Sometimes you need exactly one file: favicon.ico. A site builder asks for it, an old template expects it, or you simply want the classic favicon for a website without a folder full of extras. Converting PNG to ICO here gives you that one file, with the sizes browsers look for inside. It is an ICO converter with one job: changing your PNG to an icon your site can use.
This page opens the favicon generator with Make set to favicon.ico only and the 16, 32 and 48 pixel sizes picked. It runs in your browser, so your picture is never uploaded, and it is free, with no account and no watermark.
What an ICO file is
An ICO file is a small container that holds the same icon at several sizes. A browser opens it and takes the size that suits the place it is drawing, such as a 16 pixel tab or a sharper 32 pixel one on a high-density screen.
So converting a PNG to an icon here means one ICO file holding the sizes you pick, each stored as a PNG image. That keeps the file small and keeps your PNG's transparency at every size. The sizes are made from one square master copy of your picture, each resized on its own, so small sizes stay as clean as they can be.
Browsers look for /favicon.ico at the top of a site on their own, which is why this one file still matters, even next to newer PNG icons.
To make a good ICO file from a PNG, start with a picture that is square, or nearly, and at least as big as the largest size you pick. A PNG suits the job well, because it keeps transparency and sharp edges.
Need an ICO converter for the other direction, a PNG from an ICO file? Convert image opens ICO files and saves them as PNG.
How to convert PNG to ICO
- Press Select image and pick your PNG. JPG, WebP, AVIF, GIF and SVG pictures open too. HEIC is not among them, so make an iPhone photo into a PNG with HEIC to PNG or a JPG with HEIC to JPG before you start.
- Make is already on favicon.ico only. Check the Sizes in favicon.ico: 16, 32 and 48 are picked.
- If the picture is not square, choose Fit inside or Fill and crop under Fit to a square.
- Leave Background on Transparent, or pick a colour, and add Space around if the picture touches its edges.
- Press Make icons, then Save ICO.
Before you press the button, the Result line shows ICO, how many sizes are inside and the expected size of the file. The stage shows your icon at 16, 32, 48 and 180 px on a light tile and a dark one, and in a drawn browser tab.
On the done screen, the one row for favicon.ico lists the sizes inside it and its file size. The file is always called favicon.ico, the name browsers look for. Want different sizes after all? Change settings on the done screen takes you back with your picture and settings kept.
Choosing ICO sizes, from 16 to 256 pixels
Under Sizes in favicon.ico you can pick any of 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 128 and 256 pixels. Each one you add makes the file a little bigger.
| Sizes | Add them when |
|---|---|
| 16 and 32 | Always: browser tabs and bookmarks, on normal and high-density screens |
| 48 | A little extra room for places that draw the icon larger; picked from the start |
| 24 and 64 | Rarely needed for a website, but harmless |
| 128 and 256 | The icon may be shown large somewhere, and the picture is big enough |
The default 16, 32 and 48 covers a favicon for a website. Picking no size at all stops the button, with the words Pick at least one size for favicon.ico.
For a 256 by 256 icon, pick 256, the largest size an ICO file holds, and start from a picture at least 256 pixels on its shorter side. A smaller picture is enlarged to fit, and the panel warns that the bigger icons will look soft.
The smallest size is the hardest. A 16 pixel icon has only 256 pixels in all, so fine lines and small text disappear. A bold symbol or a single letter reads best, and the 16 px tile on the stage shows you whether yours survives.
Transparent ICO, square shape and small pictures
A transparent ICO keeps the see-through parts of your PNG at every size, so the icon sits cleanly on a light or a dark tab. The dark preview on the stage shows whether a dark logo still stands out. A black logo on a transparent background can almost vanish in a dark browser theme; if the dark tile shows that, pick White under Background, so the icon carries its own light square.
- Fit inside keeps the whole of a wide or tall picture, with space at the sides; Fill and crop fills the square and cuts the edges.
- Space around adds 0 to 20 % of empty space all round, which helps a logo that touches its edges.
- Background can be Transparent, White, Ink or any colour from the + swatch.
- A picture under 180 pixels gets a warning that bigger icons will look soft. For 16, 32 and 48 pixel sizes that matters only if the picture is smaller than them; below 16 pixels no icon can be made.
Is your PNG a logo on a white box? Remove the white background first, which keeps the white inside the logo, then bring it back here. To pick exactly which part becomes the icon, crop the picture before you start.
From PNG to favicon: one ICO or a full set
Going from PNG to favicon can mean more than one file. favicon.ico alone works in every browser tab, but phones and home screens look for more. To make the full set at once, with PNG icons, an Apple touch icon, a web manifest and the HTML tags, use the favicon generator, or switch the other items on under Make right here.
To use the ICO file from a PNG on your site, copy favicon.ico to the top folder, next to your home page. Browsers find it there without any extra tags. If your site already has one, replace it with the new file of the same name. Browsers keep favicons for a long time, so a hard refresh may be needed before the new one shows.
- Nothing is uploaded. The ICO is made in your browser, and our server does no picture work.
- It is free, with no account and no watermark. Image tools are not counted in the free daily limit, which applies to document conversions only.
- It works in current Chrome, Edge and Firefox.
Make your favicon.ico now
To change PNG to ICO, select your picture, keep the 16, 32 and 48 pixel sizes or pick more, check the previews and press Make icons. Save ICO gives you one favicon.ico, transparency kept.
It is free and private. Select your PNG above to start.
