diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 67bff55..9a6cde3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -148,6 +148,7 @@ scalebar = ScaleBar(
         dimension="si-length",
         label=None,
         length_fraction=None,
+        thickness=None,
         height_fraction=None,
         width_fraction=None,
         location=None,
@@ -253,13 +254,20 @@ In the example below, the scale bar for a *length_fraction* of 0.25 and 0.5 is t
 
 ![length fraction](doc/argument_length_fraction.png)
 
+### thickness
+
+Width and unit of the scale bar (valid units: "saxis", i.e. relative to the short axis size;
+"laxis", i.e. relative to the long axis size; "font", i.e. relative to the font size).
+Default: `None`, value from matplotlibrc or `(0.01, "saxis")`.
+
 ### height_fraction
 
-**Deprecated**, use *width_fraction*.
+**Deprecated**, use *thickness* or *width_fraction*.
 
 ### width_fraction
 
 Width of the scale bar as a fraction of the subplot's height.
+*thickness* is a more general way to set this parameter.
 Default: `None`, value from matplotlibrc or `0.01`.
 
 ### location
@@ -567,4 +575,4 @@ Copyright (c) 2015-2025 Philippe Pinard
 [i56]: https://github.com/ppinard/matplotlib-scalebar/pull/56
 [i58]: https://github.com/ppinard/matplotlib-scalebar/issues/58
 [i61]: https://github.com/ppinard/matplotlib-scalebar/pull/61
-[i62]: https://github.com/ppinard/matplotlib-scalebar/pull/62
\ No newline at end of file
+[i62]: https://github.com/ppinard/matplotlib-scalebar/pull/62
diff --git a/matplotlib_scalebar/scalebar.py b/matplotlib_scalebar/scalebar.py
index efd5a5d..4db6a85 100644
--- a/matplotlib_scalebar/scalebar.py
+++ b/matplotlib_scalebar/scalebar.py
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 
 The following parameters are available for customization in the matplotlibrc:
     - scalebar.length_fraction
-    - scalebar.height_fraction
+    - scalebar.thickness
     - scalebar.location
     - scalebar.pad
     - scalebar.border_pad
@@ -39,8 +39,9 @@
 
 # Standard library modules.
 import bisect
-import warnings
 import dataclasses
+import numbers
+import warnings
 
 # Third party modules.
 import matplotlib
@@ -61,6 +62,7 @@
     AnchoredOffsetbox,
 )
 from matplotlib.patches import Rectangle
+from matplotlib.transforms import IdentityTransform, blended_transform_factory
 
 # Local modules.
 from matplotlib_scalebar.dimension import (
@@ -96,10 +98,19 @@ def _validate_legend_loc(loc):
     return loc
 
 
+def _validate_dim(dim):
+    if (len(dim) == 2
+            and isinstance(dim[0], numbers.Real)
+            and dim[1] in ["saxis", "laxis", "font"]):
+        return dim
+    else:
+        raise ValueError("Not a valid dimension")
+
+
 defaultParams.update(
     {
         "scalebar.length_fraction": [0.2, validate_float],
-        "scalebar.width_fraction": [0.01, validate_float],
+        "scalebar.thickness": [(0.01, "saxis"), _validate_dim],
         "scalebar.location": ["upper right", _validate_legend_loc],
         "scalebar.pad": [0.2, validate_float],
         "scalebar.border_pad": [0.1, validate_float],
@@ -177,6 +188,7 @@ def __init__(
         dimension="si-length",
         label=None,
         length_fraction=None,
+        thickness=None,
         height_fraction=None,
         width_fraction=None,
         location=None,
@@ -242,9 +254,15 @@ def __init__(
             This argument is ignored if a *fixed_value* is specified.
         :type length_fraction: :class:`float`
 
-        :arg width_fraction: width of the scale bar as a fraction of the
-            axes's height (default: rcParams['scalebar.width_fraction'] or ``0.01``)
-        :type width_fraction: :class:`float`
+        :arg thickness: thickness of the scale bar, as a ``(value, unit)`` pair.
+            Valid units are
+                * "laxis": value is relative to the size of the parent axes in the
+                  "long" direction.
+                * "saxis": value is relative to the size of the parent axes in the
+                  "short" direction.
+                * "font": value is relative to the label fontsize.
+            (default: rcParams['scalebar.thickness'] or ``(0.01, "saxis")``)
+        :type thickness: ``tuple[float, str]``
 
         :arg location: a location code (same as legend)
             (default: rcParams['scalebar.location'] or ``upper right``)
@@ -347,6 +365,12 @@ def __init__(
             )
             scale_formatter = scale_formatter or label_formatter
 
+        if width_fraction is not None:
+            if thickness is not None:
+                warnings.warn("Ignoring 'width_fraction', as 'thickness' is also set")
+            else:
+                thickness = (width_fraction, "saxis")
+
         if (
             loc is not None
             and location is not None
@@ -359,7 +383,7 @@ def __init__(
         self.units = units
         self.label = label
         self.length_fraction = length_fraction
-        self.width_fraction = width_fraction
+        self.thickness = thickness
         self.location = location or loc
         self.pad = pad
         self.border_pad = border_pad
@@ -433,7 +457,7 @@ def _get_value(attr, default):
             return value
 
         length_fraction = _get_value("length_fraction", 0.2)
-        width_fraction = _get_value("width_fraction", 0.01)
+        thickness_value, thickness_unit = _get_value("thickness", (0.01, "saxis"))
         location = _get_value("location", "upper right")
         if isinstance(location, str):
             location = self._LOCATIONS[location.lower()]
@@ -486,14 +510,29 @@ def _get_value(attr, default):
 
         scale_text = self.scale_formatter(value, self.dimension.to_latex(units))
 
