PNG to ICO Converter
Turn a square PNG into an .ico file that holds several icon sizes at once, from 16 px for a browser tab to 256 px for Windows. Transparent corners and edges stay transparent.
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
Upload a square PNG
Use artwork at least 256 × 256 px with a transparent background. Up to 20 PNGs per batch, 95 MB each.
- 2
Pick the icon sizes
Icon sizes starts at All sizes (16–256), the usual choice. Pick one size under Advanced settings only when a program asks for exactly that.
- 3
Convert and use the .ico
Press Convert to ICO, download the file and place it in your site root or point a Windows shortcut at it. Uploads are deleted after 30 minutes.
An ICO is a small container of icon images, not a single picture: one file can carry 16, 32, 48 and 256 px versions, and the system picks the one that fits.
Change PNG to ICO with several sizes in one file
The ICO format dates from Windows 1.0 in 1985, when icons were tiny bitmaps. Its trick is the directory at the start of the file, which lists every image inside along with its width and height. Windows Vista (2007) allowed those images to be stored as PNG, which is how a 256 × 256 icon with smooth transparency fits in a file small enough to load instantly.
Converting a PNG here builds that container for you. The source is scaled to each size, the alpha channel is kept so rounded corners and soft shadows look right on dark and light backgrounds, and everything is written into a single .ico. Start from artwork at 256 px or larger; scaling a 32 px PNG up to 256 only gives you a big blurry icon.
16 × 16 px
Browser tab
Tabs and bookmarks at standard pixel density
32 × 32 px
Tab on a high-DPI screen
Retina displays and 200% Windows scaling
48 × 48 px
Google search result
Google asks for a square favicon in multiples of 48 px
256 × 256 px
Windows Extra large icons
The largest image an ICO file can hold
PNG
Portable Network Graphics
PNG is a lossless raster format published in 1996 by the PNG Development Group and later standardised by the W3C and ISO. It keeps every pixel exactly, supports full alpha transparency and handles text, sharp edges and flat colours without artefacts. That precision makes it ideal for screenshots, logos, icons and interface graphics. The trade-off is size: photographs saved as PNG are often several times larger than the same photo as JPEG or WebP. All browsers, operating systems and editors open PNG files.
- Compression
- Lossless
- Transparency
- Yes
- Animation
- No
- Introduced
- 1996 · PNG Development Group
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
A PNG is a single picture at one size, while Windows and browsers want an .ico that bundles several sizes so each screen can pick the sharpest one; going from ICO back to PNG is only about extracting artwork.
Favicon or Windows icon: which sizes to put in the ICO
Browsers draw the tab icon at 16 px, or 32 px on high-DPI screens, and Google Search shows favicons from a 48 px base. Keep All sizes so one file covers all three.
- Save as
favicon.icoin the site root - Add a 180 × 180 PNG for the Apple touch icon separately
Windows chooses from 16 px in title bars and lists up to 256 px for the Extra large icons view and high-DPI desktops. A file missing 256 px looks soft at those sizes.
- Keep All sizes
- Check the icon on a dark taskbar as well as a light one
Some game launchers, server panels and old programs read only the first image or demand a fixed size. Pick 256, 128, 64, 32 or 16 px under Icon sizes to write a single-image ICO.
- Follow the size the program documents
- For a fixed 256 px icon see PNG to ICO 256x256
Preparing PNG artwork that still reads at 16 px
The favicon idea came from Internet Explorer 5 in 1999, which looked for a file named favicon.ico at the root of a site when someone bookmarked it. Other browsers copied the behavior, which is why a request for that exact path still appears in server logs today.
At 16 × 16 there are 256 pixels in total, so artwork has to be bold. Drop taglines and thin outlines, keep strong contrast against both light and dark browser themes, and leave a pixel of padding around the shape. Many brands use only the initial letter or symbol. If your logo exists as a vector file, convert it with SVG to ICO so every size is drawn from sharp outlines.
PNG to ICO questions
How do I change PNG to ICO for a website favicon?
Convert with All sizes selected, rename the result favicon.ico and upload it to the root folder of your site. Browsers request that path on their own, and you can also reference it with a link rel="icon" tag in the page head.
Why does my icon look blurry at 16 pixels?
Detailed artwork cannot survive a shrink to 16 × 16, where a letter or a thin line covers less than one pixel. Simplify the small sizes: a single bold letter or shape reads better in a browser tab than a full logo with text.
What happens if my PNG is not square?
Icons are square, so a wide logo either gets padded or squeezed depending on the program reading it. Crop or pad the PNG to a square canvas first so you decide where the empty space goes.
Can I use the .ico to change a folder icon in Windows?
Yes. Right-click the folder, open Properties > Customize > Change Icon and browse to the .ico. Desktop shortcuts work the same way through Properties > Change Icon.
Do I still need an ICO file if my site has PNG icons?
Modern browsers accept PNG and SVG icons declared in the page head, but some tools, feed readers and older browsers still request /favicon.ico directly. A small multi-size ICO there avoids 404 errors in your logs.