How to put the legend outside the plot

Full control over legend positioning and aesthetics

Customize legend placement with ax.set_position()

Avoid an overlapping or clipping legend by resizing the plot itself using ax.set_position():

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

fig, ax = plt.subplots()
ax.plot([1, 2, 3], [4, 3, 2], label='Data trend')

# It's like Tetris but with a plot and legend!
ax.set_position([0.1, 0.1, 0.65, 0.8])

# Position the legend outside
ax.legend(loc='upper left', bbox_to_anchor=(1, 1))

plt.show()
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Make comprehensive legends readable with fontsize

Readability can take a hit with large legends. Adjust the fontsize to make mature decisions about space allocation!

ax.legend(loc='upper left', bbox_to_anchor=(1, 1), fontsize='small')  # Good things come in SMALL packages!
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Prevent overrun with plt.tight_layout

For nicely packed visuals, apply the plt.tight_layout method. Remember, we're making art, not a sandwich!

plt.tight_layout(rect=[0, 0, 0.75, 1])   # Your legend wasn't raised to be sloppy!
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Use subplots and gridspec_kw for fine-tuning

If you're uncompromising about your main plot, dedicate a subplot to the legend:

fig, (ax, lax) = plt.subplots(ncols=2, gridspec_kw={"width_ratios":[4, 1]})
lax.legend(*ax.get_legend_handles_labels(), loc='center')
lax.axis('off')   # It's less of a subplot, more of a VVIP legend balcony! 🍾
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Advanced font customization for your keen eyes

For typography enthusiasts, Matplotlib's font_manager offers the keys to the font kingdom:

from matplotlib.font_manager import FontProperties

fontP = FontProperties()
fontP.set_size('xx-small')    # If you can control font size, are you a font God?! 🧙‍♂️

# Command the legend to respect your font authority
ax.legend(prop=fontP)  
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Across-the-board consistency with fig.legend

For the perfectionists who seek uniformity across subplots, turn to fig.legend:

fig.legend(loc='center right', bbox_to_anchor=(1, 0.5))   # Uniformity is the secret ingredient of a good figurewide legend soup! 🍲
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