Burndown Chart Calculator
Enter your sprint length, total story points, and points completed so far to instantly see your current burn rate, the pace required to finish on time, remaining story points, and a projected completion date. The full burndown schedule shows the ideal line alongside your actual progress day by day, so you can spot slippage early and adjust. Works for any Agile or Scrum sprint, or any time-boxed project measured in story points, tasks, or hours.
What is a burndown chart?
A burndown chart is a graph used in Agile and Scrum projects to show how much work remains versus how much time is left in a sprint or release. The horizontal axis represents time (sprint days), and the vertical axis represents work remaining, measured in story points, tasks, or hours. A diagonal ideal line runs from the total work at day zero down to zero at the last day of the sprint. Each day, you plot the actual remaining work on top of that ideal line. When the actual line sits above the ideal, the team is behind schedule; when it sits below, the team is ahead. The visual separation between the two lines is your sprint variance, and catching it early gives you time to act before the sprint ends.
How the burndown calculation works
Three numbers drive everything: total story points committed at the start, points completed so far, and days elapsed. Remaining work is simply total minus completed. Current velocity is completed points divided by days elapsed. Required velocity is remaining points divided by days left in the sprint. When your current velocity is higher than the required velocity, your velocity ratio is above 1.0, meaning you are burning faster than needed. The ideal remaining line at any day D is calculated as: total points minus (total points divided by sprint length) multiplied by D. Variance is the difference between actual remaining and ideal remaining at the same day - positive variance means behind schedule, negative means ahead.
Sprint velocity and why it matters
Velocity is the number of story points (or tasks or hours) your team completes per working day. It tells you two things: how fast you have been working, and at that pace, will you finish on time? The required velocity changes each day as remaining work and remaining time both shift. Comparing current velocity to required velocity produces the velocity ratio, the single most actionable number on a burndown chart. A ratio well below 1.0 early in the sprint is a warning to remove blockers or reduce scope before it is too late. A ratio above 1.0 is an opportunity to pull in backlog items and add value to the release.
Using the burndown schedule table
The schedule table below the chart shows the full day-by-day breakdown: the ideal remaining work and your actual (or projected) remaining work for every day of the sprint. Days before today show your historical actual progress. Days after today are projections based on your current velocity. Updating your actual completed points daily keeps the projection accurate and helps your team have honest, data-driven conversations at the standup. At the end of the sprint, the table becomes a record of your team's burn pattern, useful input for retrospective discussions and velocity planning for the next sprint.
Velocity ratio and sprint health
| Velocity ratio | Status | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Above 1.10 | Ahead of schedule | Great momentum - consider pulling in backlog items. |
| 0.90 to 1.10 | On track | Maintain focus; run daily standup to protect flow. |
| 0.70 to 0.89 | Slightly behind | Remove blockers; consider descoping lower-priority items. |
| 0.50 to 0.69 | At risk | Escalate blockers; negotiate scope with stakeholders today. |
| Below 0.50 | Critical | Sprint goal is in serious jeopardy - immediate action required. |
Compare your current velocity to the required velocity to understand sprint health at a glance.
Frequently asked questions
What is a burndown chart used for?
A burndown chart is used to track progress toward completing a fixed amount of work within a time-boxed period, most commonly an Agile or Scrum sprint. It shows how much work remains each day versus how much should remain if the team were burning at the ideal rate. The chart makes it immediately visible whether a team is ahead of, behind, or on schedule, so blockers and scope issues can be addressed before the sprint ends.
What is velocity in a burndown chart?
Velocity is the number of story points (or tasks or hours) your team completes per working day. Current velocity is the average rate so far in the sprint, calculated as points completed divided by days elapsed. Required velocity is the rate needed for the rest of the sprint, calculated as remaining points divided by remaining days. When current velocity exceeds required velocity, the team is on track or ahead; when it falls short, the team is behind.
What does the ideal burndown line represent?
The ideal burndown line is a straight diagonal from the total story points at day zero down to zero at the final sprint day. It represents the pace at which work would need to be completed every day if the team burned at a perfectly uniform rate. In practice, teams rarely follow the ideal line exactly, but it provides a visual reference for whether actual progress is ahead or behind the expected pace.
What is a good velocity ratio?
A velocity ratio of 1.0 means your current pace exactly matches what is needed to finish on time. Ratios between 0.90 and 1.10 are generally considered on track. Above 1.10 means you are burning faster than required and may be able to pull in extra work. Below 0.90, particularly early in the sprint, is a signal to investigate blockers or adjust scope. Below 0.70 is a risk indicator that usually warrants a conversation with the product owner about priorities.
What is sprint variance on a burndown chart?
Sprint variance is the difference between your actual remaining work and the ideal remaining work at the same point in time. Positive variance means you have more work left than the ideal line predicts, so you are behind schedule. Negative variance means you have less work left than the ideal line predicts, so you are ahead. Tracking variance each day helps you identify when a sprint first starts drifting so you can intervene early.
Can I use this calculator for releases, not just sprints?
Yes. The math is the same whether you are tracking a two-week sprint or a three-month release. Set "sprint length" to the total number of working days in your release window, enter the total story points in scope, and update the completed points as features ship. The calculator will show your release velocity, the required pace, and a projected completion date based on your current burn rate.
What should I do if my burndown shows I am behind schedule?
First, identify blockers in the daily standup and remove them as quickly as possible. Second, look at the remaining backlog items and consider descoping lower-priority stories with the product owner. Third, check whether any stories are partially complete but not yet counted - sometimes work is further along than the points suggest. Finally, if the gap is large, involve stakeholders early: a transparent conversation now is always better than a missed commitment at the end of the sprint.