SVG to DWG Converter
Put a logo, a sign layout or an outline drawn in Inkscape or Illustrator into an AutoCAD drawing as real geometry. The SVG paths become polylines and splines you can snap to, offset and dimension.
CAD Converter
or drop DWG, DXF, DWF … 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.
Model space is the full drawing. All layouts exports each paper-space sheet as its own page, as set up in AutoCAD.
Fit to page scales the drawing to fill the sheet. Actual size keeps drawing units 1:1 (1 mm in the drawing = 1 mm on paper) and may span a larger page.
Same as source uses the size set in each layout. A1 and A0 are the usual plotter sheets for architectural drawings.
Auto turns the page to match the drawing's longer side.
Monochrome prints every line black, like plotting with a monochrome.ctb style — best for printed plans on white paper.
White suits printing. Black looks like the AutoCAD drawing area; transparent works for placing the drawing in other documents (not available in JPG).
300 DPI is print quality; 150 is enough for screens. At A1 and 600 DPI an image is 14,000 px wide, so higher values make very large files.
Only used when the input is a photo or scan (JPG, PNG). Outline draws the edges of shapes, good for logos and laser cutting; centreline draws single lines through strokes, good for scanned line drawings and plotters.
Pixels darker than this become lines. Raise it if faint lines are missing, lower it if background noise turns into shapes.
Higher values give fewer, smoother curves; lower values follow the pixels more closely but create more points.
How to use this tool
- 1
Upload the SVG files
Add up to 20 SVG files, 95 MB each. Convert text to paths in your editor first if the lettering must look exactly as designed.
- 2
Pick the AutoCAD version
AutoCAD version starts at AutoCAD 2018, which opens in every current release. Choose 2013, 2010 or an older format if the person receiving the file runs an older license.
- 3
Convert to DWG
Press Convert to DWG (AutoCAD) and download. In AutoCAD, run DIST on a known edge to confirm the size before you build on it.
Why AutoCAD users need SVG converted to DWG
Architects place a client's logo in a title block, shopfitters lay out signage on an elevation, and fabricators receive a decorative screen pattern drawn by a designer. In each case the artwork exists as SVG, the drawing lives in DWG, and the two programs have no direct bridge. Design apps cannot write DWG because Autodesk has never published the format; the Open Design Alliance, formed in 1998, reverse-engineered it, and most non-Autodesk software reads DWG through that work.
SVG, a W3C Recommendation since 2001, describes shapes as paths built from straight lines and cubic or quadratic Bézier curves. DWG has its own vocabulary: lines, arcs, lightweight polylines, splines, circles and hatches. Converting means translating one vocabulary into the other, and the table below shows how each SVG element usually lands.
SVG
Scalable Vector Graphics
SVG is an XML-based vector format standardised by the W3C in 2001. Instead of pixels it describes shapes, paths and text, so it stays sharp at any size and is usually tiny for logos and icons. It supports transparency, CSS styling, scripting and animation, and every browser renders it natively. SVG is unsuitable for photographs, and complex illustrations can become slow to render. Illustrator, Inkscape, Figma and browsers can open and edit it.
- Compression
- –
- Transparency
- Yes
- Animation
- Yes
- Introduced
- 2001 · W3C
DWG
AutoCAD Drawing
DWG is the native file format of Autodesk AutoCAD, used since 1982. It stores 2D and 3D design data, including geometry, layers, dimensions, blocks and metadata, and is the standard for architecture, engineering and construction drawings. The format is proprietary and changes between AutoCAD versions, so older software may not open newer files. Viewing requires AutoCAD, a free viewer such as DWG TrueView, or a compatible CAD program.
- Compression
- –
- Transparency
- –
- Animation
- –
- Introduced
- 1982 · Autodesk
SVG to DWG is how a logo, sign layout or outline drawn in a design app enters an AutoCAD project as editable polylines, since most AutoCAD releases cannot import SVG and designers' tools cannot save DWG.
What SVG paths, text and fills become in DWG
| In the SVG | In the DWG | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Path with straight segments | Polyline (LWPOLYLINE) | Closed paths stay closed, so OFFSET and AREA work |
| Path with Bézier curves | Spline | Use PEDIT or SPLINEDIT if a CAM program needs arcs |
| rect, polygon | Closed polyline | Rounded corners arrive as curved segments |
| circle, ellipse | Circle, ellipse | Exact geometry, center snaps work |
| text | Text or outlines | Unknown fonts are substituted; outline text first |
| Fill, gradient, opacity | Not kept as color | Add a hatch in AutoCAD if needed |
| Embedded bitmap | Not traced | Vectorize it separately as PNG or JPG to DWG |
Prepare the SVG, then check the DWG
In Inkscape or Illustrator
- Convert text to paths (Object to Path, Create Outlines)
- Ungroup clipped artwork and release clipping masks
- Set the document units to mm or in
- Delete hidden layers and background rectangles
In AutoCAD after opening
- Run UNITS and confirm the insertion units
- Measure a known edge with DIST
- Fix scale with SCALE → Reference
- Join loose segments with JOIN
Keep Scale on Actual size (1:1) for anything that will be built or cut; Fit to page suits a reference image dropped into a sheet. The AutoCAD version choice matters most for people outside your office: a 2018-format DWG is read by AutoCAD 2018 and every later release, while a contractor on AutoCAD 2012 needs the 2010 format.
If you have the logo only as a bitmap, PNG to DWG traces it into polylines first. For the opposite direction, DXF to SVG brings CAD outlines back into design software.
SVG to DWG questions
Can AutoCAD open an SVG file directly?
Most AutoCAD releases have no SVG import. The usual workaround is to print the SVG to PDF and use PDFIMPORT, added in AutoCAD 2017, which often brings in curves as many short segments. Converting the SVG to DWG gives cleaner polylines and splines in one step.
Should I convert my SVG to DWG or to DXF?
DWG if the file goes to an AutoCAD user who will keep working on it; it is AutoCAD's native format. DXF if it goes to a laser cutter, CNC router or a program other than AutoCAD; SVG to DXF can save Release 12 for older machines.
My SVG is 96 units wide. How big will it be in AutoCAD?
If the SVG states its size in inches or millimeters, that size is kept. If it gives bare numbers, each one is a CSS pixel of 1/96 inch, so 96 units become 1 inch, or 25.4 mm in a metric drawing. Use SCALE with the Reference option in AutoCAD to correct any mismatch in one move.
Why are my SVG fills just outlines in AutoCAD?
CAD drawings are made of lines; color fills are an extra entity, the hatch. Outlines are what fabrication and drafting need, so the converter gives priority to the boundaries. Add a solid hatch in AutoCAD with HATCH if you need filled areas.
Can Inkscape save DWG itself?
No. Inkscape saves DXF in its Release 12 and Release 14 variants, but it has no DWG export. Open-source programs that write DWG are rare because Autodesk has never published the format.
| SVG to DXF | PNG to DWG | JPG to DWG |
| Image to DWG | DWG to DXF | CAD converter |