Matplotlib vs. PyQtGraph vs. Python vs. ggplot2 Comparison Chart

PyQtGraph is a pure-python graphics and GUI library built on PyQt/PySide and NumPy. It is intended for use in mathematics/scientific/engineering applications. Despite being written entirely in python, the library is very fast due to its heavy leverage of NumPy for number crunching and Qt's GraphicsView framework for fast display. PyQtGraph is distributed under the MIT open-source license. Basic 2D plotting in interactive view boxes. Line and scatter plots. Data can be panned/scaled by mouse. Fast drawing for real-time data display and interaction. Displays most data types (int or float; any bit depth; RGB, RGBA, or luminance). Functions for slicing multidimensional images at arbitrary angles (great for MRI data). Rapid update for video display or real-time interaction. Image display with interactive lookup tables and level control. Mesh rendering with isosurface generation. Interactive viewports rotate/zoom with mouse. Basic 3D scenegraph for easier programming.

ggplot2 is a system for declaratively creating graphics, based on The Grammar of Graphics. You provide the data, tell ggplot2 how to map variables to aesthetics, what graphical primitives to use, and it takes care of the details. ggplot2 is now over 10 years old and is used by hundreds of thousands of people to make millions of plots. That means, by-and-large, ggplot2 itself changes relatively little. When we do make changes, they will be generally to add new functions or arguments rather than changing the behavior of existing functions, and if we do make changes to existing behavior we will do them for compelling reasons. If you are new to ggplot2 you are better off starting with a systematic introduction, rather than trying to learn from reading individual documentation pages.