ICO to PNG converter

ICO to PNG extracts one raster image from an icon container, so multi-size favicon sets become a single PNG output.

Converted with Image engine · nothing stored
Free: 5 conversions a day · 5 MB each
Higher limits →

From real runs

What you get — and what changes

Element	Result	What happens
Largest icon image	Kept	An 8,653 byte ICO with 16, 32, 48, and 256 pixel entries produced a 5,453 byte 256×256 PNG.
Smaller icon entries	Lost	The 16×16, 32×32, and 48×48 renditions were not exported as separate PNG files.
Transparency	Kept	The output opened as RGBA, preserving the transparent background around the test icon mark.
Container metadata	Lost	ICO directory information and the list of available icon sizes are not represented in a single PNG file.
Pixel shape	Kept	The square 256×256 source entry stayed square with the same transparent canvas geometry.
Browser favicon intent	Changed	The PNG can be edited or previewed easily, but it no longer behaves like an ICO bundle for legacy browsers.

Largest icon image Kept
An 8,653 byte ICO with 16, 32, 48, and 256 pixel entries produced a 5,453 byte 256×256 PNG.
Smaller icon entries Lost
The 16×16, 32×32, and 48×48 renditions were not exported as separate PNG files.
Transparency Kept
The output opened as RGBA, preserving the transparent background around the test icon mark.
Container metadata Lost
ICO directory information and the list of available icon sizes are not represented in a single PNG file.
Pixel shape Kept
The square 256×256 source entry stayed square with the same transparent canvas geometry.
Browser favicon intent Changed
The PNG can be edited or previewed easily, but it no longer behaves like an ICO bundle for legacy browsers.

Sample conversions

Generated multi-size favicon

Input: 8,653 byte ICO generated from a 512×512 transparent PNG with 16, 32, 48, and 256 pixel entries.
Output: 5,453 byte PNG at 256×256, RGBA. The large rendition was clean, but smaller hand-tuned icon entries were absent.

Legacy site favicon

Input: ICO intended for browser tabs and Windows shortcuts with multiple embedded bitmap sizes.
Output: One editable PNG extracted from the icon. It worked for design review, not as a full replacement favicon.ico.

A real ICO → PNG run

We converted our ICO sample (12 KB) with Image engine on 2026-10-20. It took 30 ms and produced a 11 KB PNG file, about the same size as the input. The engine raised 1 warning, listed below.

Input · sample.ico · 12 KB

256 × 171 px, 1 size: 256×171

Width: 256
Height: 171
Encoding: 1 size: 256×171

Output · sample.png · 11 KB

256 × 171 px, 8-bit, colour type 6

Width: 256
Height: 171
Encoding: 8-bit, colour type 6

Image metadata stripped from output.

Options and when to change them

width: Resize the extracted PNG if you need a small preview rather than the largest embedded icon.
height: Set height with width to force an exact PNG box after the icon entry has been decoded.
fit: Use contain when padding an extracted icon onto a required canvas size is better than stretching it.

Do it yourself

Pillow 11

bash

from PIL import Image

im = Image.open("favicon.ico")
im.save("favicon.png", optimize=True)

Pillow opens one selected icon image by default; inspect im.ico.sizes() when smaller entries also matter.

ICO to PNG by API or MCP

The HTTP API and the MCP server run the exact engine this page uses (Image engine); the response carries the same warnings the web converter shows. Check support first with GET /api/v1/pairs?from=ico&to=png.

curl

curl -X POST https://filetypeconverters.com/api/v1/convert \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FTC_API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@input.ico" -F "from=ico" -F "to=png" \
  -F 'options={"dpi":96}' \
  --output output.png

Options this engine accepts for ICO → PNG

Key	Applies to	Type	Default
dpi	Reading ICO	number	96
width	Writing PNG	number	0
height	Writing PNG	number	0
fit	Writing PNG	contain · cover · fill	contain
quality	Writing PNG	number	90
background	Writing PNG	string	#ffffff
stripMetadata	Writing PNG	boolean	true

API reference

When this is the wrong conversion

Keep ICO when a Windows shortcut or old browser needs a multi-entry icon container.
Use /convert/png-to-ico after editing if you need to rebuild an icon file for deployment.
Use SVG source art if the goal is a scalable modern favicon rather than extracting bitmap pixels.

ICO to PNG questions

Which ICO size becomes PNG?

The tested multi-size icon opened to its 256×256 entry. Smaller embedded sizes were not emitted as separate files.

Does ICO to PNG keep transparency?

Yes for the tested icon. The output was an RGBA PNG with transparent pixels around the mark.

Can the PNG replace favicon.ico?

Not for every legacy use. A PNG is one image, while ICO can contain several icon sizes for different contexts.