Master creating publication-quality plots, charts, and data visualizations directly in LaTeX using PGFPlots. This comprehensive guide covers 2D line plots, scatter plots, bar charts, 3D surfaces, contour plots, and advanced customization techniques with 50+ practical examples for scientific and technical documentation.
PGFPlots is a powerful LaTeX package built on TikZ/PGF for creating high-quality, publication-ready plots and charts. It's the standard tool for scientific data visualization in LaTeX documents, offering precise control, professional styling, and seamless integration with mathematical typesetting.
PGFPlots produces vector graphics that scale perfectly, integrates mathematical notation seamlessly, maintains consistent styling with your document, works with external data files, and is the standard for IEEE publications, academic journals, and scientific papers worldwide.
PGFPlots requires TikZ and comes with most modern LaTeX distributions. Load it in your preamble:
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\pgfplotsset{compat=1.18} % Use latest version
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}
% Your plot code here
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}\pgfplotsset{compat=1.18} (or latest version) to enable new features and ensure consistent behavior across LaTeX installations.
% Load additional libraries
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\usepgfplotslibrary{
fillbetween, % Fill areas between curves
statistics, % Box plots, histograms
polar, % Polar coordinate plots
smithchart, % Smith chart plots
groupplots, % Multiple subplot arrangements
dateplot, % Date/time axis
colorbrewer % ColorBrewer color schemes
}
% Set global defaults
\pgfplotsset{
compat=1.18,
width=10cm,
height=7cm,
grid=major
}The foundation of PGFPlots is the axis environment, which creates a coordinate system for plotting data.
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={Simple Line Plot},
xlabel={$x$},
ylabel={$y$},
grid=major
]
% Add plot with coordinates
\addplot coordinates {
(0,0) (1,1) (2,4) (3,9) (4,16) (5,25)
};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={Multiple Functions},
xlabel={$x$},
ylabel={$f(x)$},
legend pos=north west,
grid=major
]
% Linear function
\addplot[blue, thick] coordinates {
(0,0) (1,1) (2,2) (3,3) (4,4) (5,5)
};
\addlegendentry{$y = x$}
% Quadratic function
\addplot[red, thick] coordinates {
(0,0) (1,1) (2,4) (3,9) (4,16) (5,25)
};
\addlegendentry{$y = x^2$}
% Cubic function
\addplot[green, thick] coordinates {
(0,0) (1,1) (2,8) (3,27) (4,64) (5,125)
};
\addlegendentry{$y = x^3$}
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={Scatter Plot Example},
xlabel={Variable $X$},
ylabel={Variable $Y$},
grid=major,
only marks, % Show only markers, no lines
]
\addplot[
color=blue,
mark=*,
mark size=2pt
] coordinates {
(1,2.3) (2,4.1) (3,5.8) (4,7.2)
(5,9.5) (6,11.1) (7,12.8) (8,14.3)
};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={Marker Styles},
legend pos=outer north east,
grid=major
]
% Circles
\addplot[only marks, mark=*, color=red]
coordinates {(1,1) (2,2) (3,3)};
\addlegendentry{Circle}
% Squares
\addplot[only marks, mark=square*, color=blue]
coordinates {(1,2) (2,3) (3,4)};
\addlegendentry{Square}
% Triangles
\addplot[only marks, mark=triangle*, color=green]
coordinates {(1,3) (2,4) (3,5)};
\addlegendentry{Triangle}
% Diamonds
\addplot[only marks, mark=diamond*, color=orange]
coordinates {(1,4) (2,5) (3,6)};
\addlegendentry{Diamond}
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={Trigonometric Functions},
