Venn Diagram Maker for 2, 3 and 4 Sets
A free Venn diagram maker that sorts and draws every overlap from the lists you paste, or lets you type straight into the regions. Shade set notation, print blank templates, and download a PNG, SVG or PDF.
Free download from the Venn diagram maker, no sign-in. Drawn in your browser.
| Region | n | Items |
|---|---|---|
| Plant cell only | 2 | chloroplasts, central vacuole |
| Animal cell only | 1 | centrosome |
| Prokaryotic cell only | 1 | nucleoid |
| Plant cell ∩ Animal cell only | 5 | nucleus, mitochondria, ER, Golgi apparatus, peroxisomes |
| Plant cell ∩ Prokaryotic cell only | 1 | cell wall |
| Animal cell ∩ Prokaryotic cell only | 0 | |
| Plant cell ∩ Animal cell ∩ Prokaryotic cell | 4 | plasma membrane, cytoplasm, ribosomes, cytoskeleton |
Venn diagram styles
Four looks the AI Venn diagram generator draws, each on a different diagram: a textbook comparison, an infographic with drawings, a journal figure with counts and a hand-drawn notebook sketch. Click a card to load its prompt.
Venn diagram examples
Six Venn diagram examples drawn by the AI Venn diagram generator, each a real render of the prompt on its card: biology comparisons, a gene-overlap figure for a paper, research methods, an Euler diagram of number sets and a three-circle poster. Click a card to open the generator with its prompt.
Swap in any pair your syllabus compares.
Drawings beside each item, for younger students.
Sized for one journal column, counts kept exact.
Quick hand-drawn notes for revision.
Nested sets, which the free maker cannot draw.
A titled poster for a classroom wall or slide.
What is a Venn diagram?
A Venn diagram shows sets as overlapping closed shapes, usually circles, so that every combination of the sets has its own region. An item in two sets sits where those two shapes overlap, an item in every set sits in the centre, and a rectangle around the shapes stands for the universal set. John Venn introduced the diagrams in 1880, already drawing four sets with ellipses.
About this Venn diagram maker
- Draws 2-, 3- and 4-set Venn diagrams; four sets use ellipses so all 15 regions exist.
- Sorts pasted lists into every region and counts them, with an optional case-insensitive match.
- Shades any set-notation expression, such as A ∩ B′ or (A ∪ B)′, inside the universal set.
- Prints blank 2, 3 and 4 circle Venn diagram templates on Letter or A4.
- Exports PNG, SVG and PDF from the browser with no sign-in.
- Hands a diagram to the AI Venn diagram generator for pictures, posters and Euler diagrams.
How to make a Venn diagram
- 1
Choose the sets
Pick 2, 3 or 4 sets in the Venn diagram maker and name each one. Four sets are drawn with ellipses, so all 15 overlaps exist.
- 2
Fill the regions
Paste one list per set and every item is sorted into its region, or switch to Type in regions and write in each region directly. Counts and percentages update as you type.
- 3
Download, or take it further with AI
Export a PNG, SVG or PDF, or print it. For pictures in the regions, an Euler diagram or a poster layout, open it in the AI Venn diagram generator.
Compare-and-contrast Venn diagrams in biology
The four compare-and-contrast Venn diagrams biology classes ask for most, checked against OpenStax Biology 2e. The plant and animal cell diagram is drawn here; all four are in the table below, and each opens in the Venn diagram maker to edit and download.
How to read a compare-and-contrast Venn diagram
- Left circle only: what the first thing has and the second lacks. For cells, the cell wall, chloroplasts and central vacuole of plants.
- Overlap: what both share. Here, ten structures from the plasma membrane to the cytoskeleton.
- Right circle only: what only the second has. The centrosome of animal cells.
- Outside the circles: empty in a compare-and-contrast diagram. In maths, items in no set sit in the rectangle of the universal set.
| Comparison | Only in the first | In both | Only in the second | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant cell vs animal cell | cell wall, chloroplasts, central vacuole | plasma membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, nucleolus, ribosomes, mitochondria, peroxisomes, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, cytoskeleton | centrosome | |
| Prokaryotic vs eukaryotic cell | nucleoid, no membrane-bound organelles | plasma membrane, cytoplasm, ribosomes, cytoskeleton, DNA | nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, peroxisomes | |
| Mitosis vs meiosis | one division, two daughter cells, daughter cells identical, chromosome number kept | DNA copied once in S phase, spindle forms, sister chromatids separate | two divisions, four daughter cells, daughter cells differ, chromosome number halved, crossing over, homologous chromosomes pair | |
| DNA vs RNA | deoxyribose sugar, thymine, double helix | nucleotides, phosphate groups, adenine, guanine, cytosine | ribose sugar, uracil, usually single-stranded |
Cell structures follow Table 4.1 of OpenStax Biology 2e; mitosis and meiosis follow section 11.1, DNA and RNA section 3.5.
