plt.figure() − Creates a new figure or activates an existing figure.
plt.subplots() − Creates a figure and a set of subplots.
Let's take an example to understand the difference between plt.subplots() and plt.figure().
Steps
Set the figure size and adjust the padding between and around the subplots.
Create a new figure or activate an existing figure. Use plt.figure() method.
Create a figure and a set of subplots. Use plt.subplots() method.
To display the figure, use Show() method.
Example
from matplotlib import pyplot as plt
# Set the figure size
plt.rcParams["figure.figsize"] = [7.00, 3.50]
plt.rcParams["figure.autolayout"] = True
# Create a new figure using plt.figure
fig1 = plt.figure("Figure 1 - plt.figure")
# Create a figure and set of subplots using plt.subplots
fig2, ax = plt.subplots()
plt.title("Figure 2 - plt.subplots")
# Display the plot
plt.show()
Output
plt.figure() produces the following Output
And, plt.subplots() produces the following Output −
