ICO to PNG Converter
Extract the largest frame from a Windows .ico icon file and export it as a PNG — free, no upload.
How the ICO to PNG Converter works
Windows .ico icon files can bundle several image frames at different sizes — commonly 16×16, 32×32, 48×48, and 256×256 — inside a single container, so the operating system can pick the sharpest one for each context (taskbar, desktop, Alt-Tab switcher). Each frame is stored either as a PNG-compressed block (used for larger, high-color frames since Windows Vista) or as a raw BMP DIB with an XOR color layer and an AND transparency mask (the legacy format used by older, smaller icons).
This tool reads the ICONDIR header and each ICONDIRENTRY directly from the file's bytes, detects which storage format each frame uses by checking for the PNG signature, decodes raw BMP frames (1-, 4-, 8-, 24-, and 32-bit) pixel-by-pixel including the transparency mask, and renders every frame to a canvas so you can preview and download any of them as a standalone PNG. By default the largest available frame is selected first, since that preserves the most detail. Everything happens locally in your browser — the .ico file never leaves your device.
Built and maintained by Meet Shah · Last updated
What this tool is used for
- Extracting the largest frame from an icon file as a PNG.
- Getting a lossless copy of a favicon for editing.
- Converting an icon for a tool that will not open the format.
- Getting a lossless frame to edit before rebuilding the icon at every size.
- Producing a PNG at the icon's native size.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Which image comes out of a multi-size ICO?
- One of them — normally the largest, since a PNG holds a single image. That is the lossy part of the conversion, and it matters because the ICO was carrying a hand-tuned version for each size rather than one scaled image.
- Is transparency preserved?
- Yes. PNG has a full 8-bit alpha channel, which matches what modern PNG-in-ICO frames already carry. Older BMP-based frames only had a 1-bit mask, so converting one of those produces hard edges that were hard in the source.
- Why convert to PNG at all?
- Because almost everything reads PNG and comparatively little reads ICO. Design tools, web pages, README files and app manifests all take PNG, so extracting one is usually the first step in reusing an icon that only exists as a favicon.
- Can I convert back afterwards?
- Yes, but a single PNG produces a single-size ICO unless you supply several. Round-tripping loses the other frames permanently, which is why the original ICO is worth keeping rather than regenerating from the extracted PNG.
- Why is the extracted image smaller than expected?
- Because many ICO files top out at 48×48 — the 256×256 frame only became common after Windows Vista. If the largest frame is small, no conversion produces more detail, and upscaling afterwards only interpolates what is already there.
Common errors and gotchas
- Losing every frame but one, since an icon file holds several sizes and PNG holds one.
- Assuming the largest frame is the best drawn, when smaller frames are often hand-tuned.
- Assuming the result works as a favicon, which needs the multi-size format back again.
- Upscaling the extracted frame, which invents pixels rather than recovering them.
- Treating the extracted PNG as a replacement icon, when browsers still want the multi-size file.