diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py b/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py
index b6882826a17e..3d33a28ce923 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/font_manager.py
@@ -707,6 +707,12 @@ def __hash__(self):
              self.get_file())
         return hash(l)
 
+    def __eq__(self, other):
+        return hash(self) == hash(other)
+
+    def __ne__(self, other):
+        return hash(self) != hash(other)
+
     def __str__(self):
         return self.get_fontconfig_pattern()