Moving legend in Matplotlib

Matplotlib is a powerful Python library for creating visualizations. One common customization in Matplotlib plots is moving the legend to a different location. In this article, we will explore different ways to move the legend in Matplotlib.

1. Moving the legend to the top right corner

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

plt.legend(loc='upper right')
plt.show()

Output:

2. Moving the legend to the bottom left corner

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

plt.legend(loc='lower left')
plt.show()

Output:

3. Moving the legend to a specific coordinate

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

plt.legend(loc=(0.5, 0.5))
plt.show()

Output:

4. Moving the legend outside the plot

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

plt.legend(loc='center left', bbox_to_anchor=(1, 0.5))
plt.show()

Output:

5. Changing the legend font size

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

plt.legend(loc='upper right', fontsize='large')
plt.show()

Output:

6. Changing the legend title

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

plt.legend(loc='upper right', title='Legend Title')
plt.show()

Output:

7. Changing the legend color

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

plt.legend(loc='upper right', facecolor='yellow')
plt.show()

Output:

8. Changing the legend border color and width

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

plt.legend(loc='upper right', edgecolor='red', linewidth=2)
plt.show()

9. Adding shadow to the legend

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

plt.legend(loc='upper right', shadow=True)
plt.show()

Output:

10. Moving the legend horizontally

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

plt.legend(loc='upper right', bbox_to_anchor=(0.5, -0.1), ncol=2)
plt.show()

Output:

11. Removing the legend frame

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

plt.legend(loc='upper right', frameon=False)
plt.show()

Output:

12. Changing the legend alignment

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

plt.legend(loc='lower center')
plt.show()

Output:

13. Setting the legend to be outside the axes

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

plt.legend(loc='center left', bbox_to_anchor=(1, 0.5), title='Legend Title', frameon=False)
plt.show()

Output:

14. Changing the legend labels orientation

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

leg = plt.legend(loc='upper right')
for line in leg.get_lines():
    line.set_linewidth(5)
    line.set_color('red')

plt.show()

Output:

15. Reversing the order of legend entries

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

handles, labels = plt.gca().get_legend_handles_labels()
plt.legend(reversed(handles), reversed(labels), loc='upper right')
plt.show()

Output:

16. Moving multiple legends to different locations

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

leg1 = plt.legend(loc='upper left', bbox_to_anchor=(0.5, 0.5))
leg2 = plt.legend(loc='lower right', bbox_to_anchor=(0.5, 0.5))
plt.gca().add_artist(leg1)
plt.show()

Output:

17. Customizing legend symbols

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], 'ro', label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], 'b^', label='Line 2')

plt.legend(loc='upper right')
plt.show()

Output:

18. Changing the legend title font size and color

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

plt.legend(loc='upper right', title='Legend Title', title_fontsize='large', title_color='green')
plt.show()

19. Moving legend across subplots in a figure

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

fig, axs = plt.subplots(2, 2)

for i, ax in enumerate(axs.flat, start=1):
    ax.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [i, i**2, i**3, i**4], label=f'Line {i}')
    ax.legend(loc='upper right')

plt.show()

Output:

20. Overlapping legends on a plot

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [1, 4, 9, 16], label='Line 1')
plt.plot([1, 2, 3, 4], [2, 3, 5, 8], label='Line 2')

leg1 = plt.legend(loc='upper right')
leg2 = plt.legend(loc='upper left')
plt.gca().add_artist(leg1)
plt.show()

Output:

In this article, we have explored various ways to customize and move the legend in Matplotlib plots. By using these techniques, you can create visually appealing and informative plots that effectively communicate your data. Experiment with different legend placements and styles to find the best representation for your plots.