Python Charts

Python plotting and visualization demystified

Plotly

How to Position the Legend in Plotly

Learn how to position Plotly legends using layout.legend and flexible placement options.

TL;DR

Use fig.update_layout(legend=...) to place the legend at the chart edge, inside the plot area, or in a horizontal row.

import plotly.graph_objects as go

fig = go.Figure(
    data=[
        go.Bar(x=['A', 'B', 'C'], y=[3, 4, 2], name='Apples'),
        go.Bar(x=['A', 'B', 'C'], y=[2, 5, 3], name='Oranges'),
    ]
)
fig.update_layout(
    legend=dict(
        orientation='h',
        yanchor='bottom',
        y=1.02,
        xanchor='left',
        x=0,
    )
)
fig.show()

Plotly legend position demo

What Legend Positioning Controls

Plotly's legend position is configured through the legend layout property. The main settings are:

  • x and y for horizontal and vertical position.
  • xanchor and yanchor to control how the legend box is aligned around that point.
  • orientation to switch between vertical and horizontal layouts.
  • traceorder and title for legend content ordering and caption.

Place the legend above the chart

A common layout is a horizontal legend at the top of the chart.

import plotly.graph_objects as go

fig = go.Figure(
    data=[
        go.Bar(x=['A', 'B', 'C'], y=[3, 4, 2], name='Apples'),
        go.Bar(x=['A', 'B', 'C'], y=[2, 5, 3], name='Oranges'),
    ]
)
fig.update_layout(
    legend=dict(
        orientation='h',
        yanchor='bottom',
        y=1.02,
        xanchor='left',
        x=0,
    ),
    margin=dict(t=80)
)
fig.show()

Put the legend on the right side

To move the legend outside the plotting area on the right, use x=1.02 and xanchor='left'.

import plotly.graph_objects as go

fig = go.Figure(
    data=[
        go.Bar(x=['A', 'B', 'C'], y=[3, 4, 2], name='Apples'),
        go.Bar(x=['A', 'B', 'C'], y=[2, 5, 3], name='Oranges'),
    ]
)
fig.update_layout(
    legend=dict(
        orientation='v',
        xanchor='left',
        x=1.02,
        yanchor='top',
        y=1,
    ),
    margin=dict(r=120)
)
fig.show()

Put the legend inside the plot area

To place the legend on top of the chart itself, use a position like x=0.95, y=0.95 with anchors set to right and top.

import plotly.graph_objects as go

fig = go.Figure(
    data=[
        go.Bar(x=['A', 'B', 'C'], y=[3, 4, 2], name='Apples'),
        go.Bar(x=['A', 'B', 'C'], y=[2, 5, 3], name='Oranges'),
    ]
)
fig.update_layout(
    legend=dict(
        x=0.95,
        y=0.95,
        xanchor='right',
        yanchor='top',
        bgcolor='rgba(255,255,255,0.8)',
        bordercolor='#444',
        borderwidth=1,
    ),
)
fig.show()

Use traceorder and title for clarity

traceorder='normal' keeps legend entries in trace order. Add a legend title with title_text.

import plotly.graph_objects as go

fig = go.Figure(
    data=[
        go.Bar(x=['A', 'B', 'C'], y=[3, 4, 2], name='Apples'),
        go.Bar(x=['A', 'B', 'C'], y=[2, 5, 3], name='Oranges'),
    ]
)
fig.update_layout(
    legend=dict(
        title_text='Fruit type',
        traceorder='normal',
        orientation='h',
        yanchor='bottom',
        y=1.02,
        xanchor='left',
        x=0,
    )
)
fig.show()

Summary

  • Use orientation='h' for top/bottom legends.
  • Use xanchor/yanchor to control where the legend box is pinned.
  • Use x and y in [0, 1] to keep the legend inside the chart area.
  • Use values beyond the 0–1 range to move the legend outside the chart.