Insertion Sort Visualizer
Watch how Insertion Sort builds the sorted array one element at a time by inserting each element into its correct position.
Time: O(n²)
Space: O(1)
Stable: Yes
Adaptive: Yes
Fast (200ms)Slow (2000ms)
Progress: Step 1 of 0Pass 0 of 0
640
341
252
123
224
115
906
Unsorted
Current Key
Insert Position
Comparing
Shifting
Sorted
Current Step:
Click Start to begin the Insertion Sort visualization
Algorithm Details
Best Case:
O(n)Average Case:
O(n²)Worst Case:
O(n²)Space:
O(1)Stable:Yes
Adaptive:Yes
When to Use Insertion Sort
- ✓Small datasets (≤ 50 elements)
- ✓Nearly sorted or partially sorted data
- ✓Online sorting (sorting data as it arrives)
- ✓When stability is required
- ✗Large datasets (poor worst-case performance)
Real-world Applications
- •Hybrid sorting in advanced algorithms (like Timsort)
- •Real-time data processing systems
- •Sorting small subarrays in divide-and-conquer algorithms
- •Playing cards sorting (most natural way humans sort)