Recovering a favicon from a website
Save the favicon.ico and convert it. The PNG can then be resized, recoloured or placed in a document.
ICO to PNG
Convert a Windows ICO or favicon to PNG in your browser, keeping the transparency that makes an icon usable.
Maintained by Roshan.
Browser-local tool
Use ICO to PNG
Your image is decoded and re-encoded on this device. No upload request is made.
PNG preserves transparent pixels and uses lossless encoding.
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Browse all image toolsAbout ICO to PNG
An ICO file is not really a single image; it is a container holding several versions of the same icon at different sizes, so that Windows can show a crisp version whether it is drawing a 16-pixel entry in a menu or a 256-pixel tile on a desktop. That structure is why converting one is slightly unusual: something has to choose which size comes out. A browser decodes an ICO by picking the version it considers most appropriate, which is normally the largest available, and that is what gets converted here. PNG is the natural destination because it shares the property that makes icons work - a real alpha channel, including partial transparency for the anti-aliased edges that keep an icon from looking jagged against whatever background it sits on.
Shape and export choices
- The ICO is decoded by the browser, which selects one image from the several the container may hold. In practice this is the largest and highest-quality version present.
- A transparency-enabled canvas is created at that size, with no background painted behind it.
- The pixels are encoded as PNG, losslessly, so the icon is reproduced exactly.
- Partial transparency survives. Modern ICO files store 32-bit images with soft anti-aliased edges, and PNG records those alpha values precisely.
- The output dimensions are shown, which tells you which of the sizes in the container the browser selected.
Good fits for ICO to PNG
Reusing an application icon
The transparency is what makes an icon usable on any background, and PNG is the only one of the three targets that keeps it properly.
Check the image before download
- Only one size comes out. Extracting every size from the container needs a dedicated icon editor; a browser exposes just the image it chose.
- You cannot choose which size. The selection is made by the decoder rather than offered as an option.
- A very old ICO holding only a 16 or 32 pixel image produces a correspondingly small PNG. Enlarging it afterwards will look blocky, because the detail was never there.
- Icons using the ancient one-bit transparency mask have hard jagged edges, and converting does not smooth them.
- Cursor files, which use the closely related CUR format, are not decoded.
Questions about ICO to PNG
Which size will I get?
Whichever the browser picks from the container, normally the largest. The output dimensions are displayed so you can see.
Can I extract all the sizes?
Not here. A browser decodes an ICO to a single image; separating every version requires a dedicated icon tool.
Is transparency preserved?
Yes, including partial transparency at the edges, which is what keeps the icon looking smooth.
Why is my PNG so small?
Because the ICO only contained a small image. The conversion cannot add detail that was never stored.
Is the file sent anywhere?
No. It is decoded and re-encoded in this tab.
Related tools
ICO to WebP
Convert an ICO icon to WebP in your browser. Keeps transparency and produces a smaller file than PNG.
ICO to JPG
Convert an ICO icon to JPG in your browser. Transparent areas become white, as JPEG requires.
PNG to JPG
Convert PNG to JPG locally in your browser. Transparent pixels are placed on white, dimensions stay unchanged, and the image is never uploaded.