xlabel={$x$},
ylabel={$f(x)$},
domain=0:2*pi,
samples=100,
grid=major,
legend pos=south east
]
% Sine function
\addplot[blue, thick] {sin(deg(x))};
\addlegendentry{$\sin(x)$}
% Cosine function
\addplot[red, thick] {cos(deg(x))};
\addlegendentry{$\cos(x)$}
% Tangent function (limited range)
\addplot[green, thick, domain=0.1:1.4] {tan(deg(x))};
\addlegendentry{$\tan(x)$}
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={Exponential and Logarithmic},
xlabel={$x$},
ylabel={$y$},
domain=0.1:3,
samples=50,
grid=major,
legend pos=north west,
ymin=-2, ymax=20
]
% Exponential
\addplot[blue, thick] {exp(x)};
\addlegendentry{$e^x$}
% Natural logarithm
\addplot[red, thick] {ln(x)};
\addlegendentry{$\ln(x)$}
% Power function
\addplot[green, thick] {x^2};
\addlegendentry{$x^2$}
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={Custom Axis Settings},
xlabel={Time (s)},
ylabel={Voltage (V)},
% Set axis ranges
xmin=0, xmax=10,
ymin=-5, ymax=5,
% Custom tick positions
xtick={0,2,4,6,8,10},
ytick={-5,-2.5,0,2.5,5},
% Grid styling
grid=both,
minor tick num=1,
grid style={line width=.1pt, draw=gray!30},
major grid style={line width=.2pt, draw=gray!50}
]
\addplot[blue, thick, domain=0:10] {3*sin(deg(x))};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}% Semi-log plot (y-axis logarithmic)
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{semilogyaxis}[
title={Exponential Growth (Semi-log)},
xlabel={Time},
ylabel={Population},
grid=major
]
\addplot[blue, thick] coordinates {
(0,1) (1,10) (2,100) (3,1000) (4,10000)
};
\end{semilogyaxis}
\end{tikzpicture}
% Log-log plot (both axes logarithmic)
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{loglogaxis}[
title={Power Law (Log-log)},
xlabel={$x$},
ylabel={$y$},
grid=major
]
\addplot[red, thick, domain=1:100] {x^2};
\addlegendentry{$y = x^2$}
\end{loglogaxis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={Line Style Examples},
legend pos=north west
]
% Solid line, thick
\addplot[blue, thick] coordinates {
(0,1) (1,1.5) (2,2) (3,2.5) (4,3)
};
\addlegendentry{Solid thick}
% Dashed line
\addplot[red, dashed, thick] coordinates {
(0,2) (1,2.5) (2,3) (3,3.5) (4,4)
};
\addlegendentry{Dashed}
% Dotted line
\addplot[green, dotted, ultra thick] coordinates {
(0,3) (1,3.5) (2,4) (3,4.5) (4,5)
};
\addlegendentry{Dotted}
% Line with markers
\addplot[black, mark=*, mark options={fill=orange}]
coordinates {
(0,4) (1,4.5) (2,5) (3,5.5) (4,6)
};
\addlegendentry{With markers}
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}% Inside plot area
\begin{axis}[legend pos=north east] % or north west, south east, south west
\end{axis}
% Outside plot area
\begin{axis}[
legend pos=outer north east,
legend style={
at={(1.02,1)},
anchor=north west
}
]
\end{axis}
% Custom position (relative coordinates)
\begin{axis}[
legend style={
at={(0.5,0.97)},
anchor=north,
legend columns=3 % Horizontal legend
}
]
\end{axis}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
xlabel={$x$},
ylabel={$f(x)$}
]
\addplot[blue, thick, domain=0:4] {x^2};
% Add text node
\node[pin=120:{Maximum}] at (axis cs:2,4) {};
% Add arrow with text
\draw[red, ->] (axis cs:1,3)
node[above left] {Interesting point}
-- (axis cs:1.5,2.25);
% Add coordinate label
\node[circle, fill=red, inner sep=2pt]
at (axis cs:3,9) {};
\node[above] at (axis cs:3,9) {$(3,9)$};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
ybar,
title={Sales by Quarter},
ylabel={Revenue (\$1000)},
xlabel={Quarter},
symbolic x coords={Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4},
xtick=data,
