R > Basic Charts > Bar Charts
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Bar Charts in R

How to make a bar chart in R. Examples of grouped, stacked, overlaid, and colored bar charts.


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Basic Bar Chart

library(plotly)

fig <- plot_ly(
  x = c("giraffes", "orangutans", "monkeys"),
  y = c(20, 14, 23),
  name = "SF Zoo",
  type = "bar"
)

fig

Grouped Bar Chart

library(plotly)

Animals <- c("giraffes", "orangutans", "monkeys")
SF_Zoo <- c(20, 14, 23)
LA_Zoo <- c(12, 18, 29)
data <- data.frame(Animals, SF_Zoo, LA_Zoo)

fig <- plot_ly(data, x = ~Animals, y = ~SF_Zoo, type = 'bar', name = 'SF Zoo')
fig <- fig %>% add_trace(y = ~LA_Zoo, name = 'LA Zoo')
fig <- fig %>% layout(yaxis = list(title = 'Count'), barmode = 'group')

fig
giraffesmonkeysorangutans051015202530
SF ZooLA ZooAnimalsCount

Stacked Bar Chart

library(plotly)

Animals <- c("giraffes", "orangutans", "monkeys")
SF_Zoo <- c(20, 14, 23)
LA_Zoo <- c(12, 18, 29)
data <- data.frame(Animals, SF_Zoo, LA_Zoo)

fig <- plot_ly(data, x = ~Animals, y = ~SF_Zoo, type = 'bar', name = 'SF Zoo')
fig <- fig %>% add_trace(y = ~LA_Zoo, name = 'LA Zoo')
fig <- fig %>% layout(yaxis = list(title = 'Count'), barmode = 'stack')

fig
giraffesmonkeysorangutans01020304050
LA ZooSF ZooAnimalsCount

Bar Chart with Hover Text

library(plotly)

x <- c('Product A', 'Product B', 'Product C')
y <- c(20, 14, 23)
text <- c('27% market share', '24% market share', '19% market share')
data <- data.frame(x, y, text)

fig <- plot_ly(data, x = ~x, y = ~y, type = 'bar', text = text,
        marker = list(color = 'rgb(158,202,225)',
                      line = list(color = 'rgb(8,48,107)',
                                  width = 1.5)))
fig <- fig %>% layout(title = "January 2013 Sales Report",
         xaxis = list(title = ""),
         yaxis = list(title = ""))

fig
Product AProduct BProduct C05101520
January 2013 Sales Report

Bar Chart with Direct Labels

library(plotly)

x <- c('Product A', 'Product B', 'Product C')
y <- c(20, 14, 23)
text <- c('27% market share', '24% market share', '19% market share')
data <- data.frame(x, y, text)

fig <- plot_ly(data, x = ~x, y = ~y, type = 'bar',
             text = y, textposition = 'auto',
             marker = list(color = 'rgb(158,202,225)',
                           line = list(color = 'rgb(8,48,107)', width = 1.5)))
fig <- fig %>% layout(title = "January 2013 Sales Report",
         xaxis = list(title = ""),
         yaxis = list(title = ""))

fig
201423Product AProduct BProduct C05101520
January 2013 Sales Report

Grouped Bar Chart with Direct Labels

library(plotly)

x <- c('Product A', 'Product B', 'Product C')
y <- c(20, 14, 23)
y2 <- c(16,12,27)
text <- c('27% market share', '24% market share', '19% market share')
data <- data.frame(x, y, y2, text)

fig <- data %>% plot_ly()
fig <- fig %>% add_trace(x = ~x, y = ~y, type = 'bar',
             text = y, textposition = 'auto',
             marker = list(color = 'rgb(158,202,225)',
                           line = list(color = 'rgb(8,48,107)', width = 1.5)))
fig <- fig %>% add_trace(x = ~x, y = ~y2, type = 'bar',
            text = y2, textposition = 'auto',
            marker = list(color = 'rgb(58,200,225)',
                          line = list(color = 'rgb(8,48,107)', width = 1.5)))
fig <- fig %>% layout(title = "January 2013 Sales Report",
         barmode = 'group',
         xaxis = list(title = ""),
         yaxis = list(title = ""))

fig
201423161227Product AProduct BProduct C0510152025
trace 0trace 1January 2013 Sales Report

