Free tool
JPG to ICO: Make an Icon from a Photo or a Flat Logo
A client sends their logo as a JPG, and a site or a desktop shortcut needs an icon file. Drop it here, tick the sizes, pick fit or crop, and download an ICO or a favicon set.
The JPG is resized and wrapped into the icon in this page and does not leave your device. Your sizes and shape choices are kept locally for next time.
What is different when the source is a JPG
A JPG has no see-through parts. Whatever sits behind a logo in the file, usually white, stays in every size of the icon. In a browser tab that shows as a small white tile around the mark.
If the original artwork exists as a PNG with a clear background, or as an SVG, use that instead and convert it with the PNG to ICO page. Only keep working from the JPG when nothing better exists.
The screen is the same as the PNG page. Drop one picture or many, paste with Ctrl+V or Command+V, and each file gets its own icon.
Working from a JPG also means colours and edges were already compressed once. Sharp lines may carry faint noise, which can show at the small sizes, so give the result a look on a real tab.
Settings and their effect
| Control | Choices | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Icon sizes | 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 128, 256 px | Each ticked size is stored inside the one ICO file |
| Shape | Fit with clear sides, or crop to a square | Keeps the whole picture, or fills the square and trims the long sides |
The sizes 16, 32, 48 and 256 are ticked when you arrive. Add 64 or 128 only if you know a place that uses them, because every extra size adds weight to the file.
Using a photograph as an icon
Portraits and product shots can work as icons for a profile or a folder, as long as the subject fills the frame. A wide landscape shrunk to sixteen pixels is just a smudge.
- Choose crop to a square, so the subject fills the icon.
- Crop the photo yourself first if the subject is off centre, since the page trims the long sides evenly.
- Tick only the larger sizes if the icon is for a desktop folder and never shows in a tab.
For a website, take the favicon set
The favicon set button saves a ZIP holding the ICO, a 180 pixel Home Screen image for iPhone and iPad on a white background, and a text file with the two HTML lines to paste into your head tag. A JPG already has a solid background, so the white square on the Home Screen image will usually look natural.
Picking a favicon is a small part of the first impression. Our signs your website needs a redesign guide lists the bigger things we look at in a site that feels unfinished.
Quick checks on the result
Open the ICO in a file preview or in a browser tab and look at the smallest size first. If the logo is unreadable at 16 px, the picture is probably too detailed for an icon, and a simplified mark will do better.
- Is the subject centred and large in the frame?
- Does the white tile around it look acceptable on a dark browser theme?
- Do the larger sizes look sharp, or does the source picture lack pixels?
A source smaller than 256 pixels cannot make a sharp 256 pixel icon, so tick only the sizes your picture can support.
Frequently asked questions
Can a JPG be turned into an ICO?
Yes. The page draws the picture at each size you tick and stores them together in an ICO file.
Why does my icon have a white square?
A JPG cannot hold clear areas, so the white behind your logo is part of the picture. Start from a PNG or SVG with a clear background if you want it gone.
Should I fit or crop?
Fit keeps everything and leaves the sides clear. Crop fills the square and loses the edges. Choose crop for a photo with a centred subject, and fit for a logo.
How many sizes do I need?
For a website tab, 16 and 32 cover most cases, and the starting selection adds 48 and 256. More sizes make a bigger file without much gain.
Is the photo uploaded to make the icon?
No. Everything runs in this tab, so the picture stays on your computer.
Can I convert several JPGs together?
Yes. Drop them all, and download each ICO or one ZIP.
What if my picture is very large?
The page scales it down to each icon size, so a large JPG works fine. The largest size you can tick is 256 px.
Will the icon look sharp in a browser tab?
That depends on the source and on how simple the shape is. Bold, centred shapes survive the trip down to 16 pixels, and thin detail does not.
More free tools
- PNG to ICO converter: Turn a PNG into an ICO with the sizes you choose, or download a favicon set for a site.
- Favicon generator: Turn letters, an emoji or a logo into a favicon.ico, PNG sizes and a manifest, with live previews.
- App icon generator: Make iOS, Android, macOS and web app icon sets with Contents.json files from one square picture.
- Image cropper: Crop pictures to a free box, a ratio, a social size or a circle, with rotate and straighten.
- image converter: Convert a mixed set of pictures to JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF or ICO in your browser.