-        width_px = abs(ylim[1] - ylim[0]) * width_fraction
+        if thickness_unit == "saxis":
+            thickness = thickness_value
+            transform = (ax.get_xaxis_transform()
+                         if rotation == "horizontal" else
+                         ax.get_yaxis_transform())
+        elif thickness_unit == "laxis":
+            thickness = thickness_value
+            transform = (ax.get_yaxis_transform()
+                         if rotation == "horizontal" else
+                         ax.get_xaxis_transform())
+        elif thickness_unit == "font":
+            thickness = (font_properties.get_size() / 72 * thickness_value)
+            transform = (
+                blended_transform_factory(ax.transData, ax.figure.dpi_scale_trans)
+                if rotation == "horizontal" else
+                blended_transform_factory(ax.figure.dpi_scale_trans, ax.transData))
 
         # Create scale bar
         if rotation == "horizontal":
             scale_rect = Rectangle(
                 (0, 0),
                 length_px,
-                width_px,
+                thickness,
                 fill=True,
                 facecolor=color,
                 edgecolor="none",
@@ -501,14 +540,14 @@ def _get_value(attr, default):
         else:
             scale_rect = Rectangle(
                 (0, 0),
-                width_px,
+                thickness,
                 length_px,
                 fill=True,
                 facecolor=color,
                 edgecolor="none",
             )
 
-        scale_bar_box = AuxTransformBox(ax.transData)
+        scale_bar_box = AuxTransformBox(transform)
         scale_bar_box.add_artist(scale_rect)
 
         # Create scale text
@@ -627,22 +666,37 @@ def set_length_fraction(self, fraction):
 
     length_fraction = property(get_length_fraction, set_length_fraction)
 
+    def get_thickness(self):
+        return self._thickness
+
+    def set_thickness(self, thickness):
+        if thickness is not None:
+            _validate_dim(thickness)
+        self._thickness = thickness
+
+    thickness = property(get_thickness, set_thickness)
+
     def get_width_fraction(self):
-        return self._width_fraction
+        if self._thickness is None:
+            return None
+        elif self._thickness[1] == "saxis":
+            return self._thickness[0]
+        else:
+            raise ValueError(f"thickness ({self._thickness}) is not a width fraction")
 
     def set_width_fraction(self, fraction):
         if fraction is not None:
             fraction = float(fraction)
             if fraction <= 0.0 or fraction > 1.0:
                 raise ValueError("Width fraction must be between [0.0, 1.0]")
-        self._width_fraction = fraction
+        self._thickness = (fraction, "saxis")
 
     width_fraction = property(get_width_fraction, set_width_fraction)
 
     def get_height_fraction(self):
         warnings.warn(
             "The get_height_fraction method is deprecated. "
-            "Use get_width_fraction instead.",
+            "Use get_thickness instead.",
             DeprecationWarning,
         )
         return self.width_fraction
@@ -650,7 +704,7 @@ def get_height_fraction(self):
     def set_height_fraction(self, fraction):
         warnings.warn(
             "The set_height_fraction method is deprecated. "
-            "Use set_width_fraction instead.",
+            "Use set_thickness instead.",
             DeprecationWarning,
         )
         self.width_fraction = fraction
diff --git a/tests/test_scalebar.py b/tests/test_scalebar.py
index 1093296..7c6e776 100644
--- a/tests/test_scalebar.py
+++ b/tests/test_scalebar.py
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ def test_mpl_rcParams_update():
 
     params = {
         "scalebar.length_fraction": 0.2,
-        "scalebar.width_fraction": 0.01,
+        "scalebar.thickness": (0.01, "saxis"),
         "scalebar.location": "upper right",
         "scalebar.pad": 0.2,
         "scalebar.border_pad": 0.1,
@@ -125,6 +125,45 @@ def test_scalebar_height_fraction(scalebar):
         scalebar.set_height_fraction(1.1)
 
 
+def test_scalebar_thickness_width_fraction(scalebar):
+    assert scalebar.get_thickness() is None
+    assert scalebar.thickness is None
+    assert scalebar.get_width_fraction() is None
+    assert scalebar.width_fraction is None
+
+    scalebar.set_width_fraction(0.2)
+    assert scalebar.get_width_fraction() == pytest.approx(0.2, abs=1e-2)
+    assert scalebar.width_fraction == pytest.approx(0.2, abs=1e-2)
+    assert scalebar.get_thickness() == (0.2, "saxis")
+    assert scalebar.thickness == (0.2, "saxis")
+
+    scalebar.thickness = (0.4, "saxis")
+    assert scalebar.get_width_fraction() == pytest.approx(0.4, abs=1e-2)
+    assert scalebar.width_fraction == pytest.approx(0.4, abs=1e-2)
+    assert scalebar.get_thickness() == (0.4, "saxis")
+    assert scalebar.thickness == (0.4, "saxis")
+
+    scalebar.width_fraction = 0.1
+    assert scalebar.get_width_fraction() == pytest.approx(0.1, abs=1e-2)
+    assert scalebar.width_fraction == pytest.approx(0.1, abs=1e-2)
+    assert scalebar.get_thickness() == (0.1, "saxis")
+    assert scalebar.thickness == (0.1, "saxis")
+
+    scalebar.set_thickness((0.3, "font"))
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        scalebar.get_width_fraction()
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        scalebar.width_fraction
+    assert scalebar.get_thickness() == (0.3, "font")
+    assert scalebar.thickness == (0.3, "font")
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        scalebar.set_width_fraction(0.0)
+
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        scalebar.set_width_fraction(1.1)
+
+
 def test_scalebar_location(scalebar):
     assert scalebar.get_location() is None
     assert scalebar.location is None