How it works
The ICO to PNG converter extracts the individual PNG frames from a Windows icon (.ico) file and exports them as separate PNG images. ICO files are multi-resolution containers — a single .ico file typically contains 16×16, 32×32, 48×48, and 256×256 versions of the icon for use at different sizes and DPI levels.
The ICO format is Windows-native and largely opaque to standard image tools. macOS and Linux often can't open .ico files natively. When you receive an .ico from a client or need to extract a favicon from a .ico file, this tool gives you the individual resolution layers as standard PNGs.
How to use it: upload an ICO file. The tool parses the ICO container and displays all embedded image sizes with their pixel dimensions and color depth. Click any size to download that specific layer as a PNG, or download all layers as a ZIP file.
ICO structure: a typical multi-resolution ICO contains: 16×16px (system tray, small icons), 32×32px (standard Windows icon size), 48×48px (large icons), 256×256px (Vista+ icons stored as compressed PNG internally), and sometimes 128×128px for macOS use.
Favicon workflow: web favicons are commonly distributed as .ico files containing 16×16 and 32×32 layers. Use this tool to extract the PNG layers, then use the SVG to PNG or Image Resizer to create additional sizes needed for modern PWA manifests (192×192, 512×512).
Privacy: ICO parsing runs in the browser using a pure-JavaScript ICO decoder. No file is uploaded.
Frequently Asked Questions
- A standard Windows ICO contains 16×16, 32×32, and 48×48px layers. Modern ICO files add a 256×256px layer (stored as compressed PNG within the ICO container). Some professional icons include 24×24, 64×64, and 128×128 layers.
- For browser tabs, the 32×32 layer is the standard. Modern browsers with retina displays use 64×64 if available. For the favicon.ico file that appears in address bars on legacy browsers, 16×16 is the minimum required.
- Yes — use the Favicon Generator tool on this site. Upload multiple PNG sizes (16×16, 32×32, 48×48, 256×256) and it will combine them into a single multi-resolution ICO file.
- Older ICO files (pre-Vista) used 1-bit transparency or no transparency at all, placing the icon on a white background. Modern ICO files use full 32-bit RGBA transparency. If your extracted PNG has a white background, the original ICO was created with the legacy transparency format.