diff --git a/doc/users/next_whats_new/width_height_ratios.rst b/doc/users/next_whats_new/width_height_ratios.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+``subplots``, ``subplot_mosaic`` accept *height_ratios* and *width_ratios* arguments
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+The relative width and height of columns and rows in `~.Figure.subplots` and
+`~.Figure.subplot_mosaic` can be controlled by passing *height_ratios* and
+*width_ratios* keyword arguments to the methods.  Previously, this required
+passing the ratios in *gridspec_kws* arguments.
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/figure.py b/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
@@ -764,7 +764,8 @@ def _add_axes_internal(self, ax, key):
         return ax
 
     def subplots(self, nrows=1, ncols=1, *, sharex=False, sharey=False,
-                 squeeze=True, subplot_kw=None, gridspec_kw=None):
+                 squeeze=True, width_ratios=None, height_ratios=None,
+                 subplot_kw=None, gridspec_kw=None):
         """
         Add a set of subplots to this figure.
 
@@ -807,6 +808,18 @@ def subplots(self, nrows=1, ncols=1, *, sharex=False, sharey=False,
               is always a 2D array containing Axes instances, even if it ends
               up being 1x1.
 
+        width_ratios : array-like of length *ncols*, optional
+            Defines the relative widths of the columns. Each column gets a
+            relative width of ``width_ratios[i] / sum(width_ratios)``.
+            If not given, all columns will have the same width.  Equivalent
+            to ``gridspec_kw={'width_ratios': [...]}``.
+
+        height_ratios : array-like of length *nrows*, optional
+            Defines the relative heights of the rows. Each row gets a
+            relative height of ``height_ratios[i] / sum(height_ratios)``.
+            If not given, all rows will have the same height. Equivalent
+            to ``gridspec_kw={'height_ratios': [...]}``.
+
         subplot_kw : dict, optional
             Dict with keywords passed to the `.Figure.add_subplot` call used to
             create each subplot.
@@ -871,6 +884,17 @@ def subplots(self, nrows=1, ncols=1, *, sharex=False, sharey=False,
         """
         if gridspec_kw is None:
             gridspec_kw = {}
+        if height_ratios is not None:
+            if 'height_ratios' in gridspec_kw:
+                raise ValueError("'height_ratios' must not be defined both as "
+                                 "parameter and as key in 'gridspec_kw'")
+            gridspec_kw['height_ratios'] = height_ratios
+        if width_ratios is not None:
+            if 'width_ratios' in gridspec_kw:
+                raise ValueError("'width_ratios' must not be defined both as "
+                                 "parameter and as key in 'gridspec_kw'")
+            gridspec_kw['width_ratios'] = width_ratios
+
         gs = self.add_gridspec(nrows, ncols, figure=self, **gridspec_kw)
         axs = gs.subplots(sharex=sharex, sharey=sharey, squeeze=squeeze,
                           subplot_kw=subplot_kw)
@@ -1683,7 +1707,8 @@ def _normalize_grid_string(layout):
             return [list(ln) for ln in layout.strip('\n').split('\n')]
 
     def subplot_mosaic(self, mosaic, *, sharex=False, sharey=False,
-                       subplot_kw=None, gridspec_kw=None, empty_sentinel='.'):
+                       width_ratios=None, height_ratios=None,
+                       empty_sentinel='.', subplot_kw=None, gridspec_kw=None):
         """
         Build a layout of Axes based on ASCII art or nested lists.
 
@@ -1739,6 +1764,18 @@ def subplot_mosaic(self, mosaic, *, sharex=False, sharey=False,
             units behave as for `subplots`.  If False, each subplot's x- or
             y-axis will be independent.
 