Blank 2, 3 and 4 circle Venn diagram templates
Printable blank Venn diagram templates for compare-and-contrast work. The 3 circle Venn diagram is the one most worksheets use; the 4 circle Venn diagram is drawn with ellipses, because four circles cannot make all 15 overlaps. Open any template in the Venn diagram maker to set a title, name lines or writing lines, then print on Letter or A4.
2 circle Venn diagram template
Three regions: each side on its own and the shared middle. The usual compare-and-contrast layout.
3 circle Venn diagram template
Seven regions: three on their own, three paired overlaps and the centre shared by all three.
4 circle Venn diagram template
Fifteen regions from four ellipses, so every combination of four sets has its own space.
- In the Venn diagram maker, tick Writing lines inside the circles for a worksheet students fill in by hand.
- For maths homework on sets, untick the name lines and add the universal set box.
- The PDF prints one template per page with half-inch margins; pick Letter or A4 first.
Parts of a Venn diagram and set notation
Each part of a two-set Venn diagram with its symbol and the region it covers, shaded. In the Venn diagram maker you can type any combination, such as (A ∪ B)′ or A ∩ (B ∪ C), and the diagram shades it.
| Notation | Part | What it covers | Venn diagram |
|---|---|---|---|
| U | Universal set | Everything being considered: the whole rectangle | |
| A | Set | Every item in A: the whole circle | |
| A ∪ B | Union | In A or B or both | |
| A ∩ B | Intersection | In both A and B | |
| A′ | Complement | Not in A (also written Aᶜ or Ā) | |
| A − B | Difference | In A but not in B (also written A ∖ B or A ∩ B′) | |
| A Δ B | Symmetric difference | In exactly one of A and B | |
| (A ∪ B)′ | Neither | In neither A nor B | |
| (A ∩ B)′ | Not both | Everything except the overlap |
Probability with a Venn diagram
In a class of 30 students, 12 take French, 15 take Spanish and 5 take both. A two-set Venn diagram turns those three numbers into four regions you can read probabilities from.
- 1
Start in the overlap: 5 take both. French only is 12 − 5 = 7, Spanish only is 15 − 5 = 10.
- 2
Everyone else is outside both circles: 30 − 7 − 5 − 10 = 8.
- 3
P(French or Spanish) = P(F) + P(S) − P(F ∩ S) = 12/30 + 15/30 − 5/30 = 22/30 ≈ 0.73. Subtracting the overlap stops the 5 students being counted twice.
- 4
P(French only) = 7/30 ≈ 0.23, and P(neither) = 8/30 ≈ 0.27.
To draw this figure yourself, switch the Venn diagram maker to Type in regions and enter 7, 5 and 10. The same addition rule extends to three sets: P(A ∪ B ∪ C) = P(A) + P(B) + P(C) − P(A ∩ B) − P(A ∩ C) − P(B ∩ C) + P(A ∩ B ∩ C).
Venn diagrams from gene lists and other data
Researchers use a Venn diagram maker to compare lists: genes changed in two conditions, proteins found in each replicate, species recorded at three sites. Paste each list straight from a spreadsheet column and every item is sorted into its region.
- The Venn diagram maker matches items as text. With Ignore letter case and extra spaces on, TP53, tp53 and “ TP53 ” count as one gene; turn it off when case matters.
- Duplicates inside one list count once, so each set size is the number of distinct items.
- The region table lists every item in every region. Copy it, or download it as CSV, to report which genes are shared.
- With two sets, Scale circles to set sizes draws area-proportional circles, so a long list and a short one look different.
More than four sets
A Venn diagram stays readable up to four sets: four ellipses already make 15 regions, and five sets would need 31. For five or more lists, papers usually switch to an UpSet plot, a bar chart with one bar per intersection.
