PSD to ICO converter

Q: Will the ICO be smaller than the PSD?

Expect a much smaller file. PSD: A layered design often runs to 50–500 MB. ICO: A full favicon with every size is usually under 100 KB. Shrinking the file is often the main reason to make this conversion.

Convert PSD to ICO in your browser. No upload and no account: the file never leaves your device, so the only size limit is your device’s memory.

I have Choose files or drop them here, PSD files

I want ICO

Quality 90%

Background for transparent areas

Icon sizes

How to make the SVG

Tracing suits logos, icons and flat artwork and scales cleanly. Photos are better kept as pixels inside the SVG.

Colors to trace 16

Black below 50%

Dither Scatters black dots to suggest gray, instead of a hard cut-off.

Advanced 5

Keep the animation For animated GIF, WebP and APNG sources. Turn off to save just the first frame.

Rotate

Mirror horizontally

Mirror vertically

Resize: longest side

For an exact width and height, use the Resize Image tool instead.

Bytes of your files sent anywhere: 0 B · nothing leaves this tab

Other ways to convert PSD

Convert other formats to ICO

Read more about the PSD format and the ICO format, or see every image tool and all image conversions.

Should you convert PSD to ICO?

Yes, if you need a favicon or a Windows icon. Start from a square PSD of at least 256 pixels, with a transparent background if it has one, so every size inside the ICO comes out crisp.

ICO is also the more widely supported of the two: it opens almost everywhere, while PSD is has patchy support.

PSD is Photoshop’s layered working file; ICO is a small container that holds the same icon at several sizes. Use ICO for a favicon.ico at the root of a website, or an icon for a Windows program or shortcut.

PSD and ICO compared
Property	PSD	ICO
Compression	Lossless	Lossless
Transparency	Yes	Yes
Animation	No	No
Support	Has patchy support	Opens almost everywhere
Best for	Keeping an image editable, layer by layer	Website favicons and Windows shortcuts
Introduced	1990	1985

How to convert PSD to ICO

01
Add your PSD

Drop your PSD image onto the box, or click to choose it. It is read from your disk and stays there.
02
Check the settings

The output is already set to ICO. Change the quality if you want to; the defaults suit most files.
03
Save the ICO

Press convert and save the ICO. Several files come back together as a ZIP.

What changes when PSD becomes ICO

Nothing is discarded

PSD and ICO both keep every pixel, so the picture survives the move intact. You can convert back and forth as often as you like without it degrading.

Transparency is kept

PSD and ICO both support transparency, so transparent backgrounds and soft edges come through unchanged.

You get the flattened image

Layers aren’t kept: the ICO is the merged picture Photoshop saved inside the PSD. Files saved with “Maximize compatibility” turned off have no merged picture, and only Photoshop can rebuild them.

A one-time engine download

PSD is read by FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly, a 31 MB download the first time you convert one. It is cached afterwards, and the conversion still happens entirely on your device.

One ICO, every size

The ICO holds 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 128 and 256 pixel versions, each scaled from your PSD and centered on a transparent square. Browsers and Windows pick the size they need.

Expect a much smaller file

PSD: A layered design often runs to 50–500 MB. ICO: A full favicon with every size is usually under 100 KB. Shrinking the file is often the main reason to make this conversion.

This page is put together from our notes on each format, choosing only what is true of PSD and ICO, so every pairing states the same facts the same way. How these pages are made.

Why it doesn’t upload

Changing a picture’s format is work your browser already knows how to do. Sending your photos to a server first only adds waiting and risk, so nothing is sent.

How to check for yourself

Worth knowing

About the PSD. Converting a PSD uses the flattened preview saved inside it. If the file was saved with “Maximize compatibility” turned off, that preview is blank and only Photoshop can rebuild it.
About the ICO. Renaming a PNG to favicon.ico works in some browsers and silently fails in others. A real ICO holds several sizes so each place picks the right one.
DDS, PSD, EXR, XWD and JPEG 2000 are read by the FFmpeg engine, a one-time 31 MB download.

Questions

Will converting PSD to ICO lose quality?

No. PSD and ICO are both lossless, so every pixel is kept.

Will the ICO be smaller than the PSD?

Expect a much smaller file. PSD: A layered design often runs to 50–500 MB. ICO: A full favicon with every size is usually under 100 KB. Shrinking the file is often the main reason to make this conversion.