+        width_ratios : array-like of length *ncols*, optional
+            Defines the relative widths of the columns. Each column gets a
+            relative width of ``width_ratios[i] / sum(width_ratios)``.
+            If not given, all columns will have the same width.  Equivalent
+            to ``gridspec_kw={'width_ratios': [...]}``.
+
+        height_ratios : array-like of length *nrows*, optional
+            Defines the relative heights of the rows. Each row gets a
+            relative height of ``height_ratios[i] / sum(height_ratios)``.
+            If not given, all rows will have the same height. Equivalent
+            to ``gridspec_kw={'height_ratios': [...]}``.
+
         subplot_kw : dict, optional
             Dictionary with keywords passed to the `.Figure.add_subplot` call
             used to create each subplot.
@@ -1763,6 +1800,17 @@ def subplot_mosaic(self, mosaic, *, sharex=False, sharey=False,
         """
         subplot_kw = subplot_kw or {}
         gridspec_kw = gridspec_kw or {}
+        if height_ratios is not None:
+            if 'height_ratios' in gridspec_kw:
+                raise ValueError("'height_ratios' must not be defined both as "
+                                 "parameter and as key in 'gridspec_kw'")
+            gridspec_kw['height_ratios'] = height_ratios
+        if width_ratios is not None:
+            if 'width_ratios' in gridspec_kw:
+                raise ValueError("'width_ratios' must not be defined both as "
+                                 "parameter and as key in 'gridspec_kw'")
+            gridspec_kw['width_ratios'] = width_ratios
+
         # special-case string input
         if isinstance(mosaic, str):
             mosaic = self._normalize_grid_string(mosaic)

diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/pyplot.py b/lib/matplotlib/pyplot.py
@@ -1323,6 +1323,7 @@ def subplot(*args, **kwargs):
 
 
 def subplots(nrows=1, ncols=1, *, sharex=False, sharey=False, squeeze=True,
+             width_ratios=None, height_ratios=None,
              subplot_kw=None, gridspec_kw=None, **fig_kw):
     """
     Create a figure and a set of subplots.
@@ -1368,6 +1369,18 @@ def subplots(nrows=1, ncols=1, *, sharex=False, sharey=False, squeeze=True,
           always a 2D array containing Axes instances, even if it ends up
           being 1x1.
 
+    width_ratios : array-like of length *ncols*, optional
+        Defines the relative widths of the columns. Each column gets a
+        relative width of ``width_ratios[i] / sum(width_ratios)``.
+        If not given, all columns will have the same width.  Equivalent
+        to ``gridspec_kw={'width_ratios': [...]}``.
+
+    height_ratios : array-like of length *nrows*, optional
+        Defines the relative heights of the rows. Each row gets a
+        relative height of ``height_ratios[i] / sum(height_ratios)``.
+        If not given, all rows will have the same height. Convenience
+        for ``gridspec_kw={'height_ratios': [...]}``.
+
     subplot_kw : dict, optional
         Dict with keywords passed to the
         `~matplotlib.figure.Figure.add_subplot` call used to create each
@@ -1458,13 +1471,14 @@ def subplots(nrows=1, ncols=1, *, sharex=False, sharey=False, squeeze=True,
     fig = figure(**fig_kw)
     axs = fig.subplots(nrows=nrows, ncols=ncols, sharex=sharex, sharey=sharey,
                        squeeze=squeeze, subplot_kw=subplot_kw,
-                       gridspec_kw=gridspec_kw)
+                       gridspec_kw=gridspec_kw, height_ratios=height_ratios,
+                       width_ratios=width_ratios)
     return fig, axs
 
 
 def subplot_mosaic(mosaic, *, sharex=False, sharey=False,
-                   subplot_kw=None, gridspec_kw=None, empty_sentinel='.',
-                   **fig_kw):
+                   width_ratios=None, height_ratios=None, empty_sentinel='.',
+                   subplot_kw=None, gridspec_kw=None, **fig_kw):
     """
     Build a layout of Axes based on ASCII art or nested lists.
 
@@ -1515,20 +1529,32 @@ def subplot_mosaic(mosaic, *, sharex=False, sharey=False,
         behave as for `subplots`.  If False, each subplot's x- or y-axis will
         be independent.
 
-    subplot_kw : dict, optional
-        Dictionary with keywords passed to the `.Figure.add_subplot` call
-        used to create each subplot.
+    width_ratios : array-like of length *ncols*, optional
+        Defines the relative widths of the columns. Each column gets a
+        relative width of ``width_ratios[i] / sum(width_ratios)``.
+        If not given, all columns will have the same width.  Convenience
+        for ``gridspec_kw={'width_ratios': [...]}``.
 
-    gridspec_kw : dict, optional
-        Dictionary with keywords passed to the `.GridSpec` constructor used
-        to create the grid the subplots are placed on.
+    height_ratios : array-like of length *nrows*, optional
+        Defines the relative heights of the rows. Each row gets a
+        relative height of ``height_ratios[i] / sum(height_ratios)``.
+        If not given, all rows will have the same height. Convenience
+        for ``gridspec_kw={'height_ratios': [...]}``.
 
     empty_sentinel : object, optional
         Entry in the layout to mean "leave this space empty".  Defaults
         to ``'.'``. Note, if *layout* is a string, it is processed via
         `inspect.cleandoc` to remove leading white space, which may
         interfere with using white-space as the empty sentinel.
 
