Is the PNG to ICO converter free?

Yes, completely free. No account, no subscription, and no watermarks are added to converted files.

How do I convert PNG to ICO?

Upload your PNG images into the drop zone, adjust the quality slider if needed, then click "Convert all to ICO". Download results individually or as a ZIP.

Are my images stored on the server?

Converted files are held temporarily on the server for download, then automatically deleted. No images are retained beyond your session.

What sizes does the ICO file include?

The converter produces an ICO file containing multiple embedded sizes: 16x16, 32x32, 48x48, and 256x256 pixels. Windows and browsers select the appropriate size based on display context. The 16x16 is used for browser tabs, the 32x32 for desktop shortcuts, and the 256x256 for high-DPI and large-icon displays.

Can I use the ICO file directly as a website favicon?

Yes. Upload the ICO file to your web root as favicon.ico and add to your HTML head. Browsers will use the correct embedded size for each context. For modern browsers, SVG favicons or PNG favicons at specific sizes (16x16, 32x32) are also valid and avoid the multi-size complexity that ICO was originally designed to solve.

What PNG size should I start from for the best ICO output?

Start from a PNG that is at least 256x256 pixels. The converter scales down from your source to generate the smaller embedded sizes. Starting too small (below 64x64) means the downscaling has less data to work with and the 16x16 and 32x32 sizes may look blurry or lose fine detail. A clean, centered design on a square canvas produces the best results across all sizes.

Will transparency from my PNG carry into the ICO file?

Yes. The ICO format supports transparency and transparent PNG sources produce ICO files with the background preserved as transparent. This is the standard approach for favicons, where the icon needs to appear correctly on both light and dark browser chrome without a white or colored background box around it.

Can I convert a logo or photo to ICO, or only simple icons?

You can convert any PNG, but logos and photos work better as favicons when simplified first. At 16x16 pixels, fine detail, text, and complex gradients become unreadable. The most effective favicons use a single bold symbol, monogram, or simplified logomark that reads clearly at small sizes. Complex images do not fail to convert; they just often look unclear or noisy at the sizes browsers actually display.

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PNG to ICO Converter

PNG ICO

Convert up to 5 PNG images to ICO — drag, drop, download.

Last updated July 6, 2026

Drop PNG images here

or click to browse · up to 5 files · max 20 MB each

About PNG → ICO conversion

What is PNG?

PNG is a lossless image format that supports full transparency (alpha channel). Every pixel is preserved exactly, making it the preferred choice for logos, UI graphics, screenshots, and any image with sharp edges or flat areas of colour.

What is ICO?

ICO is the image format used for website favicons and Windows application icons. A single ICO file can contain multiple image sizes so the OS or browser picks the best fit automatically.

About PNG

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) was created in 1996 as a patent-free, lossless replacement for the GIF format. It stores every pixel with perfect accuracy — no compression artifacts, no quality degradation on re-save — making it the standard for logos, icons, UI screenshots, charts, diagrams, and any image where pixel-perfect fidelity is more important than file size.

Transparency support

PNG supports full alpha channel transparency, meaning each pixel can range from fully opaque to fully transparent (with all gradations in between). This lets logos and icons sit cleanly on any background color without a white box or halo around the edges. JPEG has no transparency support at all; for any web image that needs a transparent background, PNG is the standard choice. WEBP and AVIF also support transparency, with smaller file sizes — but PNG remains the most universally compatible transparent-background format.

Lossless compression

PNG uses DEFLATE, a lossless compression algorithm. Every save produces bit-for-bit identical output, and no detail is ever discarded. For images with large flat areas of color, sharp geometric edges, and text, PNG compression is very efficient — a flat-color logo in PNG is often smaller than the same image as a maximum-quality JPEG. For photographs with complex color gradients, PNG files are large because lossless compression cannot discard the tonal variation; JPEG or WEBP is a better choice for photographic content.

PNG on the web

All browsers support PNG natively. It is the correct format for screenshots, UI mockups, logos, icons, product diagrams, and any image that must remain crisp and color-accurate after export. For web delivery where file size matters and transparency is not required, WEBP offers 25–35% smaller files. For transparent images on modern browsers, WEBP or AVIF are more efficient alternatives — but PNG remains the universal fallback that works in every context, including email, desktop software, and print production workflows.

