diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index 8be0013..d1e2208 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ Config/testthat/edition: 3
 RoxygenNote: 7.2.1
 Imports: 
     dplyr,
+    ggplot2,
+    ggrepel,
     magrittr,
     metacoder,
     purrr,
diff --git a/NAMESPACE b/NAMESPACE
index 5760bdb..e9aa359 100644
--- a/NAMESPACE
+++ b/NAMESPACE
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 # Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
 
 export("%>%")
+export(make_compare_mds)
+export(plot_compare_heatmap)
+export(plot_compare_mds)
 export(read_compare_csv)
 export(read_gather)
 export(read_taxonomy_annotate)
diff --git a/R/plot_compare.R b/R/plot_compare.R
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7385581
--- /dev/null
+++ b/R/plot_compare.R
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+#' Internal function to check if the sample name is a column or a rowname and move it to a rowname if it is a column.
+#'
+#' @param compare_df
+#'
+#' @return A tibble.
+#'
+#' @examples
+#' check_compare_df_sample_col_and_move_to_rowname(compare_df)
+check_compare_df_sample_col_and_move_to_rowname <- function(compare_df){
+  # check if compare tibble was read in with sample names as a column
+  if("sample" %in% colnames(compare_df)){
+    # move sample column to rownames
+    compare_df <- compare_df %>%
+      tibble::column_to_rownames("sample")
+  }
+  return(compare_df)
+}
+
+
+#' Perform an MDS analysis from a sourmash compare output and produce a tidy data.frame
+#'
+#' @param compare_df A tibble or data.frame produced by read_compare_csv() representing a (dis)similarity matrix output by sourmash compare.
+#'
+#' @return A data.frame.
+#' @export
+#'
+#' @examples
+#' make_compare_mds(compare_df)
+make_compare_mds <- function(compare_df){
+  # check if compare tibble was read in with sample names as a column
+  compare_df <- check_compare_df_sample_col_and_move_to_rowname(compare_df)
+
+  compare_mds <- compare_df %>%
+    as.matrix() %>%
+    dist() %>%
+    cmdscale() %>%
+    as.data.frame() %>%
+    dplyr::rename(MDS1 = V1, MDS2 = V2) %>%
+    tibble::rownames_to_column("sample")
+
+  return(compare_mds)
+}
+
+#' Plot an MDS data.frame produced from the output of sourmash compare
+#'
+#' @param compare_mds A data.frame produced using make_compare_mds()
+#' @param label Boolean controlling whether sample labels are added to the plot. Default TRUE plots labels.
+#'
+#' @return A ggplot2 plot.
+#' @export
+#'
+#' @examples
+#' plot_compare_mds(compare_mds)
+plot_compare_mds <- function(compare_mds, label = TRUE){
+  mds_plt <- ggplot2::ggplot(compare_mds, ggplot2::aes(x = MDS1, y = MDS2, label = sample)) +
+    ggplot2::geom_point() +
+    ggplot2::theme_classic()
+
+  if(label == TRUE){
+    mds_plt <- mds_plt +
+      ggrepel::geom_label_repel()
+  }
+
+  return(mds_plt)
+}
+
+#' Plot a heatmap from a tibble of sourmash compare results.
+#'
+#' @param compare_df A tibble or data.frame produced by read_compare_csv() representing a (dis)similarity matrix output by sourmash compare.
+#' @param ... Arguments passed to base::heatmap().
+#'
+#' @return A plot of sourmash compare results.
+#' @export
+#'
+#' @examples
+#' plot_compare_heatmap()
+plot_compare_heatmap <- function(compare_df, seed = 42, ...){
+  # set seed so the same visualization is produced each time the code is run
+  set.seed(seed = seed)
+
+  # check if compare tibble was read in with sample names as a column
+  compare_df <- check_compare_df_sample_col_and_move_to_rowname(compare_df)
+
+  compare_mat <- as.matrix(compare_df)
+
+  # use hclust() and dist() to calculate clusters
+  hc_rows <- hclust(dist(compare_mat), method = "single") # method single matches sourmash plot
+  hc_cols <- hclust(dist(t(compare_mat)), method = "single")
+
+  # plot the heatmap
+  heatmap(compare_mat,
+          Colv = as.dendrogram(hc_cols),
+          Rowv = as.dendrogram(hc_rows),
+          scale='none', ...)
