The Favicon Downloader that gets every icon a website publishes
Paste a URL and instantly extract favicons in ICO, PNG, SVG, WebP and Apple Touch formats — from 16×16 up to 512×512. Built for developers, designers, marketers and curious minds who need the real, high-resolution icon a site actually publishes.
- ✓ High-res icons via Besticon (SVG, 512px, 192px)
- ✓ Scans HTML link tags, Apple Touch Icons & Web Manifests
- ✓ Probes 16 common icon paths directly on the domain
- ✓ 100% client-side — works on static cPanel hosting
The tiny icon that quietly runs the web
A favicon is the small square image that represents a website in browser tabs, bookmarks, history lists, address bars and — increasingly — search results, mobile home screens and AI-powered link previews. Here's everything a modern web user should know.
A favicon (short for “favorite icon”) is a small, square image — usually 16×16 or 32×32 pixels, but increasingly 48, 96, 180, 192 or even 512 pixels — that browsers, search engines and operating systems use to visually identify a website. It first appeared in Internet Explorer 5 in 1999 as a 16×16 .ico file placed at the site root. A quarter of a century later, a single favicon has grown into a small family of files covering browser tabs, Google Search results, iOS home screens, Android launchers, PWAs and dark-mode-aware SVGs.
Every time you open a website, your browser quietly downloads its favicon — which is why a favicon downloader doesn't access anything private; it simply reads the same public files your browser already fetches. What changes is the experience: instead of hunting through page source for <link rel="icon"> tags or guessing at /favicon.ico, you paste one URL and get every icon the site publishes — ICO, PNG, SVG, Apple Touch and manifest icons — sized and labelled, ready to download or copy.
This page is both a working free favicon downloader and a complete guide to favicons: what they are, which sizes and formats you actually need in 2026, how to add one to your own site, and how to extract them from any site for legitimate uses like bookmarks, link previews, brand research and design references.
Everything a favicon extractor should be — and most aren't
We analyzed every popular favicon downloader and built the gaps they left behind. The result is a tool that returns every published icon, in every useful format, with the metadata you need to actually use it.
All formats — ICO, PNG, SVG, WebP
Not just legacy /favicon.ico. The extractor reads every <link rel="icon"> tag, the web app manifest, and well-known paths to find ICO, PNG, SVG, WebP and Apple Touch icons.
9 sizes — 16×16 to 512×512
From the classic 16×16 browser tab icon to the 512×512 PWA splash screen icon. Every size is measured, labelled and ranked by resolution so you always grab the sharpest one first.
Instant, no signup, no install
Paste a URL and click. No account, no API key, no browser extension, no app store. The tool runs entirely in your browser and returns results in under a second for most sites.
Copy-ready HTML & direct URLs
Every result includes the direct icon URL and a ready-to-paste <link rel="icon"> snippet for your HTML head. Drop it in and you're done.
Bulk download up to 100 sites
Paste up to 100 domains — one per line — and download every favicon in one ZIP file, named by domain. Perfect for building directories, dashboards and link-preview systems.
Private & cookie-free
Lookups are processed in real time and not stored. The tool reads public favicon files the same way your browser does and returns them directly to you.
Works on every device
Desktop, tablet, mobile, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android — anything with a modern browser. No app store, no .exe, no permissions to grant.
Developer-friendly API
Use the same favicon service in your own scripts and apps with one-line cURL, JavaScript or Python calls. No API key, no rate limits for normal use, copy-paste examples included.
Mobile, PWA & dark-mode aware
Detects Apple Touch icons (180×180), web app manifest icons (192, 512) and SVG favicons that adapt to dark mode — the assets competitors' basic grabbers completely miss.
From URL to favicon in 4 steps
No installs, no logins, no friction. Just paste, click and download.
Paste the website URL
Enter a domain like github.com or a full URL like https://example.com/page. The protocol and www. are optional.
Click Download Favicon
The tool reads the site's HTML head, opens its web app manifest, and tries the well-known paths /favicon.ico and /apple-touch-icon.png.
Compare every icon found
Each detected icon is shown with its real pixel size, file format and direct URL. The sharpest version is ranked first — usually 512×512 or 180×180.
Download or copy
Grab a single icon as ICO, PNG or SVG — or download every icon at once as a ZIP. Copy the direct URL or ready-to-paste HTML <link> in one click.
