Free Favicon Generator
Create a professional favicon from your initials or text. Preview at all required sizes and download as PNG. Free, no sign-up required.
Build Your Favicon
Live Preview
<!-- Standard favicon --> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/favicon-32x32.png" /> <link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="/favicon-16x16.png" /> <!-- Apple Touch Icon --> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/apple-touch-icon.png" />
Complete Your Brand Presence
A favicon is just the start. These widgets help you build a fully branded, trustworthy site that converts.
Logo Slider
Pair your new favicon with a branded logo showcase. Display partner logos, client logos, or your product suite in a polished, auto-scrolling strip.
Image Gallery
A well-branded site needs cohesive visuals. Image Gallery lets you display photos with consistent styling that matches your brand colors and favicon identity.
Trust Badges
Once you have a favicon, build brand trust throughout your site. Trust Badges display certifications, awards, and guarantees that reassure visitors.
Marketing Button
A branded favicon signals professionalism. Reinforce it with polished CTAs. Marketing Button lets you create on-brand buttons with hover effects in minutes.
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Use Tool \u2192How It Works
How to use this free favicon generator
No account needed, no sign-up required. Completely free. Enter your characters, customize the style, and download your favicon PNG in seconds.
Enter your characters
Type 1-2 characters, your brand initials, or paste an emoji. The canvas renders your text instantly using the font and colors you choose. Single characters get larger font sizing; two characters scale to fit the square.
Customize colors and shape
Pick a background color and text color using the color pickers. Choose from three shapes: square for a modern app look, rounded for a softer feel, or circle for a badge-style icon. All options update the live preview in real time.
Download and add to your site
Select your target size (16, 32, 48, or 180px), click Download PNG, and save the file to your project. Copy the HTML link tags from the code block and paste them into your page head. No sign-up, completely free.
Favicon Specs
Required favicon sizes for every platform
Different browsers and platforms require different favicon sizes. Here is the complete list of what you need to cover every use case.
Minimum Required
16x16 + 32x32 + 180x180 (Apple Touch Icon)
For PWA support also add: 192x192 + 512x512 in site.webmanifest
For most non-PWA websites, three sizes cover the majority of browsers and devices: 16x16 for browser tabs, 32x32 for taskbars and shortcuts, and 180x180 for iOS home screen icons. Start with these before adding more.
If you are building a Progressive Web App or want your site to be installable on Android, you also need 192x192 and 512x512 icons referenced in a site.webmanifest file. These are separate from your HTML link tags and need to be declared in the manifest JSON under the icons array.
Favicon Formats
PNG vs ICO vs SVG: which favicon format should you use?
Format choice matters for browser compatibility and file size. Use this table to pick the right format for your project.
| Format | Browser Support | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PNG | Universal | Best format for most sites. Supports transparency, works in all browsers, easy to generate. |
| ICO | Legacy + IE | Original favicon format. Contains multiple sizes in one file. Required for IE 8 and below. |
| SVG | Modern browsers | Scalable, resolution-independent. Supported in Chrome 80+ and Firefox 80+. Not supported in Safari or IE. |
| WebP | Limited | Not recommended for favicons. Poor browser support and no measurable benefit over PNG. |
Recommendation: use PNG for maximum compatibility. Add ICO only if you need IE support.
Platform Requirements
Favicon requirements by browser and platform
Each browser and platform has slightly different requirements. Use this reference to make sure your favicon displays correctly everywhere.
| Platform | Size | Format | HTML Attribute | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chrome (desktop) | 32x32 | PNG or ICO | icon | Displays in tab. Falls back to 16x16 if 32 not found. |
| Safari (desktop) | 32x32 | PNG | icon | SVG favicons supported in Safari 14+. |
| Firefox | 32x32 | PNG or ICO | icon | Full PNG support. SVG supported in recent versions. |
| iOS (home screen) | 180x180 | PNG | apple-touch-icon | Rounded corners and gloss added by iOS automatically on older versions. |
| Android Chrome (PWA) | 192x192 | PNG | manifest | Defined in site.webmanifest, not HTML. Also requires 512x512. |
| Windows (pinned site) | 144x144 | PNG | msapplication-TileImage | Optional meta tag for Windows tile icons. |
Source: MDN Web Docs, Apple Human Interface Guidelines, Google Search Central. Data as of 2026.
Common Mistakes
Six favicon mistakes that make your site look unprofessional
Most favicon problems are avoidable with a few simple checks. These are the six mistakes that silently hurt your brand impression.
Using a logo that is too complex
Detailed logos, wordmarks, and multi-element icons collapse into an unreadable blob at 16x16 pixels. Favicons need to be a single recognizable symbol, initial, or icon. Simplify to one shape or letter before generating.
Test your favicon at 16px before publishingIgnoring contrast at small sizes
Colors that look distinct at full size often lose contrast at 16x16. Low contrast between background and text or icon makes your favicon invisible, especially on browsers that display tabs with dark or light backgrounds.
Aim for 4.5:1 contrast ratio minimumForgetting the Apple Touch Icon
Without a 180x180 apple-touch-icon link tag, iOS uses a screenshot of your page as the home screen icon. This looks broken and unprofessional on every iPhone and iPad. Always include the apple-touch-icon link tag.
Add apple-touch-icon for all sites targeting mobile usersUsing the wrong HTML link tag
A missing or incorrect rel attribute causes browsers to ignore your favicon entirely and show a generic icon. The correct tags are rel="icon" for standard favicons and rel="apple-touch-icon" for iOS. Copy the exact code from this generator.
Double-check the rel attribute in your HTML headPlacing the favicon in a wrong directory
Browsers automatically look for /favicon.ico at your domain root. If you place it in a subdirectory without a link tag, browsers will 404 on the request and show a broken tab icon. Always specify the full path in your link tag.
Use an explicit link tag pointing to your favicon pathNot busting the favicon cache after updates
Browsers aggressively cache favicons. After updating your favicon, add a cache-busting query string to the href: /favicon.png?v=2. Without this, users may see your old favicon for days or weeks after you update it.
Append ?v=2 to favicon URLs after every updateFavicon Best Practices
8 tips to create a favicon that builds brand recognition
These tips help you design a favicon that looks great at every size and strengthens your brand across every browser. CommonNinja widgets mentioned are free to start.
Test your favicon at 16x16 first
The 16x16 size is the harshest test. If your icon is readable and recognizable at that size, it will look great everywhere else. Use the size preview in this generator before downloading to validate legibility.
Match your favicon to your brand palette
Use your primary brand color as the background and a high-contrast text color. This creates instant visual brand recognition in browser tabs, especially when users have your site and a competitor open side by side.
Display your logo consistently with a showcase widget
Once you have a favicon, carry your brand identity through your site with a Logo Showcase widget. Display client logos, partner logos, or your own branding in a polished, auto-scrolling strip.
Try Logo Showcase Free →Add trust badges to reinforce brand credibility
A favicon signals professionalism at the tab level. Trust Badges carry that signal into your content, displaying certifications and guarantees that convert skeptical visitors into customers.
Try Trust Badges Free →Create a PWA manifest for full mobile branding
A site.webmanifest file with icon entries at 192x192 and 512x512 enables your site to be installed as a PWA on Android. Add the manifest link tag in your HTML head and include both sizes for full coverage.
Use circle favicons for a modern app aesthetic
Circle-shaped favicons with a bold single letter look like native mobile apps. They stand out in browser tabs and feel premium. Use a strong brand color background and white text for maximum pop.
Add a 512x512 version for Google Search
Google Search displays favicons in search results next to your page title. For the sharpest result, provide a 512x512 PNG linked with rel="icon". Google scales it down automatically, but higher resolution looks crisper.
Use emojis for personal sites and tools
Single emoji favicons have become popular for personal sites, SaaS tools, and micro-projects. They are instantly distinctive, require zero design skill, and render well at small sizes. Paste one emoji as your character input.
Favicon Glossary
Key favicon and web icon terms explained
A plain-English reference to every favicon-related term so you can implement icons with confidence across all platforms.
| Term | Definition | Code / File | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Favicon | The small icon shown in browser tabs, bookmarks, history, and search results next to your page title. | rel="icon" | Web standard |
| Apple Touch Icon | The icon used when a visitor adds your website to their iPhone or iPad home screen. Requires a 180x180 PNG. | rel="apple-touch-icon" | iOS / iPadOS |
| PWA Manifest Icon | Icons defined in site.webmanifest that are used when your site is installed as a Progressive Web App on Android. | site.webmanifest | Android Chrome |
| ICO Format | Legacy favicon format that bundles multiple sizes (16, 32, 48) in a single file. Required for IE compatibility. | favicon.ico | Legacy IE |
| Cache Busting | Adding a version query string to your favicon URL to force browsers to reload the updated file instead of using the cached version. | /favicon.png?v=2 | Deployment |
| Canvas API | The browser API used to programmatically draw graphics. This generator uses canvas to render your favicon and export it as a PNG data URL for download. | canvas.toDataURL() | Browser API |
From the Blog
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