diff --git a/dvc/command/plots.py b/dvc/command/plots.py
index 8deb5aff2f..0e28162a11 100644
--- a/dvc/command/plots.py
+++ b/dvc/command/plots.py
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 import argparse
 import logging
-import os
 
 from dvc.command import completion
 from dvc.command.base import CmdBase, append_doc_link, fix_subparsers
@@ -23,6 +22,8 @@ def _props(self):
         return {k: v for k, v in props.items() if v is not None}
 
     def run(self):
+        from pathlib import Path
+
         if self.args.show_vega:
             if not self.args.targets:
                 logger.error("please specify a target for `--show-vega`")
@@ -41,20 +42,20 @@ def run(self):
                 logger.info(plots[target])
                 return 0
 
-            path = self.args.out or "plots.html"
-            path = os.path.join(os.getcwd(), path)
-
+            rel: str = self.args.out or "plots.html"
+            path = (Path.cwd() / rel).resolve()
             write(path, plots)
-            url = f"file://{path}"
         except DvcException:
             logger.exception("")
             return 1
 
+        assert path.is_absolute()  # as_uri throws ValueError if not absolute
+        url = path.as_uri()
         logger.info(url)
         if self.args.open:
             import webbrowser
 
-            opened = webbrowser.open(url)
+            opened = webbrowser.open(rel)
             if not opened:
                 logger.error("Failed to open. Please try opening it manually.")
                 return 1
diff --git a/tests/func/plots/test_show.py b/tests/func/plots/test_show.py
index f7c378a25a..59efab8187 100644
--- a/tests/func/plots/test_show.py
+++ b/tests/func/plots/test_show.py
@@ -708,7 +708,7 @@ def test_show_from_subdir(tmp_dir, dvc, caplog):
     with subdir.chdir(), caplog.at_level(logging.INFO, "dvc"):
         assert main(["plots", "show", "metric.json"]) == 0
 
-    assert f"file://{str(subdir)}" in caplog.text
+    assert subdir.as_uri() in caplog.text
     assert (subdir / "plots.html").exists()
 
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/command/test_plots.py b/tests/unit/command/test_plots.py
index a2f5b1cc60..510d699b1d 100644
--- a/tests/unit/command/test_plots.py
+++ b/tests/unit/command/test_plots.py
@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
 import logging
+import os
+import posixpath
+
+import pytest
 
 from dvc.cli import parse_args
 from dvc.command.plots import CmdPlotsDiff, CmdPlotsShow
@@ -116,12 +120,11 @@ def test_plots_diff_open(tmp_dir, dvc, mocker, caplog):
     )
 
     assert cmd.run() == 0
+    mocked_open.assert_called_once_with("plots.html")
 
-    expected_url = f"file://{tmp_dir / 'plots.html'}"
+    expected_url = posixpath.join(tmp_dir.as_uri(), "plots.html")
     assert expected_url in caplog.text
 
-    mocked_open.assert_called_once_with(expected_url)
-
 
 def test_plots_diff_open_failed(tmp_dir, dvc, mocker, caplog):
     mocked_open = mocker.patch("webbrowser.open", return_value=False)
@@ -132,12 +135,36 @@ def test_plots_diff_open_failed(tmp_dir, dvc, mocker, caplog):
     )
 
     assert cmd.run() == 1
-
-    expected_url = f"file://{tmp_dir / 'plots.html'}"
-    mocked_open.assert_called_once_with(expected_url)
+    mocked_open.assert_called_once_with("plots.html")
 
     error_message = "Failed to open. Please try opening it manually."
+    expected_url = posixpath.join(tmp_dir.as_uri(), "plots.html")
+
     assert caplog.record_tuples == [
         ("dvc.command.plots", logging.INFO, expected_url),
         ("dvc.command.plots", logging.ERROR, error_message),
     ]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "output, expected_url_path",
+    [
+        ("plots file with spaces.html", "plots%20file%20with%20spaces.html"),
+        (os.path.join("dir", "..", "plots.html"), "plots.html"),
+    ],
+    ids=["quote", "resolve"],
+)
+def test_plots_path_is_quoted_and_resolved_properly(
+    tmp_dir, dvc, mocker, caplog, output, expected_url_path
+):
+    cli_args = parse_args(
+        ["plots", "diff", "--targets", "datafile", "--out", output]
+    )
+    cmd = cli_args.func(cli_args)
+    mocker.patch(
+        "dvc.repo.plots.diff.diff", return_value={"datafile": "filledtemplate"}
+    )
+
+    assert cmd.run() == 0
+    expected_url = posixpath.join(tmp_dir.as_uri(), expected_url_path)
+    assert expected_url in caplog.text