Distribution Plots: histplot, kdeplot, and ecdfplot0%
Categorical Plots: boxplot, violinplot, and countplot

Distribution Plots: histplot, kdeplot, and ecdfplot

Beginner12 min read•Updated: Jul 11, 2026
Study Materials

Distribution Plots: histplot, kdeplot, and ecdfplot

Reading Time: 8 Mins | Level: Intermediate

1. Visualizing Distributions with Seaborn

Seaborn provides three dedicated functions for exploring distributions:

  1. 1
    sns.histplot(): Modern flexible histogram with binning and optional KDE overlays.
  2. 2
    sns.kdeplot(): Kernel Density Estimation representing continuous probability density curves without arbitrary bin cutoffs.
  3. 3
    sns.ecdfplot(): Empirical Cumulative Distribution Function—the most rigorous statistical plot for percentiles.

2. Using sns.histplot() with kde=True and hue

Python
import seaborn as sns
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
 
df = sns.load_dataset('tips')
 
fig, ax = plt.subplots(figsize=(8, 5))
# Plot total_bill distribution split by lunch vs dinner
sns.histplot(
data=df,
x='total_bill',
hue='time',
kde=True,
bins=25,
palette='Set2',
alpha=0.6,
ax=ax
)
ax.set_title('Total Bill Distribution by Meal Time')
plt.show()

3. What is an ECDF Plot (ecdfplot)?

An ECDF plot displays the exact proportion of observations less than or equal to a given value. It requires zero binning parameters, completely avoiding the subjectivity of choosing bin counts:

Python
# At what bill amount do 80% of customers fall below?
sns.ecdfplot(data=df, x='total_bill')
plt.axhline(0.80, color='red', linestyle=':')
plt.show()
Interactive Quiz

Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1
Which modern Seaborn function replaces the legacy sns.distplot() for plotting histograms and density curves?
Question 2
What does setting kde=True inside sns.histplot() do?
Question 3
What does an ECDF (Empirical Cumulative Distribution Function) plot show on its y-axis?
Question 4
What is the primary advantage of kdeplot over a traditional histogram?
Question 5
In sns.kdeplot(data=df, x='Salary', hue='Gender'), what does Seaborn render?
Next Lesson

Categorical Plots: boxplot, violinplot, and countplot

Continue learning with hands-on practice, examples, and exercises in the upcoming topic.

Related Lessons

Previous LessonNext Lesson
Seaborn Themes, Palettes & AestheticsCategorical Plots: boxplot, violinplot, and countplot

Practice Quiz

Test your understanding of this lesson with 5 questions. Each question has one correct answer.

PreviousNext
PrevNext