nodes near coords,
nodes near coords align={vertical},
ymin=0
]
\addplot coordinates {
(Q1,45) (Q2,52) (Q3,48) (Q4,63)
};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
ybar,
bar width=8pt,
title={Product Comparison},
ylabel={Sales},
xlabel={Month},
symbolic x coords={Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr},
xtick=data,
legend pos=north west,
ymin=0
]
\addplot[fill=blue!60] coordinates {
(Jan,20) (Feb,25) (Mar,22) (Apr,30)
};
\addlegendentry{Product A}
\addplot[fill=red!60] coordinates {
(Jan,18) (Feb,28) (Mar,24) (Apr,26)
};
\addlegendentry{Product B}
\addplot[fill=green!60] coordinates {
(Jan,22) (Feb,23) (Mar,26) (Apr,28)
};
\addlegendentry{Product C}
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
ybar stacked,
title={Resource Allocation},
ylabel={Hours},
xlabel={Week},
symbolic x coords={W1, W2, W3, W4},
xtick=data,
legend pos=north west,
ymin=0
]
\addplot[fill=blue!60] coordinates {
(W1,15) (W2,18) (W3,16) (W4,20)
};
\addlegendentry{Development}
\addplot[fill=red!60] coordinates {
(W1,10) (W2,12) (W3,14) (W4,11)
};
\addlegendentry{Testing}
\addplot[fill=green!60] coordinates {
(W1,5) (W2,7) (W3,8) (W4,9)
};
\addlegendentry{Documentation}
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
xbar,
title={Survey Results},
xlabel={Percentage (\%)},
ylabel={Category},
symbolic y coords={Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor},
ytick=data,
nodes near coords,
nodes near coords align={horizontal},
xmin=0, xmax=100
]
\addplot[fill=blue!60] coordinates {
(45,Excellent) (35,Good) (15,Fair) (5,Poor)
};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\usepgfplotslibrary{groupplots}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{groupplot}[
group style={
group size=2 by 2,
horizontal sep=2cm,
vertical sep=2cm
},
width=6cm,
height=5cm,
grid=major
]
% Plot 1 (top left)
\nextgroupplot[title={Linear}, ylabel={$y$}]
\addplot[blue] {x};
% Plot 2 (top right)
\nextgroupplot[title={Quadratic}]
\addplot[red] {x^2};
% Plot 3 (bottom left)
\nextgroupplot[title={Exponential}, xlabel={$x$}, ylabel={$y$}]
\addplot[green, domain=0:2] {exp(x)};
% Plot 4 (bottom right)
\nextgroupplot[title={Sine}, xlabel={$x$}]
\addplot[purple, domain=0:6.28] {sin(deg(x))};
\end{groupplot}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
scale only axis,
width=10cm, height=6cm,
xlabel={Time (s)},
ylabel={Temperature ($^\circ$C)},
ylabel style={blue},
ymin=0, ymax=100,
legend pos=north west
]
\addplot[blue, thick] coordinates {
(0,20) (1,35) (2,50) (3,70) (4,85)
};
\addlegendentry{Temperature}
\end{axis}
% Second y-axis
\begin{axis}[
scale only axis,
width=10cm, height=6cm,
xlabel={Time (s)},
ylabel={Pressure (kPa)},
ylabel style={red},
ymin=0, ymax=200,
axis y line*=right,
legend pos=south east
]
\addplot[red, thick, dashed] coordinates {
(0,50) (1,75) (2,110) (3,150) (4,180)
};
\addlegendentry{Pressure}
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={3D Surface: $z = \sin(x) \cdot \cos(y)$},
xlabel={$x$},
ylabel={$y$},
zlabel={$z$},
colormap/viridis,
view={60}{30}
]
\addplot3[
surf,
domain=-3:3,
domain y=-3:3,
samples=30
] {sin(deg(x)) * cos(deg(y))};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={Paraboloid: $z = x^2 + y^2$},
xlabel={$x$},
ylabel={$y$},
zlabel={$z$},
colormap/hot,
view={45}{30}
]
\addplot3[
mesh,
domain=-2:2,
domain y=-2:2,
samples=20
] {x^2 + y^2};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={Contour Plot},
xlabel={$x$},
ylabel={$y$},
view={0}{90},
colorbar,
colormap/jet
]
\addplot3[
contour gnuplot={levels={-2,-1,0,1,2}},
domain=-2:2,
domain y=-2:2,
