Remove grid and background from plot using ggplot2 in R

A plot by default is produced with a grid background and grayish colored background. In this article we will see, how a gird can be removed from a plot. We will use a line plot, for demonstration but the same can be employed for any other Visualization.

To understand the difference better let us first create a plot with grid and background.

df <- data.frame(a=c(2,4,8), b=c(5, 10, 15))

plot = ggplot(df, aes(x = a, y = b)) + geom_point() + geom_line()

#output
plot

Output:

Now, We are going to perform some operation/ modification on this plot. 

Remove Grid:

Assigning the grid's major and minor with the element_blanck() function, will remove the grid but not remove the background color and borderlines.

df <- data.frame(a=c(2,4,8),b=c(5, 10, 15))

plot + theme(panel.grid.major = element_blank(), 
               panel.grid.minor = element_blank())

Output:

Only Grid and Axis Line:

Using theme_bw() function with the plot removes the grayish background but doesn't affect the Grid.

df <- data.frame(a=c(2,4,8),b=c(5, 10, 15))

# theme_bw() function
plot + theme_bw()

Output:

Remove Background and Grid:

Assigning panel.background with element_blank() function will remove both grid and the background.

df <- data.frame(a=c(2,4,8),b=c(5, 10, 15))

plot + theme(panel.background = element_blank())

Output: