Favicon Sizes: The Complete, Honest List (and What Actually Matters)
"The favicon" is a myth - a well-served site ships several icons at several sizes for different surfaces: the tiny browser tab, the desktop shortcut, the iOS home-screen apple-touch-icon, and the Android/PWA install icons. Each surface picks a size it likes, and if you supply only one 16px file, others will scale it up into mush. The good news is that a small, deliberate set covers almost everything.
The favicon generator turns one source image into PNGs at 16, 32, 48, 64, 128 and 256 plus a multi-size ICO, with a live preview and a ZIP download - all in your browser. This guide gives the honest size map, explains where the generator tops out (256px, so the PWA 512 and the iOS 180 still need a larger export), and which formats actually matter.
The sizes that actually get used
Not every size is needed, but a few non-negotiables cover the real surfaces. The browser tab wants 16 and 32; high-DPI desktop favicons like 48; iOS home screens specifically look for a 180x180 apple-touch-icon; and an installable PWA (with a web app manifest) expects at least a 192 and a 512 icon, the 512 ideally offered as a maskable variant. A legacy favicon.ico bundling 16/32/48 still helps old Windows and IE.
| Surface | Size(s) | Format | Needed if... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browser tab | 16, 32 | PNG / ICO | Always - this is the baseline. |
| Desktop / hi-DPI | 48 | ICO / PNG | You want crisp shortcuts. |
| iOS home screen | 180x180 | PNG (apple-touch) | Pages get saved to iPhone/iPad. |
| Android / PWA | 192 and 512 | PNG | You ship a manifest / installable app. |
| Maskable icon | 512 | PNG with safe zone | You want adaptive-shaped install icons. |
| Legacy | 16/32/48 in one .ico | ICO | Old browsers and Windows shortcuts. |
The minimum for a normal site is 16 + 32 + an ICO + a 180 apple-touch. Add 192 and 512 only if you have a PWA manifest.
What the generator gives you - and where it stops
It exports PNG at 16, 32, 48, 64, 128 and 256 and a multi-size ICO, with an optional smooth-scaling step, then bundles them into a ZIP you can drop straight into a site. That comfortably covers the tab, desktop and ICO needs and the smaller touch targets.
Be honest about the ceiling: the largest size it produces is 256. The iOS 180 apple-touch falls within that, but the PWA 512 (and the maskable 512) do not - so those must come from a larger export of your source, not from this tool. Upscaling a 256 to 512 just blurs it, so keep a high-resolution master and generate the 512 separately when you truly need an installable app.
SVG, PNG and ICO - which format
An SVG favicon scales to any size from one file and looks crisp on retina, and modern browsers support it via rel="icon" type="image/svg+xml" - which is why many sites (this one included) ship an SVG alongside a PNG. But SVG is not universal: Safari and some contexts are inconsistent, and PWA/manifest and apple-touch icons must be raster PNG, never SVG.
PNG is the safe everywhere format; ICO is the legacy container that packs several sizes in one file. The pragmatic answer is to serve SVG for the modern tab plus PNG sizes for the surfaces that demand raster, and keep one ICO for old clients.
The HTML that ties them together
Each surface is wired with its own link: <link rel="icon" sizes="32x32" href="/favicon-32.png"> (repeat per size, and add an image/svg+xml line), <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/apple-touch-icon.png"> for the 180, and a manifest.webmanifest listing the 192 and 512 PNGs for PWA install. Declaring sizes explicitly stops browsers guessing and picking the wrong scaled copy.
Keep names stable and cache-friendly; changing an icon is a rare event, so long cache TTLs are fine once the file is right. Source it from the image resizer or convert from an existing image with JPG to PNG if you need a specific raster first.
Gotchas that make icons look bad
Start from a source at least as large as the biggest target - downscaling looks fine, upscaling is always soft. Leave margin around the mark so a 16px version still reads, and test it at real size in a tab rather than only in the preview. Use a transparent background (PNG) unless you specifically want a filled tile, and for a maskable 512 keep the logo inside roughly the central 80% so adaptive cropping does not slice it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the minimum favicon set for a normal website?
16 and 32 PNG for the tab, one 180 apple-touch-icon PNG, and a legacy .ico bundling 16/32/48. That covers browsers, iOS shortcuts and old Windows. The 192 and 512 PNGs only matter if you ship an installable PWA.
Can an SVG replace all the PNG sizes?
Not safely. SVG scales beautifully and modern browsers accept it for the tab, but apple-touch-icon and PWA manifest icons must be raster PNG, and some browsers and contexts are inconsistent with SVG favicons. The robust answer is SVG for the tab plus the PNG sizes that specific surfaces demand.
Why is there a 512 icon when favicons are tiny?
The 512 is not for the tab - it is a PWA/Android install icon used on splash screens and in launchers, where a large crisp icon is required. It is normally paired with a 192, and often also provided as a maskable variant with the logo kept in the central safe zone.
Can the favicon generator make the 512 and 180?
It produces PNG sizes up to 256 plus a multi-size ICO. The 180 apple-touch is within that range, but the 512 PWA icon is beyond the tool's maximum, so you must export 512 from a larger source rather than upscaling a 256, which would blur it.
What does a maskable icon mean?
A maskable icon is a full-bleed square PNG (usually 512) designed to be cropped into any launcher shape - circle, square or rounded. You keep the actual logo inside roughly the inner 80 percent so the adaptive mask never cuts it, with the outer area as background.
Should I use a transparent favicon background?
For the tab and general use, a transparent PNG usually looks best against light and dark browser chrome. Filled backgrounds are fine when the mark is a solid tile, but be consistent, and remember the tab may tint it, so check it at 16px in a real browser.
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