PNG to Favicon (ICO)
Build a multi-size favicon.ico from a PNG or JPG logo
Your files stay with you. Conversion happens inside the browser; no file is ever uploaded to a server.
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How it works
Choose your logo — ideally a square PNG with a transparent background — pick the size set and press Build ICO. A 512x512 logo.png, for example, becomes a single favicon.ico holding three versions at 16, 32 and 48 pixels; the browser then takes the 16 for the tab and a larger one for bookmarks and the taskbar by itself. Put that file in the root directory of your site under the name favicon.ico and the job is done. A non-square image is not cropped at the edges: the proportions are kept, the picture is centred, and the leftover area is left transparent.
This tool is also known as favicon generator, png to ico, convert png to ico, ico converter, make a favicon, multi size favicon.
What is favicon?
A favicon is the small icon shown beside your site in the browser tab, in bookmarks, in history and in search results. It is displayed at sizes down to 16x16 pixels, so it has to be plain, recognisable and light on detail; an intricate logo simply stops being readable at that scale. Adding one does more than decorate: it makes your tab findable among a dozen others and stops the browser logging a 404 for the icon it goes looking for on its own.
What is ICO?
ICO is an icon container format from the Windows world: a single file holds the same icon at several sizes at once, typically 16x16, 32x32 and 48x48. The browser or the operating system picks whichever size it needs from inside the file, so the icon stays sharp at every scale instead of being resampled from one bitmap. The address /favicon.ico in a site's root directory is one of the web's oldest conventions, and a great many systems still probe it automatically.
What is the difference between an ICO and a PNG favicon?
Modern browsers accept a PNG favicon too; the difference is coverage. A PNG holds one size, so every size needs its own file and its own tag, whereas an ICO gathers them into a single file that also satisfies older browsers, search engine crawlers and the many tools that probe /favicon.ico on their own. The sturdiest setup uses both: a multi-size favicon.ico in the root directory, with a PNG set alongside it for modern pages. This tool produces the ICO half in one step.
Transparency and the quality of the source
A separate PNG is embedded inside the ICO for each size, so transparency survives. A JPG source, however, holds no transparency information at all: the icon then shows up as a filled box in dark-themed browsers. That is why a PNG with a clear background matters here.
If the source is smaller than the largest size you picked, it is scaled up, and scaling up invents no new detail — the icon simply goes soft. Use a source of at least 48 pixels for the standard set and at least 64 for the wide one.
Which size set to pick
The standard set is right for most sites: 16 pixels is used in the tab, 32 in bookmarks and the address bar, 48 in Windows shortcuts.
If you want the page weight as low as it goes, 16 + 32 is enough. If you expect people to pin the site to a desktop, take the wide set that also carries the 64 pixel version.
- Ordinary site → 16 + 32 + 48
- Lightest possible file → 16 + 32
- Desktop shortcuts matter → 16 + 32 + 48 + 64
Design for 16 pixels, not for the poster
An icon is judged at the size it is displayed, and that is usually a 16 pixel square. A wordmark, a thin outline or a detailed illustration turns into a smudge there; a single letter, a simple shape or a bold silhouette survives.
Look at the downloaded file at actual size before you publish it. If it is unreadable at 16 pixels, the fix belongs in the artwork, not in the size set.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I upload a non-square image?
It is neither stretched nor cropped: the proportions are kept, the picture is centred inside a square area, and the remaining edges are left transparent.
Do modern browsers read an ICO with PNG inside?
Yes. Embedding PNG data in an ICO has been supported since Windows Vista, and every current browser and operating system reads it.
I already use an SVG favicon — do I still need an ICO?
It is recommended. Many clients and bookmark systems ask for /favicon.ico directly, and those requests return 404 if no ICO sits in the root directory.
How large should the source image be?
At least as large as the biggest size you picked: 48 pixels for the standard set, 64 for the wide one. A smaller source is scaled up and looks blurred.
Will a big logo lose its detail at 16 pixels?
Going from 512 to 16 pixels is a 32-fold reduction, and a crude resize reads almost none of the source pixels, so the icon turns into a smudge. At the small sizes this tool resamples with a detail-preserving method (Lanczos), where each pixel of the icon is the weighted average of every source pixel that falls on that spot. Even then, hairlines and small lettering cannot survive 16 pixels: keep the icon thick and simple.