What ICO to PNG does
An .ico file is a Windows icon container: one or more images of the same graphic at different sizes (16, 32, 48, 256 pixels and so on), stored together so that Windows and browsers can pick the right one. This tool opens an ICO, takes the largest image inside it, and saves it as a normal PNG with transparency intact — so you can edit the icon, use it on a web page, place it in a document, or recover a logo whose only surviving copy is a favicon. Everything runs in your browser.
What is inside an ICO
| Entry | Typical use | Encoding |
|---|---|---|
| 16 × 16 | Browser tab, taskbar, Windows list view | BMP or PNG |
| 32 × 32 | Desktop shortcut, dialogs | BMP or PNG |
| 48 × 48 | Windows Explorer large icons | BMP or PNG |
| 256 × 256 | Windows Vista+ extra-large icons, high-DPI | Almost always PNG |
The tool picks the largest entry so you get the most detail. If the ICO holds only a 16-pixel image (many old favicons do), the PNG will be 16 × 16 — enlarging it in the Image Resizer will be blurry, because there is no more detail to recover.
Transparency and colour
- Modern ICO entries are PNG-encoded and carry full alpha; the output PNG keeps it exactly.
- Older BMP-encoded entries use a 1-bit mask (fully transparent or opaque); the mask is applied, so the icon's background is transparent.
- Palette (256-colour) icons are expanded to full RGB.
Common uses
- Extracting a site's favicon to reuse the logo in a document or a presentation.
- Editing an icon in a graphics editor that does not open ICO (many web-based editors).
- Converting an application icon to PNG for a README, a store listing or a support article.
- Recovering a small logo when the original artwork has been lost.
- Building a PNG set for macOS, Linux or Android from an existing Windows icon.
Going the other way
To make an ICO from a PNG — for a website favicon or a Windows shortcut — use the Image to ICO or Favicon Generator tool on this site, which builds a multi-size ICO from one source image. A 512 × 512 or larger PNG gives the best results, because each size is downscaled from it.