PNG to ICO

PNG to ICO conversion here turns one PNG into a layered favicon.ico that holds 16, 32 and 48 pixel versions of your image. Drop the PNG in the box below and the ICO arrives in one ZIP with the rest of the icon set and a snippet to paste.

Drop an image here

or tap to choose one. PNG, JPG, WebP, or SVG.

A square image works best. Anything else is scaled to fit and padded, never cropped.

Manifest details

Convert PNG to ICO in four steps

To convert PNG to ICO, drop the PNG on the box above, look over the preview, check the 16 pixel version at its real size, then download the ZIP and take favicon.ico out of it. There is nothing to install and no account to make.

Transparency comes through untouched. A PNG with a see-through background gives an ICO with a see-through background, because nothing is flattened onto a colour. A PNG that is not square is scaled to fit and padded with transparency, never cropped, so the edges of your logo stay where you put them.

PNG to ICO converter with three sizes in one file

This PNG to ICO converter writes three layers into one file: 16, 32 and 48 pixels square. A single-size ICO is really one resized picture in a different wrapper; a layered ICO carries a separate version of the picture for each size, so the small one does not have to be shrunk again on the fly.

Look at the 16 pixel layer before you ship it. Fine lines and small lettering that read well at 512 pixels can turn to mush at 16, and the preview grid draws every file at its true pixel size so you can see that before anyone else does. If the small size is muddy, a simpler version of the mark usually fixes it.

What is an ICO file

An ICO file is an icon container: one .ico file can hold several square images of different sizes, and the size that fits the spot it is shown in gets used. favicon.ico is the traditional name for a site icon that sits at the root of a domain.

That is why turning a PNG into an ICO is more than renaming the file. The images have to be resized and packed into the container format, and a file that only has its extension changed is still a PNG inside.

How to make an ICO file from a JPG, WebP or SVG

To make an ICO file from a JPG, WebP or SVG, use the same box: it takes all four formats and builds the same layered favicon.ico from any of them. A JPG has no transparency, so its background comes through as it is; a WebP or PNG with alpha keeps it.

An SVG source also keeps your vector in the package as favicon.svg, passed through byte for byte, next to the ICO and the PNGs drawn from it.

PNG to ICO plus the rest of the favicon set

The ZIP holds more than the ICO, because a site usually needs more than one icon file: favicon-16.png and favicon-32.png, a 180 pixel apple-touch-icon.png, 192 and 512 pixel PNGs, a maskable 512 pixel icon, a site.webmanifest and head-snippet.html with the tags already written.

Take only favicon.ico if that is all you came for. If you want the whole set, upload the files to your site and paste the snippet into the head of your template; the filenames in the snippet match the files in the ZIP.

PNG to ICO questions

Is this PNG to ICO converter free?

Yes. The browser tool is free with no account, no card and no watermark, and your upload and the package are deleted on a short timer.

Does the ICO keep a transparent background?

Yes. Transparent pixels in the PNG stay transparent in every layer of the ICO, and in every PNG in the package.

What size PNG should I start from?

A square PNG of 512 pixels or more gives the cleanest set, because the largest file in the package is 512 pixels square. Smaller sources still work and are scaled up.

Can I convert ICO back to PNG here?

No, this tool goes one way, from an image to the icon set. The package already includes PNG versions at 16, 32, 180, 192 and 512 pixels, so you rarely need to go back.

More favicon converters

More favicon converters on this site, each one the same tool with the same package. Or go back to the free favicon generator.