Image to ICO Converter
Make a favicon.ico or a Windows icon from whatever picture you have: a logo PNG, an SVG from your designer, a JPG from a brand kit or even a phone photo. The output holds several sizes. Below: which source works best and which other icon files each platform expects.
Image Converter
or drop JPG, JPEG, JPE … files here ·
Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes
Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.
85 keeps photos visually identical to the original. Lower it only when you need a smaller file.
JPG, BMP and EPS have no transparency. Transparent pixels are filled with this color.
Hex color used behind transparent pixels, e.g. #FFFFFF.
This format holds a single image. Choose GIF or WebP output if you want to keep the animation.
A multi-size icon contains several resolutions in one file; browsers and operating systems pick the one they need.
Keep the original dimensions, or enter one side and the aspect ratio is kept.
Pixels for the side you chose above.
Percentage of the original dimensions.
sRGB is right for screens and the web. Keep the original for print workflows; grayscale discards color.
Metadata only, 0 keeps the original value. Printers and some portals read this number; it does not change pixel dimensions.
How to use this tool
- 1
Pick the cleanest source you have
Upload the image you want as the icon, ideally a square logo or symbol at 256 × 256 px or larger.
- 2
Leave Icon sizes on All
Under Advanced settings, Icon sizes starts at All sizes (16–256). Pick a single size only if a program asks for exactly one.
- 3
Convert and test
Press Convert to ICO, download the file and look at it in a browser tab or on the desktop before you publish it.
How do I turn an image into an ICO icon?
Upload a square image of at least 256 × 256 px, keep Icon sizes on All sizes (16–256) and press Convert to ICO. You get one file holding 16, 32, 64, 128 and 256 px versions, ready to use as favicon.ico or as a Windows shortcut icon.
Image to ICO: which source picture to start from
ICO is Microsoft's icon container, as old as Windows itself. It does not store one picture but a small directory of them, and since Windows Vista the largest entry, 256 px, may be PNG-compressed. Browsers adopted the format in 1999, when Internet Explorer 5 began requesting /favicon.ico from every site.
Because the converter scales your picture down to as little as 16 px, the source decides the result far more than any setting. Rank what you have before you upload, and crop it square first if it is wide; the crop image tool sets a 1:1 frame in a few seconds.
Vector logo (SVG, EPS, AI)
Rasterized fresh at every size, so edges stay crisp. Best choice when your designer can send one.
Transparent PNG or WebP
Keeps the see-through background the tab bar shows through. Start from 256 px or more.
JPG, HEIC or a screenshot
Works, but the square background travels with it. Fill or crop it so the corners look deliberate.
Where each platform looks for its icon file
32 × 32 px
favicon.ico (browser tab)
16 and 32 px are drawn in tabs and bookmarks; the ICO from this page covers both
256 × 256 px
Windows shortcut or .exe
Large icon views and high-DPI screens pick the 256 px entry
180 × 180 px
apple-touch-icon.png
PNG, not ICO; used when someone adds the site to an iPhone home screen
512 × 512 px
Web app manifest icon
PNG listed in manifest.json, alongside a 192 px version, for installable web apps
ANY I
Any image
This tool accepts common image formats, including JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, GIF, BMP and TIFF. The format is detected automatically from the file, so you do not need to know what kind of image you have.
ICO
Windows icon
ICO is the Microsoft icon format used for Windows program icons and website favicons. One .ico file can contain several images at different sizes, such as 16×16, 32×32, 48×48 and 256×256 pixels, so the system can pick the best fit. Each image can be stored as a bitmap or as PNG data and supports full alpha transparency. ICO is not meant for photos or large artwork. Browsers, Windows and most icon editors can read it.
- Compression
- Lossless
- Transparency
- Yes
- Animation
- No
- Introduced
- Microsoft
People convert an arbitrary image to ICO because a browser tab, a Windows shortcut or an installer expects one .ico file and the only artwork at hand is a logo, a screenshot or a photo in some other format; extracting a PNG from an ICO is the reverse, artwork recovery.
The 16 px legibility test before you convert to ICO
At 16 × 16 px an icon has 256 pixels in total. A full wordmark becomes a gray smear; a single bold letter or symbol survives. Before converting, shrink your source to 16 px in any viewer and ask whether you would recognize it in a row of 30 open tabs.
Contrast matters as much as shape. Tabs sit on light and dark browser themes, so a black logo on a transparent background can vanish in dark mode. A thin light outline or a solid rounded square behind the symbol keeps it visible on both. For macOS app bundles you need ICNS instead; PNG to ICNS builds that file from the same artwork.
Image to ICO questions
Which image formats can become an ICO on this page?
Any image the converter reads: PNG, JPG, SVG, WebP, AVIF, HEIC, GIF, BMP, TIFF, PSD and camera RAW among them. A transparent PNG or an SVG gives the cleanest edges; a JPG works but brings its rectangular background along.
Is favicon.ico enough, or do I need other icon files too?
The .ico covers browser tabs and bookmarks everywhere. iPhones and iPads look for a 180 × 180 px PNG named apple-touch-icon, and Chrome only offers to install a site as an app when its web manifest lists 192 and 512 px PNG icons.
Does Windows need a 48 px image inside the ICO?
File Explorer's medium icon view draws icons at 48 px. When the file has no 48 px entry, Windows scales the next larger one, here the 64 px image, which usually looks fine for bold artwork. Fine line work can turn soft.
Can one ICO show different artwork at 16 px and at 256 px?
The format allows it, and system icons often use a simplified drawing for the smallest sizes. This converter scales one picture to every size. If your 16 px version needs its own drawing, export that artwork separately and convert it with Icon sizes set to 16 px.
How do I check that my icon reads at 16 px before converting?
Shrink it to 16 px in any editor and view it at 100%. If you cannot tell what it is, cut detail: drop the tagline, keep the initial or symbol, and thicken thin strokes.
Where should favicon.ico be uploaded on my website?
Put it in the site root so it answers at /favicon.ico, because browsers request that address even when no tag points to it. A link tag with rel="icon" in the page head lets you place it elsewhere.