+    subplot_kw : dict, optional
+        Dictionary with keywords passed to the `.Figure.add_subplot` call
+        used to create each subplot.
+
+    gridspec_kw : dict, optional
+        Dictionary with keywords passed to the `.GridSpec` constructor used
+        to create the grid the subplots are placed on.
+
     **fig_kw
         All additional keyword arguments are passed to the
         `.pyplot.figure` call.
@@ -1547,6 +1573,7 @@ def subplot_mosaic(mosaic, *, sharex=False, sharey=False,
     fig = figure(**fig_kw)
     ax_dict = fig.subplot_mosaic(
         mosaic, sharex=sharex, sharey=sharey,
+        height_ratios=height_ratios, width_ratios=width_ratios,
         subplot_kw=subplot_kw, gridspec_kw=gridspec_kw,
         empty_sentinel=empty_sentinel
     )

diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_subplots.py b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_subplots.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 import pytest
 
 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
-from matplotlib.testing.decorators import image_comparison
+from matplotlib.testing.decorators import check_figures_equal, image_comparison
 import matplotlib.axes as maxes
 
 
@@ -212,3 +212,42 @@ def test_dont_mutate_kwargs():
 def test_subplot_factory_reapplication():
     assert maxes.subplot_class_factory(maxes.Axes) is maxes.Subplot
     assert maxes.subplot_class_factory(maxes.Subplot) is maxes.Subplot
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("width_ratios", [None, [1, 3, 2]])
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("height_ratios", [None, [1, 2]])
+@check_figures_equal(extensions=['png'])
+def test_width_and_height_ratios(fig_test, fig_ref,
+                                 height_ratios, width_ratios):
+    fig_test.subplots(2, 3, height_ratios=height_ratios,
+                      width_ratios=width_ratios)
+    fig_ref.subplots(2, 3, gridspec_kw={
+                     'height_ratios': height_ratios,
+                     'width_ratios': width_ratios})
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("width_ratios", [None, [1, 3, 2]])
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("height_ratios", [None, [1, 2]])
+@check_figures_equal(extensions=['png'])
+def test_width_and_height_ratios_mosaic(fig_test, fig_ref,
+                                        height_ratios, width_ratios):
+    mosaic_spec = [['A', 'B', 'B'], ['A', 'C', 'D']]
+    fig_test.subplot_mosaic(mosaic_spec, height_ratios=height_ratios,
+                            width_ratios=width_ratios)
+    fig_ref.subplot_mosaic(mosaic_spec, gridspec_kw={
+                           'height_ratios': height_ratios,
+                           'width_ratios': width_ratios})
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('method,args', [
+    ('subplots', (2, 3)),
+    ('subplot_mosaic', ('abc;def', ))
+    ]
+)
+def test_ratio_overlapping_kws(method, args):
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match='height_ratios'):
+        getattr(plt, method)(*args, height_ratios=[1, 2],
+                             gridspec_kw={'height_ratios': [1, 2]})
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match='width_ratios'):
+        getattr(plt, method)(*args, width_ratios=[1, 2, 3],
+                             gridspec_kw={'width_ratios': [1, 2, 3]})
diff --git a/tutorials/provisional/mosaic.py b/tutorials/provisional/mosaic.py
@@ -219,12 +219,10 @@ def identify_axes(ax_dict, fontsize=48):
     bAc
     .d.
     """,
-    gridspec_kw={
-        # set the height ratios between the rows
-        "height_ratios": [1, 3.5, 1],
-        # set the width ratios between the columns
-        "width_ratios": [1, 3.5, 1],
-    },
+    # set the height ratios between the rows
+    height_ratios=[1, 3.5, 1],
+    # set the width ratios between the columns
+    width_ratios=[1, 3.5, 1],
 )
 identify_axes(axd)
 
@@ -301,7 +299,7 @@ def identify_axes(ax_dict, fontsize=48):
         ["main", "BLANK"],
     ],
     empty_sentinel="BLANK",
-    gridspec_kw={"width_ratios": [2, 1]},
+    width_ratios=[2, 1],
 )
 identify_axes(axd)