What it is: Python library for interactive charts. Hover tooltips, zoom, pan built-in. Exports to HTML.

What It Does Best

Interactive by default. Every chart gets zoom, pan, hover. No extra code needed.

Export to HTML. Share visualizations as standalone files. Recipients don't need Python installed.

Dash framework. Build web dashboards entirely in Python. No JavaScript required.

Key Features

40+ chart types: From basic bar charts to 3D surface plots and maps

HTML export: Share interactive charts as standalone HTML files

Dash integration: Build full web applications in pure Python

Plotly Express: High-level API for quick visualizations

Plotly Graph Objects: Low-level API for fine control

Pricing

Open source: Free for all features

Dash Enterprise: $950+/month (commercial deployment)

When to Use It

✅ Need to share interactive charts with non-technical users

✅ Want interactivity without learning D3.js

✅ Building data apps in Python only

✅ Jupyter notebooks that need interactivity

✅ Presenting insights to stakeholders

When NOT to Use It

❌ Publication-quality static images (Matplotlib better)

❌ Extreme customization needs (D3.js better)

❌ Very large datasets (performance degrades above 100k points)

❌ Need declarative syntax (Altair cleaner)

❌ Primarily print media

Common Use Cases

Interactive presentations: Share findings with stakeholders via HTML files

Data science reporting: Jupyter notebooks with interactive exploration

Web dashboards: Full applications with Dash framework

Geographic visualizations: Interactive maps and choropleth charts

3D visualizations: Surface plots, scatter plots, network graphs

Plotly vs Alternatives

vs Matplotlib: Plotly interactive by default; Matplotlib better static output, more control

vs Altair: Plotly more chart types; Altair cleaner, declarative syntax

vs Bokeh: Plotly easier API; Bokeh better for server-side apps

Unique Strengths

HTML export: Share interactive visualizations without Python

Dash ecosystem: Build entire apps without JavaScript

Plotly Express: Simplest API for common interactive charts

3D capabilities: Best Python library for 3D visualization

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