Cats
- Jurassic World Dominion
- The Emoji Movie
- Fast & Furious 6
- Pirates of the Caribbean 4
Rewatch value →
The format
What an alignment chart actually is
An alignment chart is a three-by-three grid with two axes. One axis runs from top to bottom, the other from left to right. Each of the nine boxes is a position: the top-left box is high on the vertical axis and low on the horizontal one, the centre box is the middle of both, and the bottom-right box is the opposite corner. The format became popular through the lawful-chaotic and good-evil tabletop alignment system, but the labels are not fixed. That is the useful part: the same nine boxes can compare films, games, food, tools, co-workers or anything else people argue about.
A tier list answers “how good is each item?”. An alignment chart answers “where does each item sit when two qualities matter at once?”. A film can be excellent and still be something you never rewatch; a game can be mediocre and still be the one you return to every year. Putting both qualities on the same image makes the trade-off visible, which is why the chart is easy to share and easy to disagree with.
This page keeps the grid small on purpose. Nine boxes force a choice. A twenty-five-box grid invites you to give every item its own box, and the comparison disappears. If you need a longer ordered list, use the tier list maker; if you need exactly two dimensions, the alignment chart is the better fit.
How it works
Three steps, about a minute
01 · Name the axes
Decide what the grid measures
Write the two questions the chart answers. “Quality” and “rewatch value” are a good start; “price” and “reliability” work for tools. The labels appear on the exported PNG.
02 · Fill the cells
One item, one box
Click a cell, type a name and press Enter. Up to six items fit in a cell and forty in the whole chart. An item can only appear once, so the chart stays a set of choices rather than a list of everything.
03 · Export or share
PNG or public link
Download a 1200×1200 PNG for a group chat, or save a public link that renders the same grid on any device. The image is drawn in the browser; the save only stores the text labels.
Reading the grid
What each row and column means
| Position | Vertical axis | Horizontal axis | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top row | High | Low to high, left to right | Things you rate highly, split by the second quality. |
| Middle row | Average | Low to high, left to right | The honest middle: fine, situational, not a strong recommendation. |
| Bottom row | Low | Low to high, left to right | Things you would not recommend, split by the second quality. |
| Left column | Top to bottom, high to low | Low | Weak on the horizontal quality. |
| Centre | Average | Average | The neutral position; use it sparingly or the middle becomes a dumping ground. |
| Right column | Top to bottom, high to low | High | Strong on the horizontal quality. |
The labels are yours, so the table describes the geometry, not a fixed moral scale. If you rename the vertical axis “price”, the top row means expensive, not good.
Ideas
What to put on a chart
Movies and TV
Quality against rewatch value. The top-right box is the comfort watch you can defend; the bottom-right is the guilty pleasure.
Games
Quality against replay value. Separate the one-time masterpiece from the game you still open every week.
Food
Quality against craveability. It explains why a cheap snack can beat a tasting menu on the right night.
Music
Craft against replay value, or album quality against live-show energy.
Work and tools
Price against reliability, or learning curve against payoff. Useful when a team is choosing a stack.
Internet culture
Staying power against how often a format is reused. The top-right box is the meme that refuses to die.
FAQ
Alignment chart questions
What is an alignment chart?
An alignment chart is a 3×3 grid that sorts things along two axes. The classic version uses good-to-evil and lawful-to-chaotic, but the labels are yours: quality and rewatch value, price and reliability, or anything else you want to compare.
Is the alignment chart maker free?
Yes. The editor, the PNG export and the share link are free and do not require an account. There are no watermarks on the downloaded image.
Do I need to sign up to save a chart?
No. Saving creates a public link with a short id. Anyone with the link can view the chart. Do not put private information in a cell; the link is not password-protected.
Can I rename the axes?
Yes. Both axis labels are editable, and so is the chart title. The grid stays 3×3, but the meaning of each row and column comes from your labels.
Can I download the chart as an image?
Yes. Download PNG renders the current chart, including the title and both axis labels, at 1200×1200. The image is generated in your browser, so the site does not upload it anywhere.
Why only nine cells?
Because a 3×3 grid is the format people recognise. A 5×5 grid has 25 cells and usually ends up with one item per box, which is a list rather than a comparison. If you need a longer ranking, the tier list maker is the better tool.
Keep going
Related tools and guides
Need more than nine boxes?
The tier list maker handles a full roster with S–F tiers, live votes and a shareable link.