samples=40
] {x^2 - y^2};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={Helix},
xlabel={$x$},
ylabel={$y$},
zlabel={$z$},
view={60}{30}
]
\addplot3[
blue,
thick,
domain=0:6*pi,
samples=200,
samples y=0
] ({cos(deg(x))}, {sin(deg(x))}, {x/(2*pi)});
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}% Create data file: data.csv
% x, y1, y2
% 0, 1.2, 2.1
% 1, 2.5, 3.4
% 2, 3.8, 4.2
% 3, 5.1, 5.8
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={Data from CSV},
xlabel={$x$},
ylabel={$y$},
legend pos=north west
]
% Read and plot column 1 vs column 2
\addplot[blue, mark=*] table[
x=x,
y=y1,
col sep=comma
] {data.csv};
\addlegendentry{Series 1}
% Read and plot column 1 vs column 3
\addplot[red, mark=square*] table[
x=x,
y=y2,
col sep=comma
] {data.csv};
\addlegendentry{Series 2}
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={Inline Table Data},
xlabel={Month},
ylabel={Revenue},
symbolic x coords={Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr},
xtick=data
]
\addplot table {
Jan 150
Feb 180
Mar 165
Apr 210
};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\usepgfplotslibrary{fillbetween}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
domain=0:2*pi,
samples=100
]
% Plot curves with names
\addplot[blue, name path=A] {sin(deg(x))};
\addplot[red, name path=B] {cos(deg(x))};
% Fill area between curves
\addplot[green!30] fill between[
of=A and B,
soft clip={domain=0:1.57}
];
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={Experimental Data},
xlabel={Trial},
ylabel={Measurement},
error bars/y dir=both,
error bars/y explicit
]
\addplot[
blue,
mark=*,
error bars/.cd,
y dir=both,
y explicit
] coordinates {
(1,10) +- (0,0.5)
(2,15) +- (0,0.8)
(3,20) +- (0,1.2)
(4,22) +- (0,0.9)
(5,25) +- (0,1.5)
};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}\usepgfplotslibrary{statistics}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[
title={Box Plot Example},
ylabel={Distribution},
boxplot/draw direction=y
]
\addplot+[
boxplot prepared={
median=5,
upper quartile=6,
lower quartile=4,
upper whisker=8,
lower whisker=2
},
] coordinates {};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}PGFPlots comes with most LaTeX distributions. Add \usepackage{pgfplots} and \pgfplotsset{compat=1.18} to your preamble. For manual installation, use tlmgr install pgfplots (TeX Live) or the MiKTeX Package Manager.
Complex plots (especially 3D surfaces with many samples) can be slow. Solutions: (1) Reduce sample count, (2) Use the externalize library: \usepgfplotslibrary{external} and \tikzexternalize, (3) Compile plots separately and include as images.
Yes! PGFPlots supports CSV, DAT, and custom delimited files. Use \addplot table[options] {filename.csv}; with options like x=column1, y=column2, col sep=comma.
Use predefined colors (red, blue, green), color mixing (blue!50), or define custom colors with \definecolor{mycolor}{RGB}{255,100,50}. For color schemes, use colormap/viridis or other built-in colormaps.
Yes! Load the polar library with \usepgfplotslibrary{polar} and use the polaraxis environment instead of axis.
Use the standalone document class:
\documentclass[tikz,border=5pt]{standalone}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\pgfplotsset{compat=1.18}
\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}
% Your plot here
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}
\end{document}domain sets the x-range (e.g., domain=0:10), while samples sets how many points to calculate (e.g., samples=100). More samples = smoother curves but slower compilation.