How can I plot multiple lines in Matplotlib?

In order to plot multiple lines in Matplotlib, you can use the “plt.plot()” function. This function allows you to specify multiple sets of data to be plotted on the same graph, using different colors and styles for each line. Additionally, you can use the “plt.legend()” function to add a legend to the graph, labeling each line with a corresponding description. By using these functions, you can easily create a clear and visually appealing plot with multiple lines in Matplotlib.

Plot Multiple Lines in Matplotlib


You can display  multiple lines in a single Matplotlib plot by using the following syntax:

import matplotlib.pyplotas plt

plt.plot(df['column1'])
plt.plot(df['column2'])
plt.plot(df['column3'])

...
plt.show()

This tutorial provides several examples of how to plot multiple lines in one chart using the following pandas DataFrame:

import numpy as np 
import pandas as pd

#make this example reproducible
np.random.seed(0)

#create dataset
period = np.arange(1, 101, 1)
leads = np.random.uniform(1, 50, 100)
prospects = np.random.uniform(40, 80, 100)
sales = 60 + 2*period + np.random.normal(loc=0, scale=.5*period, size=100)
df = pd.DataFrame({'period': period, 
                   'leads': leads,
                   'prospects': prospects,
                   'sales': sales})

#view first 10 rows
df.head(10)


        period	    leads	prospects	    sales
0	1	27.891862	67.112661	62.563318
1	2	36.044279	50.800319	62.920068
2	3	30.535405	69.407761	64.278797
3	4	27.699276	78.487542	67.124360
4	5	21.759085	49.950126	68.754919
5	6	32.648812	63.046293	77.788596
6	7	22.441773	63.681677	77.322973
7	8	44.696877	62.890076	76.350205
8	9	48.219475	48.923265	72.485540
9	10	19.788634	78.109960	84.221815

Plot Multiple Lines in Matplotlib

The following code shows how to plot three individual lines in a single plot in matplotlib:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt 

#plot individual lines
plt.plot(df['leads'])plt.plot(df['prospects'])plt.plot(df['sales'])

#display plotplt.show()

Multiple lines in Matplotlib chart

Customize Lines in Matplotlib

You can also customize the color, style, and width of each line:

#plot individual lines with custom colors, styles, and widths
plt.plot(df['leads'], color='green')
plt.plot(df['prospects'], color='steelblue', linewidth=4)
plt.plot(df['sales'], color='purple', linestyle='dashed')

#display plotplt.show()

Customize multiple lines in Matplotlib

Add a Legend in Matplotlib

You can also add a legend so you can tell the lines apart:

#plot individual lines with custom colors, styles, and widths
plt.plot(df['leads'], label='Leads', color='green')
plt.plot(df['prospects'], label='Prospects', color='steelblue', linewidth=4)
plt.plot(df['sales'], label='Sales', color='purple', linestyle='dashed')

#add legend
plt.legend()#display plotplt.show()

Add legend for multiple lines in Matplotlib

Add Axis Labels and Titles in Matplotlib

#plot individual lines with custom colors, styles, and widths
plt.plot(df['leads'], label='Leads', color='green')
plt.plot(df['prospects'], label='Prospects', color='steelblue', linewidth=4)
plt.plot(df['sales'], label='Sales', color='purple', linestyle='dashed')

#add legend
plt.legend()

#add axis labels and a title
plt.ylabel('Sales', fontsize=14)plt.xlabel('Period', fontsize=14)plt.title('Company Metrics', fontsize=16)#display plotplt.show()

You can find more Matplotlib tutorials .

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