drawer.tools
ICO → PNG

Convert ICO to PNG

Favicons are .ico files most editors refuse to open. Turn one into a PNG you can edit, free, in your browser.

Drop files here or click to browse. ICO / CUR accepted, batches welcome

Drop an .ico above, get a PNG back that any editor will open.

The .ico format exists for one job: browser tab icons. Windows has used it since 1985 and the web adopted it for favicons, which is why almost every .ico you meet came off a website. Photoshop, Figma and most phone galleries will not touch one.

An .ico is a container, not a single picture. Inside it there may be a 16-pixel version, a 32, a 48 and a 256, all the same artwork at different sizes, because Windows picks whichever fits the place it is drawing. This tool takes the largest, since that is the one worth editing.

Transparency comes through. Favicons are almost always transparent around the edges, and PNG carries that unchanged, and the icon drops onto any background without a white box behind it.

Going the other way - building an .ico from a PNG - is a different job and needs a different tool, because the file has to hold several sizes at once rather than just one.

Drop a folder of them and each comes back as its own PNG.

Frequently asked questions

Which size comes out?

The largest one inside the file. A favicon commonly holds 16, 32, 48 and 256-pixel versions of the same artwork; the biggest is the only one with enough detail to be worth editing.

Does it keep the transparency?

Yes. Favicons are usually transparent around the edges and PNG carries an alpha channel, and the icon sits on any background without a white square behind it.

Can I convert a PNG back into an .ico?

Not here. An .ico holds several sizes in one file, and building one properly means generating each size rather than renaming a single image.

Why will nothing open my .ico?

Because it is a Windows system format that the web borrowed. Browsers read it happily, which is the whole point of a favicon, but image editors and phone galleries mostly never added support.

What about .cur files?

Cursors use the same container as icons and are accepted here too. You get the picture without the click-point information, which only matters to Windows.