Every favicon size — and exactly where it shows up
A favicon is not one image at one size; it is a family of squares, each read by a different surface. Shipping the wrong ones fails silently. Here is the complete 2026 chart.
| File / Size | Format | Where it appears | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 × 16 | ICO / PNG | Browser tabs, address bar, history list | Yes — the classic favicon |
| 32 × 32 | ICO / PNG | Retina browser tabs, Windows taskbar, Safari tabs | Yes — high-density screens |
| 48 × 48 | ICO | Google Search results, Windows desktop shortcuts | Recommended — Google's floor |
| 96 × 96 | PNG | Google Search (larger than 48 recommended), older Android | Recommended |
| 128 × 128 | PNG | Chrome Web Store, older Chrome surfaces | Optional |
| 152 × 152 | Apple Touch | Older iPad home screens (pre-iOS 7) | Legacy — covered by 180 |
| 167 × 167 | Apple Touch | iPad Pro home screens | Legacy — covered by 180 |
| 180 × 180 | Apple Touch | iPhone & iPad home screen shortcuts | Yes — iOS |
| 192 × 192 | Manifest | Android home screen, Chrome PWA install prompt | Yes — Android & PWA |
| 512 × 512 | Manifest | PWA splash screen, app switcher, store listings | Yes — PWA |
| Scalable | SVG | Modern browsers, dark-mode-aware icons, Retina displays | Strongly recommended |
The minimal favicon set that fits every modern surface
You do not need dozens of files. The minimum that covers every surface that matters in 2026 is five files plus one optional JSON manifest:
- favicon.ico — a multi-resolution ICO holding 16, 32 and 48
- favicon-96.png — for Google Search
- apple-touch-icon.png — 180×180 for iOS
- android-chrome-192x192.png — Android home screen
- android-chrome-512x512.png — PWA splash screen
- icon.svg — optional, stays sharp at any size & supports dark mode
Generate all of them from a single square master of 512 pixels or larger — ideally your original vector logo. Never upscale a 16-pixel icon to a 512-pixel one: the missing detail cannot be invented, and the result always looks soft.
Who actually uses a favicon downloader?
Far more people than you'd think. Here are the real-world scenarios our users run into every day.
Web designers collecting brand assets
Pull reference favicons for mood boards, competitor analysis and design systems without manually opening DevTools on each site.
Developers building link previews
Chat apps, social schedulers and CMS plugins all need a favicon next to every shared link. Download once, cache locally, ship.
SEO & marketing dashboards
Make rank trackers, backlink reports and SERP monitors instantly scannable by showing the target site's favicon next to every row.
Directory & bookmark tools
Building a curated link directory, a start-page, a bookmark manager or a feed reader? Bulk fetch every site's favicon in one ZIP.
Competitor & brand research
Compare how competitors present themselves at the smallest visual scale. A favicon often reveals the brand's true simplified mark.
Browser extensions & apps
Tab managers, password managers and reading-list extensions all need favicons as visual anchors — fetch them on demand by domain.
PWA & mobile app creators
Need an icon for your Progressive Web App, home-screen shortcut or Android launcher? Pull the source brand's favicon at 192 and 512.
QA & testing pipelines
Verify that your staging site, your clients' sites, or your SaaS tenants actually publish every favicon size the spec requires.
Teachers, writers & students
Writing a tutorial, blog post or slide deck about web design? Use real favicons as illustrative examples without screenshots.
AI agents & LLM tools
AI assistants that summarise pages, build dashboards or answer "what is this site?" need favicons as visual identifiers — fetch by URL.
Curating reading lists & newsletters
Add a small visual cue next to every link in your weekly digest — readers scan icons faster than they read domain names.
Phishing & brand-monitoring teams
Detect look-alike domains by comparing their favicons against the legitimate brand's icon at scale.
Add a favicon to your site — copy-paste HTML
The modern, minimal HTML head snippet that covers every browser, device and search engine in 2026.
<!-- Modern favicon set (2026) — covers all surfaces --> <link rel="icon" href="/favicon.ico" sizes="32x32"> <link rel="icon" href="/icon.svg" type="image/svg+xml"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/apple-touch-icon.png"> <!-- 180×180 --> <link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.webmanifest">
{
"name": "Your Site",
"short_name": "Site",
"icons": [
{ "src": "/android-chrome-192x192.png", "type": "image/png", "sizes": "192x192" },
{ "src": "/android-chrome-512x512.png", "type": "image/png", "sizes": "512x512" }
],
"theme_color": "#ffffff",
"background_color": "#ffffff",
"display": "standalone"
}Fetch a favicon from your own code
Need favicons programmatically? Use a public favicon service URL — no API key required. These return the site's icon directly as an image:
# Fetch a 256×256 favicon as a PNG curl -L -o github.png "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=github.com&sz=256"
async function getFavicon(domain, size = 128) {
const url = `https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=${domain}&sz=${size}`;
const res = await fetch(url);
const blob = await res.blob();
return URL.createObjectURL(blob);
}
// Usage
const iconUrl = await getFavicon('stripe.com', 256);
document.querySelector('img').src = iconUrl;import requests
url = "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=openai.com&sz=256"
response = requests.get(url, allow_redirects=True)
with open("openai.png", "wb") as f:
f.write(response.content)
print(f"Saved favicon ({len(response.content)} bytes)")ICO vs PNG vs SVG vs WebP — which to use?
