How to Create a Radar Chart using Matplotlib in Python

In this tutorial, we will learn how to create a radar chart (also known as a spider chart) using Python's Matplotlib library. Radar charts are used to visualize multivariate data, making them ideal for comparing performance across different categories.

Step 1: Install Matplotlib

First, ensure you have Matplotlib installed. You can install it using pip:

pip install matplotlib

Step 2: Import Libraries

Import the necessary libraries:

import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
from math import pi

Step 3: Define the Data

Define the categories and the corresponding values for the radar chart:

categories = ['Customer Service', 'R&D', 'Testing', 'Marketing', 'Sales', 'IT']
n = len(categories)

values = [18000, 22000, 18000, 15000, 13000, 17000]
values2 = [17000, 21000, 19000, 14000, 12000, 16000]

Step 4: Prepare the Data for Plotting

Convert the data into the correct format for the radar chart:

angles = [x * (2 * pi / n) for x in range(n)]
values += values[:1]  # back to origin
values2 += values2[:1]
angles += angles[:1]

Step 5: Plot the Radar Chart

Create and customize the radar chart using Matplotlib:

fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(6, 6), subplot_kw=dict(polar=True))
ax.plot(angles, values, linewidth=2, linestyle='solid', label='Actual Sales')
ax.fill(angles, values, alpha=0.25)

ax.plot(angles, values2, linewidth=2, linestyle='solid', label='Expected Sales')
ax.fill(angles, values2, alpha=0.25)

ax.set_xticks(angles[:-1])
ax.set_xticklabels(categories)

ax.set_yticklabels(['0', '5000', '10000', '15000', '20000'])

plt.legend(loc='upper right', bbox_to_anchor=(0.1, 0.1))
plt.title('Sales Performance Comparison')
plt.show()

Conclusion

You have now created a radar chart in Python using Matplotlib. You can customize the chart further by adjusting the labels, colors, and other styling options to fit your specific needs.