Rotated Bar Chart Labels

library(plotly)

x <- c('January', 'February', 'March', 'April', 'May', 'June', 'July', 'August', 'September', 'October', 'November', 'December')
y1 <- c(20, 14, 25, 16, 18, 22, 19, 15, 12, 16, 14, 17)
y2 <- c(19, 14, 22, 14, 16, 19, 15, 14, 10, 12, 12, 16)
data <- data.frame(x, y1, y2)

#The default order will be alphabetized unless specified as below:
data$x <- factor(data$x, levels = data[["x"]])

fig <- plot_ly(data, x = ~x, y = ~y1, type = 'bar', name = 'Primary Product', marker = list(color = 'rgb(49,130,189)'))
fig <- fig %>% add_trace(y = ~y2, name = 'Secondary Product', marker = list(color = 'rgb(204,204,204)'))
fig <- fig %>% layout(xaxis = list(title = "", tickangle = -45),
         yaxis = list(title = ""),
         margin = list(b = 100),
         barmode = 'group')

fig
JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember0510152025
Primary ProductSecondary Product

Customizing Bar Color

library(plotly)

x <- c('Feature A', 'Feature B', 'Feature C', 'Feature D', 'Feature E')
y <- c(20, 14, 23, 25, 22)
data <- data.frame(x, y)

fig <- plot_ly(data, x = ~x, y = ~y, type = 'bar', color = I("black"))
fig <- fig %>% layout(title = "Features",
         xaxis = list(title = ""),
         yaxis = list(title = ""))

fig
Feature AFeature BFeature CFeature DFeature E0510152025
Features

Customizing Individual Bar Colors

library(plotly)

x <- c('Feature A', 'Feature B', 'Feature C', 'Feature D', 'Feature E')
y <- c(20, 14, 23, 25, 22)
data <- data.frame(x, y)

fig <- plot_ly(data, x = ~x, y = ~y, type = 'bar',
        marker = list(color = c('rgba(204,204,204,1)', 'rgba(222,45,38,0.8)',
                                'rgba(204,204,204,1)', 'rgba(204,204,204,1)',
                                'rgba(204,204,204,1)')))
fig <- fig %>% layout(title = "Least Used Features",
         xaxis = list(title = ""),
         yaxis = list(title = ""))

fig
Feature AFeature BFeature CFeature DFeature E0510152025
Least Used Features

Customizing Individual Bar Widths

library(plotly)

x= c(1, 2, 3, 5.5, 10)
y= c(10, 8, 6, 4, 2)
width = c(0.8, 0.8, 0.8, 3.5, 4)
data <- data.frame(x, y, width)

fig <- plot_ly(data)
fig <- fig %>% add_bars(
    x= ~x,
    y= ~y,
    width = ~width
  )

fig

Customizing Individual Bar Base

library(plotly)

fig <- plot_ly()
fig <- fig %>% add_bars(
    x = c("2016", "2017", "2018"),
    y = c(500,600,700),
    base = c(-500,-600,-700),
    marker = list(
      color = 'red'
    ),
    name = 'expenses'
  )
fig <- fig %>% add_bars(
    x = c("2016", "2017", "2018"),
    y = c(300,400,700),
    base = 0,
    marker = list(
      color = 'blue'
    ),
    name = 'revenue'
  )

fig

Mapping a Color Variable

library(plotly)
library(dplyr)

fig <- ggplot2::diamonds
fig <- fig %>% count(cut, clarity)
fig <- fig %>% plot_ly(x = ~cut, y = ~n, color = ~clarity)

fig
FairGoodVery GoodPremiumIdeal010002000300040005000
IFVVS1VVS2VS1VS2SI1SI2I1cutn

