Burndown vs Burnup Chart: Which One Should Your Team Use?

Both charts track sprint progress, but they answer slightly different questions. Burndown shows work remaining; burnup shows work completed and total scope. The difference matters most when scope changes mid-sprint.

What a burndown chart shows

A burndown chart plots remaining work against time. The goal is to reach zero by the sprint end. When scope is added mid-sprint, the remaining line goes up — making it hard to separate "team fell behind" from "more work was added."

What a burnup chart shows

A burnup chart plots two lines: completed work (climbing from zero) and total scope (which can move). When scope is added, the scope line rises. When work is completed, the progress line rises. The gap between them is what remains.

This makes scope creep visible as a distinct event rather than a mystery dip in the burndown.

When to use each

Use a burndown chart when your sprint backlog is locked and you want the simplest possible view of progress. It is the Scrum default for a reason.

Use a burnup chart when your team regularly adds or removes scope mid-sprint, or when stakeholders ask "why did the team not finish?" — the burnup gives you a clear answer.

Which one is harder to fake?

Neither. Both are only as honest as the data behind them. The burnup is slightly harder to misread because scope changes are explicit — you cannot hide them by leaving the scope line flat.

Release burndown vs sprint burndown

Both chart types work at the release level too. A release burndown shows remaining work across all planned sprints. A release burnup shows the cumulative completed story points versus total planned scope over the release timeline.

To build a sprint burndown, try our free burndown chart generator.

The practical answer

Most teams start with a burndown chart. If scope changes are a recurring source of confusion or conflict, add a burnup chart and show both to stakeholders. The burnup is not better — it is more explicit about what changed and why.