PNG to ICO produces a favicon-ready file from your existing logo or icon artwork. ICO is the container format that embeds multiple image sizes into a single file, letting Windows and browsers pick the right size for each display context without you maintaining separate image files.

The practical constraint for this conversion is not technical. It is visual. At 16x16 pixels, which is the size a browser tab shows your favicon, fine detail disappears. Text becomes illegible. Multi-element logos collapse into noise. The images that work best are designs built to read as a single mark at small sizes: a letterform, a simple icon, or an abstracted version of a broader logo. If you are converting a full-width rectangular banner, the crop and scale-down may not produce the result you expect. Start from a square artwork file centered on the core symbol, and the output will be significantly better across all embedded sizes.

When PNG to ICO is the right conversion

Creating a favicon.ico for a website from an existing logo or icon in PNG format
Generating a Windows application icon from design artwork that exists as a PNG
Building a multi-resolution ICO from a single high-resolution source image
Replacing an existing low-quality favicon with a properly sized multi-resolution ICO

ICO to PNG (extract icon frames) · SVG to PNG (vector source for ICO conversion)

When to convert PNG to ICO

Creating a favicon.ico for a website or web application: A web developer finishes a logo in Figma and exports it as a 32×32 PNG. Converting to ICO and uploading it to the domain root as favicon.ico ensures the browser tab icon appears in older browsers, RSS readers, and bookmark managers that look for favicon.ico at the root rather than reading a link rel="icon" tag. A separate high-resolution PNG linked in the head handles the modern high-DPI presentation.
Packaging an icon for a Windows desktop application: An Electron developer building a cross-platform desktop application needs a Windows-compatible icon file. The application icon path specified in the Electron builder configuration requires ICO format for the Windows installer, taskbar button, and file association entry. Converting the app's 256×256 PNG logo to ICO produces the file that Windows uses in the Start menu, task switcher, and file Explorer listing.
Creating a browser extension icon: Chrome, Firefox, and Edge extensions declare icons in manifest.json. The manifest accepts PNG for most icon fields, but some legacy build workflows and extension packaging pipelines require ICO. Converting the source PNG the designer produced to ICO gives the extension developer the format the build system needs without opening a dedicated icon editor or installing conversion software locally.
Windows screensaver and system tool icon packaging: System utilities, screensavers, installer packages, and Windows service applications use ICO for their system tray icons, Control Panel applet appearances, and executable file icons visible in File Explorer. A developer building a Windows system tool converts their PNG logo to ICO during the pre-distribution packaging step before compiling or wrapping with NSIS, Inno Setup, or WiX Toolset.

PNG to ICO — frequently asked questions

What PNG size should I use when creating a favicon?

32×32 pixels covers the most contexts: browser tabs on standard and high-DPI displays, bookmarks, and legacy favicon.ico fallback lookups. For a favicon.ico, resize your PNG to 32×32 before converting. For the separate high-resolution icon linked via link rel="icon", a 192×192 PNG is a good base that scales cleanly on any device.

Can this converter produce a multi-resolution ICO with several sizes in one file?

No. This converter produces a single-frame ICO at the resolution of the input PNG. A multi-resolution ICO containing 16×16, 32×32, 48×48, and 256×256 frames in one file requires a dedicated multi-frame ICO builder. Convert each PNG size separately, then merge them with a multi-frame ICO tool such as ResourceHacker, or use a build-time icon tool in your IDE or application build pipeline.

Does transparency in my PNG survive the ICO conversion?

Yes. A 32-bit RGBA PNG with an alpha channel produces a 32-bit ICO with per-pixel alpha transparency. Modern Windows versions (Vista and later) and all current browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) render 32-bit ICO transparency correctly — the icon sits cleanly on any background without a white box or halo artifact.

Will the favicon appear on iPhone and Android home screen shortcuts?

ICO is a Windows-specific format. iPhone home screen shortcuts require a 180×180 PNG declared via link rel="apple-touch-icon". Android PWA shortcuts use the web manifest icons array, which also expects PNG. For home screen icons on mobile platforms, produce PNG files at the correct dimensions separately — ICO is not used by Apple or Android home screen rendering.

Is this tool free?

Yes. No account required, no watermark on the output, no usage cap beyond the 20 MB per-file technical limit.

Also see: ICO to PNG, SVG to PNG, Compress Image.

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