Colored and Styled Bar Chart

library(plotly)

x <- c(1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)
roW <- c(219, 146, 112, 127, 124, 180, 236, 207, 236, 263, 350, 430, 474, 526, 488, 537, 500, 439)
China <- c(16, 13, 10, 11, 28, 37, 43, 55, 56, 88, 105, 156, 270, 299, 340, 403, 549, 499)
data <- data.frame(x, roW, China)

fig <- plot_ly(data, x = ~x, y = ~roW, type = 'bar', name = 'Rest of the World',
        marker = list(color = 'rgb(55, 83, 109)'))
fig <- fig %>% add_trace(y = ~China, name = 'China', marker = list(color = 'rgb(26, 118, 255)'))
fig <- fig %>% layout(title = 'US Export of Plastic Scrap',
         xaxis = list(
           title = "",
           tickfont = list(
             size = 14,
             color = 'rgb(107, 107, 107)')),
         yaxis = list(
           title = 'USD (millions)',
           titlefont = list(
             size = 16,
             color = 'rgb(107, 107, 107)'),
           tickfont = list(
             size = 14,
             color = 'rgb(107, 107, 107)')),
         legend = list(x = 0, y = 1, bgcolor = 'rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)', bordercolor = 'rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)'),
         barmode = 'group', bargap = 0.15, bargroupgap = 0.1)

fig
19952000200520100100200300400500
Rest of the WorldChinaUS Export of Plastic ScrapUSD (millions)

Waterfall Bar Chart

library(plotly)

x <- c('Product<br>Revenue', 'Services<br>Revenue', 'Total<br>Revenue', 'Fixed<br>Costs', 'Variable<br>Costs', 'Total<br>Costs', 'Total')
y <- c(400, 660, 660, 590, 400, 400, 340)
base <- c(0, 430, 0, 570, 370, 370, 0)
revenue <- c(430, 260, 690, 0, 0, 0, 0)
costs <- c(0, 0, 0, 120, 200, 320, 0)
profit <- c(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 370)
text <- c('$430K', '$260K', '$690K', '$-120K', '$-200K', '$-320K', '$370K')
data <- data.frame(x, base, revenue, costs, profit, text)

#The default order will be alphabetized unless specified as below:
data$x <- factor(data$x, levels = data[["x"]])

fig <- plot_ly(data, x = ~x, y = ~base, type = 'bar', marker = list(color = 'rgba(1,1,1, 0.0)'))
fig <- fig %>% add_trace(y = ~revenue, marker = list(color = 'rgba(55, 128, 191, 0.7)',
                                        line = list(color = 'rgba(55, 128, 191, 0.7)',
                                                    width = 2)))
fig <- fig %>% add_trace(y = ~costs, marker = list(color = 'rgba(219, 64, 82, 0.7)',
                                      line = list(color = 'rgba(219, 64, 82, 1.0)',
                                                  width = 2)))
fig <- fig %>% add_trace(y = ~profit, marker = list(color = 'rgba(50, 171, 96, 0.7)',
                                      line = list(color = 'rgba(50, 171, 96, 1.0)',
                                                  width = 2)))
fig <- fig %>% layout(title = 'Annual Profit - 2015',
         xaxis = list(title = ""),
         yaxis = list(title = ""),
         barmode = 'stack',
         paper_bgcolor = 'rgba(245, 246, 249, 1)',
         plot_bgcolor = 'rgba(245, 246, 249, 1)',
         showlegend = FALSE)
fig <- fig %>% add_annotations(text = text,
                  x = x,
                  y = y,
                  xref = "x",
                  yref = "y",
                  font = list(family = 'Arial',
                              size = 14,
                              color = 'rgba(245, 246, 249, 1)'),
                  showarrow = FALSE)

fig
ProductRevenueServicesRevenueTotalRevenueFixedCostsVariableCostsTotalCostsTotal0100200300400500600700
Annual Profit - 2015$430K$260K$690K$-120K$-200K$-320K$370K

Horizontal Bar Chart

See examples of horizontal bar charts here.

Reference

See https://plotly.com/r/reference/#bar for more information and chart attribute options!

What About Dash?

Dash for R is an open-source framework for building analytical applications, with no Javascript required, and it is tightly integrated with the Plotly graphing library.

Learn about how to install Dash for R at https://dashr.plot.ly/installation.

Everywhere in this page that you see fig, you can display the same figure in a Dash for R application by passing it to the figure argument of the Graph component from the built-in dashCoreComponents package like this:

library(plotly)

fig <- plot_ly() 
# fig <- fig %>% add_trace( ... )
# fig <- fig %>% layout( ... ) 

library(dash)
library(dashCoreComponents)
library(dashHtmlComponents)

app <- Dash$new()
app$layout(
    htmlDiv(
        list(
            dccGraph(figure=fig) 
        )
     )
)

app$run_server(debug=TRUE, dev_tools_hot_reload=FALSE)