+}
+
diff --git a/man/check_compare_df_sample_col_and_move_to_rowname.Rd b/man/check_compare_df_sample_col_and_move_to_rowname.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f4185b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/check_compare_df_sample_col_and_move_to_rowname.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/plot_compare.R
+\name{check_compare_df_sample_col_and_move_to_rowname}
+\alias{check_compare_df_sample_col_and_move_to_rowname}
+\title{Internal function to check if the sample name is a column or a rowname and move it to a rowname if it is a column.}
+\usage{
+check_compare_df_sample_col_and_move_to_rowname(compare_df)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{compare_df}{}
+}
+\value{
+A tibble.
+}
+\description{
+Internal function to check if the sample name is a column or a rowname and move it to a rowname if it is a column.
+}
+\examples{
+check_compare_df_sample_col_and_move_to_rowname(compare_df)
+}
diff --git a/man/make_compare_mds.Rd b/man/make_compare_mds.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a445444
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/make_compare_mds.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/plot_compare.R
+\name{make_compare_mds}
+\alias{make_compare_mds}
+\title{Perform an MDS analysis from a sourmash compare output and produce a tidy data.frame}
+\usage{
+make_compare_mds(compare_df)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{compare_df}{A tibble or data.frame produced by read_compare_csv() representing a (dis)similarity matrix output by sourmash compare.}
+}
+\value{
+A data.frame.
+}
+\description{
+Perform an MDS analysis from a sourmash compare output and produce a tidy data.frame
+}
+\examples{
+make_compare_mds(compare_df)
+}
diff --git a/man/plot_compare_heatmap.Rd b/man/plot_compare_heatmap.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2201fff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/plot_compare_heatmap.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/plot_compare.R
+\name{plot_compare_heatmap}
+\alias{plot_compare_heatmap}
+\title{Plot a heatmap from a tibble of sourmash compare results.}
+\usage{
+plot_compare_heatmap(compare_df, seed = 42, ...)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{compare_df}{A tibble or data.frame produced by read_compare_csv() representing a (dis)similarity matrix output by sourmash compare.}
+
+\item{...}{Arguments passed to base::heatmap().}
+}
+\value{
+A plot of sourmash compare results.
+}
+\description{
+Plot a heatmap from a tibble of sourmash compare results.
+}
+\examples{
+plot_compare_heatmap()
+}
diff --git a/man/plot_compare_mds.Rd b/man/plot_compare_mds.Rd
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ffa7e00
--- /dev/null
+++ b/man/plot_compare_mds.Rd
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
+% Please edit documentation in R/plot_compare.R
+\name{plot_compare_mds}
+\alias{plot_compare_mds}
+\title{Plot an MDS data.frame produced from the output of sourmash compare}
+\usage{
+plot_compare_mds(compare_mds, label = TRUE)
+}
+\arguments{
+\item{compare_mds}{A data.frame produced using make_compare_mds()}
+
+\item{label}{Boolean controlling whether sample labels are added to the plot. Default TRUE plots labels.}
+}
+\value{
+A ggplot2 plot.
+}
+\description{
+Plot an MDS data.frame produced from the output of sourmash compare
+}
+\examples{
+plot_compare_mds(compare_mds)
+}
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test-plot_compare.R b/tests/testthat/test-plot_compare.R
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f03a910
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/testthat/test-plot_compare.R
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+test_that("make_compare_mds outputs a data frame of the correct shape", {
+  mds <- make_compare_mds(read_compare_csv("comp_k31.csv"))
+  expect_equal(ncol(mds), 3)
+  expect_equal(nrow(mds), 6)
+})
+
+test_that("make_compare_mds calculates the correct position for one sample", {
+  mds <- make_compare_mds(read_compare_csv("comp_k31.csv"))
+  expect_equal(mds[1, 2], -0.37079668)
+  expect_equal(mds[1, 3], -0.26357615)
+})
+
+test_that("plot_compare_mds produces an object of class ggplot with correct data", {
+  mds <- make_compare_mds(read_compare_csv("comp_k31.csv"))
+  plt <- plot_compare_mds(mds)
+  expect_equal(class(plt)[2], "ggplot")
+  expect_equal(plt$data, mds)
+})
+
+test_that("plot_compare_mds label boolean behaves correctly by adding second layer", {
+  mds <- make_compare_mds(read_compare_csv("comp_k31.csv"))
+  plt_true <- plot_compare_mds(mds)
+  expect_equal(length(plt_true$layers), 2)
+  plt_false <- plot_compare_mds(mds, label = FALSE)
+  expect_equal(length(plt_false$layers), 1)
+})