# SVG to ICO

Turn an SVG into a .ico favicon with every size drawn fresh from the vector, so 256 is as sharp as 16. Free, and the file is never uploaded.

Canonical page: https://filetity.com/svg-to-ico

## Capabilities

- Free: Yes, with no watermark and no page limit.
- Account required: No. There is no account system.
- Processed on device: Yes. The file is read by your browser and never uploaded. There is no server to send it to.
- Formats: SVG in. ICO out, holding 16, 32, 48, 64, 128 and 256 pixel versions in one file.
- Limits: Every size is produced, because a vector has no resolution to run out of. An SVG that references a remote font or image is drawn without it, since the file is loaded inert for safety. Very complex artwork renders slowly at 256 but still renders.
- Mobile: Yes, on any modern mobile browser. Large files are limited by the memory the phone gives the browser.
- Offline: Yes. Nothing is downloaded to make this work, so it keeps working with no network connection once the page has loaded.

## Questions

### Why is SVG a better favicon source than PNG?

Because a vector has no resolution to run out of. Our PNG to ICO page deliberately leaves out any size larger than the image you gave it, since upscaling a 48 pixel PNG to 256 makes a blurry icon and shipping that is worse than shipping fewer sizes. An SVG has that limit removed: all six sizes are drawn from the artwork itself, so the 256 pixel version is as sharp as the 16.

### Do I still need an .ico if I have an SVG favicon?

Usually yes, and for one specific reason: a browser looking for favicon.ico at the root of your site does not read your HTML first. Modern browsers will use an SVG you declare in a link tag, but the bare request to /favicon.ico still happens, and so do bookmarks, Windows shortcuts and a long tail of readers and crawlers that only understand ICO. Ship both.

### Does it scale down or draw each size separately?

Each size is drawn separately. That is the whole point of starting from a vector. Rendering once at 256 and resampling would throw away the thing an SVG is for, and small icons are exactly where hinting and stroke snapping decide whether a shape reads at all.

### What happens to transparency?

It is kept, with a real alpha channel. The sizes are stored as PNG payloads inside the ICO container, which every Windows since Vista reads, and nothing is painted behind the artwork. An icon sits on a light desktop, a dark dock and a tab strip, and a white square behind a logo would show on two of the three.

## Related tools

- [PNG to ICO](https://filetity.com/png-to-ico): Turn a PNG into a .ico holding every size a favicon needs.
- [SVG to PNG](https://filetity.com/svg-to-png): Turn SVG drawings into PNG images at whatever size you need.
- [ICO to PNG](https://filetity.com/ico-to-png): Turn a Windows ICO icon into a PNG, transparency and all.