Convert PNG to ICO
Make a favicon or a Windows icon from any picture, with every size in one file.
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How it works
Add your images
Drag and drop, paste, or pick files. They upload over an encrypted connection.
Pick a quality or a target size
Use the quality slider, or tell it exactly how many KB or MB you need.
Download
Save each file, or grab them all at once as a ZIP.
ICO is the icon format of Windows and the classic format for a website's favicon. Unlike an ordinary picture, one ICO file holds several versions of the same image at different sizes, so that a browser tab, a bookmark bar, a desktop shortcut and a high-resolution taskbar each get a version drawn for them instead of one picture scaled badly.
Upload a PNG, JPG, WebP, SVG, PSD or almost any other image and the converter writes an icon with the image at 16, 32, 48, 64, 128 and 256 pixels. A size larger than your picture is left out rather than enlarged, because blown-up icons look soft. Each size is stored as a lossless PNG inside the file, which every current browser and every version of Windows since Vista reads.
Icons are square. A picture that is not square is centred and the space beside it stays transparent, so nothing is stretched or cut off; to fill the square instead, pick the 1:1 crop in the editor first. Transparency in a PNG or WebP is kept as it is. For the sharpest small sizes, start from a simple, bold image of at least 256 pixels: fine detail disappears at 16 pixels whatever the tool. The upload is encrypted, the icon is built on our own servers, and both are gone within one hour.
What a website needs besides favicon.ico
The ICO file is the fallback every browser knows how to find, and for a small site it may be all you need. A complete set has three more pieces. A PNG of 180 by 180 pixels, declared as the apple-touch-icon, is what iPhones and iPads use when someone adds your site to the home screen. PNGs of 192 and 512 pixels, listed in the web app manifest, do the same job on Android. And an SVG icon, if your logo exists as one, gives current browsers a version that stays sharp at any size.
The PNG sizes are quick to make with the resize tool on this site. Start each one from the same square original so the set matches.
Designing for sixteen pixels
A browser tab shows your icon at 16 pixels, sometimes 32. A full logo with a wordmark turns into grey dust at that size. Use a single letter or the simplest element of the logo, thicken its strokes, and let it fill the square almost to the edge, since any margin shrinks the mark further. Give it strong contrast, and remember that tab bars are light for some visitors and dark for others: a black mark on transparency vanishes in dark mode, so put it on a coloured tile or give it a light outline.
Icons for Windows shortcuts and folders
The same file works on the desktop. To change the icon of a shortcut in Windows, open its Properties, choose Change Icon and browse to the .ico; folders have the option under the Customise tab. Windows picks the stored size that suits the view, from 16 pixels in a list to 256 in the largest tile view, which is why it matters that all the sizes are in one file. Keep the .ico in a place that will not move, because the shortcut stores a link to the file and not a copy of it.
Frequently asked questions
Which sizes are inside the ICO file?
16, 32, 48, 64, 128 and 256 pixels, leaving out any size larger than your picture.
How do I use it as a favicon?
Name the file favicon.ico and put it in the top folder of your website. Browsers look for it there on their own.
Is transparency kept?
Yes. Transparent areas of a PNG or WebP stay transparent in every size of the icon.
My picture is not square. What happens?
It is centred on a transparent square. Choose the 1:1 crop in the editor if you want it to fill the icon.
I replaced the favicon and the browser still shows the old one. Why?
Browsers cache favicons stubbornly. Open the icon's own address and reload it, or clear the cache. On a live site, adding a version to the link, such as favicon.ico?v=2, makes every visitor fetch the new file.
Can I turn an ICO back into a PNG?
Yes. Add the .ico file on the home page and choose PNG as the output format in the editor.