Each favicon format has a purpose. Use the right one for each surface, not one file for all.
| Format | Scalable | Animation | Dark mode | Browser support | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ICO | No | No | No | All browsers | Legacy browser tabs, /favicon.ico fallback |
| PNG | No | No | No | All browsers | Apple Touch, manifest icons, Google Search |
| SVG | Yes | Yes | Yes | Modern only | Sharp at any size, dark-mode-aware icons |
| WebP | No | No | No | Modern only | Smaller file size for slow networks |
| GIF | No | Yes | No | Firefox only | Animated tab icons (niche) |
How we stack up against other favicon downloaders
We tested every popular favicon downloader. Here's exactly what each one does — and doesn't do.
| Feature | This Tool | favicondl.com | folge.me | onlineminitools | webutility.io |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free, no signup | ✓ Yes | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| ICO + PNG + SVG + WebP | ✓ All | ✓ All | ICO/PNG | PNG/ICO | PNG only |
| Apple Touch icon (180) | ✓ Yes | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Manifest icons (192/512) | ✓ Yes | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Dark-mode SVG support | ✓ Yes | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Bulk ZIP download | ✓ 100 domains | ✓ | Single site | — | — |
| Copy-ready HTML snippet | ✓ Yes | ✓ | — | — | Basic |
| Direct URL copy | ✓ Yes | ✓ | — | — | — |
| API access | ✓ Yes | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Mobile-friendly UI | ✓ Yes | Partial | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Privacy — no URL tracking | ✓ Yes | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear | Unclear |
| Complete favicon size guide | ✓ 11 sizes | Partial | — | — | Basic |
| Schema markup & SEO content | ✓ Full | — | — | — | — |
10 favicon best practices for 2026
Beyond just downloading an icon — here's how the best sites in the world design, deploy and maintain their favicons.
- 1Start from a 512×512 master. Everything is downscaled from one source. Use your original vector logo whenever possible — raster masters introduce blur at small sizes.
- 2Ship an SVG favicon. It's the only format that stays sharp on every Retina, 4K and future high-density display, and the only one that can adapt to dark mode via prefers-color-scheme.
- 3Always keep /favicon.ico at the root. Browsers and crawlers request it by convention, even when your HTML points elsewhere. A 404 here drops your icon from older surfaces.
- 4Test at 16×16. If your favicon is unrecognizable at 16 pixels, it's not a favicon — it's a logo pretending to be one. Simplify until the silhouette alone identifies the brand.
- 5Use a square aspect ratio. Google Search requires 1:1. Non-square favicons are cropped or replaced with a default globe.
- 6Make it bigger than 48×48 for Google. Google's floor is 8×8, but they explicitly recommend going above 48. Ship 96×96 PNG for crisp search-result icons.
- 7Provide an Apple Touch icon at 180×180. iOS won't use your regular favicon for home-screen shortcuts. Without this, iPhone and iPad users get a generic screenshot thumbnail.
- 8Don't reuse your og:image as a favicon. Open Graph images are 1200×630 — wrong aspect ratio and way too large. Generate a dedicated favicon set.
- 9Keep the URL stable. Don't rename favicon.ico to favicon-v2.ico on every redesign. Google caches by URL; changing it can drop your icon from search results for weeks.
- 10Allow Googlebot-Image to crawl it. If your robots.txt blocks image crawlers, your favicon disappears from Google Search. Verify in Search Console.
Grab thumbnails from another platform too
If you're building a directory, link preview or content dashboard, you'll often need both a site's favicon and its YouTube video thumbnail. Here's our other free downloader.
Favicon downloader — frequently asked questions
Everything people actually ask about downloading favicons, in plain English.
More Tools Like This
Explore other Image Tools tools developed by our team
Image Splitter
Split any image into grid pieces with crop, format selector, and quality control. Supports PNG, JPG, WEBP.
Image Pixelator
Turn any photo into pixel art with adjustable pixel size and color reduction. Create retro-style images, game assets, and mosaic effects instantly.
Add Text to GIF
Add custom text overlay to animated GIFs. Full control over font, color, size, and position.
Compress GIF
Compress GIF files online. Reduce file size while keeping animation quality.
Circle Image Crop
Crop any image into a perfect circle. Free, fast, and secure.
Change Image Aspect Ratio
Change image aspect ratio online for free. Convert to 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 9:16 and more with blur fill, smart crop with repositioning or color background. 100% private.