Matplotlib Horizontal Bar Chart in Python (barh Step by Step)

A sales manager’s chart of seven reps had full names colliding under vertical bars. A Matplotlib horizontal bar chart fixed it: ax.barh() puts each name on the y-axis, where it’s got room.

fig, ax = plt.subplots()
ax.barh(reps, sales)    # labels on y, values on x
plt.show()

In this tutorial, I’ll build a Matplotlib horizontal bar chart step by step on Python 3.12.5 and Matplotlib 3.11.2, then handle negative values.

Here’s what we’re building:

Before You Start: the sales data for the horizontal bar chart

You’ll need Matplotlib (pip install matplotlib) and this sample of Q1 2026 sales:

Rep	Q1 2026 sales (USD)
Hannah Brooks	$48,250.75
Marcus Reed	$61,930.40
Olivia Turner	$39,875.10
Ethan Walsh	$72,410.95
Sofia Ramirez	$55,120.00
Caleb Morgan	$44,680.35
Natalie Price	$67,045.80

Short labels or a time axis? Then a vertical Matplotlib bar chart fits better.

Step 1: Draw the bars with barh()

barh(y, width) takes the labels first and the bar lengths second, just like bar().

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

reps = ["Hannah Brooks", "Marcus Reed", "Olivia Turner", "Ethan Walsh",
        "Sofia Ramirez", "Caleb Morgan", "Natalie Price"]
sales = [48250.75, 61930.40, 39875.10, 72410.95,
         55120.00, 44680.35, 67045.80]   # Q1 2026, USD

fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(8, 4.5))
ax.barh(reps, sales)
ax.set_xlabel("Sales (USD)")
ax.set_title("Q1 2026 sales by rep")
plt.show()

Checkpoint: Hannah Brooks, first in the list, sits at the bottom because the y-axis counts upward. Her name’s clipped at the left edge too; Step 4 fixes that.

Step 2: Sort the bars so the largest is on top

Sort smallest-first, since the last item ends up on top:

sales, reps = zip(*sorted(zip(sales, reps)))   # smallest first
# then the same plotting code as Step 1

Checkpoint: Ethan Walsh ($72,410.95) is on top and Olivia Turner ($39,875.10) at the bottom.

Data already sorted largest-first? Call ax.invert_yaxis() instead; see inverting the y-axis in Matplotlib.

Step 3: Add dollar value labels to each bar

ax.bar_label() writes each value at the bar’s tip. The {}-style fmt needs Matplotlib 3.7+:

bars = ax.barh(reps, sales)
ax.bar_label(bars, fmt="${:,.2f}", padding=4)
ax.set_xlim(0, 85000)              # room for the labels

Checkpoint: the top label reads $72,410.95. Without set_xlim(), it poked past the right edge of the axes.

Labels inside the bars are covered in Matplotlib bar charts with values.

Step 4: Style the chart and highlight the top rep

Thinner bars use height, not width. Add one highlight color, dollar ticks and a grid behind the bars:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# reps and sales from Step 1, sorted as in Step 2

top = max(sales)
colors = ["#1f6fb2" if s == top else "#a9c4de" for s in sales]

fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(8, 4.5), layout="constrained")
bars = ax.barh(reps, sales, height=0.6, color=colors)
ax.bar_label(bars, fmt="${:,.2f}", padding=4)
ax.set_xlim(0, 85000)
ax.xaxis.set_major_formatter("${x:,.0f}")
ax.xaxis.grid(True, linestyle="--", alpha=0.5)
ax.set_axisbelow(True)                 # grid behind the bars
ax.spines[["top", "right"]].set_visible(False)
ax.set_title("Q1 2026 sales by rep")
plt.show()

Checkpoint: only Ethan Walsh is dark blue, and layout="constrained" made room for every name.

Want a color per bar? Read Matplotlib bar chart colors.

Test the horizontal bar chart: save it and check the numbers

I save the chart and print what was drawn (VS Code run):

import matplotlib
matplotlib.use("Agg")
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# reps and sales from Step 1
# sort + styling from Step 4
fig.savefig("q1-2026-sales-by-rep.png", dpi=150)

print("Bars drawn:", len(bars))
print("Top bar:", reps[-1], f"${sales[-1]:,.2f}")
print("Bottom bar:", reps[0], f"${sales[0]:,.2f}")
print(f"Team total: ${sum(sales):,.2f}")
print("Saved q1-2026-sales-by-rep.png")

Output:

Bars drawn: 7
Top bar: Ethan Walsh $72,410.95
Bottom bar: Olivia Turner $39,875.10
Team total: $389,313.35
Saved q1-2026-sales-by-rep.png

The $389,313.35 total matches the table, so sorting didn’t drop anything.

Variant: show negative values against a quota

Compare each rep with a $50,000.00 quota. Negative widths extend left of zero, so you’ll just add a color per sign and a zero line:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# reps and sales from Step 1
sales, reps = zip(*sorted(zip(sales, reps)))   # smallest first
quota = 50000.00
diff = [s - quota for s in sales]
colors = ["#2e8b57" if d >= 0 else "#d9534f" for d in diff]
labels = [f"+${d:,.2f}" if d >= 0 else f"-${-d:,.2f}" for d in diff]

fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(8, 4.5), layout="constrained")
bars = ax.barh(reps, diff, color=colors)
ax.bar_label(bars, labels=labels, padding=4)
ax.axvline(0, color="black", linewidth=0.8)
ax.set_xlim(-18000, 30000)
ax.set_xlabel("Q1 2026 sales vs $50,000.00 quota (USD)")
plt.show()

Olivia Turner missed by $10,124.90, while Ethan Walsh beat it by $22,410.95.

Troubleshooting: why is my horizontal bar chart not working?

TypeError on width. In barh(), width is the bar length, so a width= keyword clashes with your values:

try:
    ax.barh(reps, sales, width=0.5)
except TypeError as err:
    print("TypeError:", err)
ax.barh(reps, sales, height=0.5)   # bar thickness
print("height=0.5 works")

Output:

TypeError: Axes.barh() got multiple values for argument 'width'
height=0.5 works

Names cut off. Use layout="constrained" or fig.tight_layout(); see Matplotlib tight_layout().

Important: sort labels and values together with zip(), never one list alone.

Where to Take It Next with horizontal bars

Stack quarters with left=, as in stacked bar charts in Matplotlib, or try a multiple bar chart.

A few more bar chart guides worth a look:

• Labels on a multiple bar chart
• Overlay two bar charts in Matplotlib
• Bar charts with error bars
• Stacked bar plots with pandas

Frequently asked questions