Venn diagram vs Euler diagram vs UpSet plot vs double bubble map
Use a Venn diagram when every combination of sets matters, even an empty one; use an Euler diagram for nested or separate sets, an UpSet plot for five or more sets, and a double bubble map for a written compare-and-contrast.
| Venn diagram | Euler diagram | UpSet plot | Double bubble map | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shows | Every possible overlap of the sets | Only the overlaps that exist | Each intersection as one bar | Shared and unique qualities as bubbles |
| Empty combinations | Drawn, even with nothing in them | Left out | A bar of zero, or omitted | Not shown |
| Sets it handles well | 2 to 4 | Any number, if the layout stays readable | 5 or more | Exactly 2 |
| Typical use | Comparing lists, set notation, probability | Subsets, such as number systems or classification | Gene and sample sets in papers | Compare-and-contrast writing in class |
| What goes inside | Items or counts in each region | Labels on nested shapes | Exact counts on the bars | Short phrases |
A double bubble map is one of the Thinking Maps used in classrooms: the two topics in the middle, shared qualities linked to both, and unique qualities linked to one.
Where Venn diagrams are used
Venn diagrams are used wherever the question is what two or more groups share and what sets them apart: in class, in probability, in data analysis and in logic.
Compare and contrast in class
Two or three topics side by side, such as plant and animal cells or mitosis and meiosis: shared traits in the overlap, differences on each side.
Probability and set theory
Counting the outcomes in each region turns P(A ∪ B) = P(A) + P(B) − P(A ∩ B) into arithmetic, and shading regions is how set notation is taught.
Gene, protein and sample lists
Which genes changed in both conditions, which proteins appear in every replicate: region counts are a standard figure in omics papers.
Logic and reasoning
Venn introduced the diagrams in 1880 to check logical arguments: shading the regions a premise rules out shows whether a conclusion must follow.
Venn diagram maker FAQ
How do I make a Venn diagram?+
In the Venn diagram maker above, choose 2, 3 or 4 sets and paste one list per set: every item is placed in its region and the counts update as you type. To write your own text instead, switch to Type in regions. Download the diagram as a PNG, SVG or PDF.
How do I make a Venn diagram in Google Docs, Word or PowerPoint?+
Make it in the Venn diagram maker, download it and insert the file. In Google Docs use Insert › Image › Upload from computer with the PNG; in Word or PowerPoint use Insert › Pictures, where the SVG stays sharp at any size.
What are union and intersection in a Venn diagram?+
The union A ∪ B is everything in A or B or both, so it shades both circles completely; the intersection A ∩ B is only what A and B share, the lens where they overlap. In a three-set diagram the centre is A ∩ B ∩ C. The set notation table above shades each one.
Can you make a Venn diagram with 4 circles?+
Not with circles: four circles can make at most 14 regions counting the outside, and a four-set Venn diagram needs 16. This Venn diagram maker uses four ellipses, the shape Venn himself used in 1880, so every combination of four sets gets its own region.
Can you make a Venn diagram with 5 circles?+
Not with circles, and not in this maker: five sets need 31 regions, which takes specially shaped curves such as Grünbaum’s symmetric diagram of five ellipses. A diagram that large is hard to read, so for five or more lists most papers use an UpSet plot instead.
What is the difference between a Venn diagram and an Euler diagram?+
A Venn diagram draws every possible overlap, even the empty ones; an Euler diagram draws only the relationships that exist. In an Euler diagram a subset sits inside its set and sets with nothing in common do not touch. The AI Venn diagram generator draws Euler diagrams on request.
Can the circle sizes match the numbers?+
With two sets, yes: tick Scale circles to set sizes in the Venn diagram maker and each circle’s area matches its list, with the overlap’s area matching the shared items. With three or four sets an exactly area-proportional diagram usually does not exist, so the maker keeps equal shapes and writes the counts.
How many items can I paste into each set?+
Thousands: the Venn diagram maker sorts long lists in an instant. They read best as counts or counts with percentages; the region table still holds every item, and the CSV download lists them all.
Is this Venn diagram maker free?+
Yes. The Venn diagram maker draws diagrams, set notation and blank templates in your browser with no sign-in, and downloads are free with a small corner badge. Paid plans remove the badge; the AI Venn diagram generator uses credits.
Sources
- Table 4.1 Components of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells — Biology 2e, OpenStax
- 11.1 The Process of Meiosis — Biology 2e, OpenStax
- 3.5 Nucleic Acids — Biology 2e, OpenStax
- 3.5 Tree and Venn Diagrams — Introductory Statistics 2e, OpenStax
- A Survey of Venn Diagrams — F. Ruskey and M. Weston, Electronic Journal of Combinatorics, Dynamic Survey DS5
- UpSet: Visualization of Intersecting Sets — A. Lex et al., IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 2014
Keep exploring
Our other diagram tools, and the guides behind them.
Make the Venn diagram you need
The Venn diagram maker draws two, three or four sets from your own lists, shaded set notation or a blank template, free in your browser, or drawn by AI with pictures and your colours.
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