How to get the favicon from any website
A favicon is the tiny icon you see in a browser tab. The word is short for “favorite icon.” It also shows up in bookmarks, in your history, and next to your page in mobile search results.
Sometimes you just want that little icon as a file. Maybe you are building a list of links and want each site's logo. Maybe you are designing a dashboard. Maybe you lost your own favicon and need to grab it back off your live site. Whatever the reason, this tool gets it for you in seconds.
Here is all you do. Paste a web address into the box at the top of the page, like example.com or https://example.com, and press the button. The tool reads the domain and asks three favicon services for the icon at the same time. You then see the favicon in every common size and can download each one as a PNG, a WebP, or an ICO file.
There is no sign-up, no email, and no daily limit. The icons load straight from the public services, so you are never waiting on us.
What a favicon downloader actually does
You might wonder why you need a tool at all. After all, the favicon is sitting right there in the tab. The catch is that the file is not always easy to find.
Some sites keep their favicon at the old default path, /favicon.ico. Others link to it from a tag buried in the page's HTML head, with a name and folder you would have to dig for. A lot of sites serve several sizes at once. A favicon grabber hides all of that. It uses services that have already done the hunting, so you get a clean icon without viewing source or guessing file names.
This tool also does the format work for you. The download step draws the icon onto a canvas in your browser and saves it as the format you pick, so you can turn an ICO into a PNG or a WebP without any other software.
The three sources we pull from
No single favicon service is perfect, so we ask three at once and let you pick the best result. Each one has its own strengths.
| Source | Sizes you get | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| 16 to 256px PNG | Most reliable, cached for indexed sites | |
| DuckDuckGo | Original ICO | Privacy-friendly, gives the real .ico file |
| Icon Horse | 64 / 192 / 512px | Finds Apple Touch & manifest icons others miss |
Google runs the S2 favicon API. It returns icons from 16 to 256 pixels and is cached for most sites Google has indexed, which makes it the most reliable everyday source. You can read more in Google's favicon in search docs.
DuckDuckGo hands back the original ICO file. That is handy when you want the real .ico rather than a converted PNG. The Icon Horse service is open source and tries hard to find the best icon for a domain, including Apple Touch icons and manifest icons that the others can miss.
Favicon sizes and where each one is used
Favicons come in many sizes because they show up in many places. A tab needs a tiny icon. A phone home screen needs a big one. Knowing which size goes where helps you grab exactly what you need.
| Size | Where it is used |
|---|---|
16x16 | Browser tab icon (standard) |
32x32 | Browser tab (high-DPI), taskbar shortcut |
48x48 | Windows site icon, Google search base size |
64x64 | Windows site icon (high-DPI) |
128x128 | Chrome Web Store, large bookmarks |
180x180 | Apple Touch Icon (iOS home screen) |
192x192 | Android Chrome icon, PWA manifest |
512x512 | PWA splash screen, source for all sizes |
If you only remember one number, remember 512x512. Start from a square image that size and every smaller icon can be made from it without going blurry. That is also why this tool offers the large sizes, not just the 16-pixel tab icon.
Favicon file formats explained
Once you have the icon, you have to pick a format. Each one trades off browser support, quality, and file size. Here is the short version.
| Format | Works in | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| ICO | Every browser, including old IE | Can bundle several sizes in one file |
| PNG | Every modern browser | Sharp, easy to make, the safe default |
| SVG | Modern browsers, not IE | Scales forever, supports dark mode |
| WebP | Most modern browsers | Smaller than PNG at similar quality |
For most people, PNG is the right pick. It is sharp, every browser reads it, and it is easy to drop into a project. Choose ICO if you need the classic favicon file that old browsers expect, and WebP when you care about keeping the file small.
How to add a favicon back to your own site
Grabbing an icon is only half the story. To show a favicon on your own site, you put the file on your server and point to it from the page's <head>. A common setup links a couple of sizes plus an Apple Touch icon and a web app manifest.
On WordPress you usually do not touch code at all. Go to Appearance, then Customize, then Site Identity and upload one square image of at least 512 pixels. WordPress builds the smaller sizes for you. The official MDN guide to the link element is a good reference if you do want to wire it up by hand, and the web app manifest guide covers the larger app icons.
Why your favicon matters for SEO and branding
A favicon is not a direct ranking factor. But it still affects how many people click your link. Google shows favicons next to the page title in mobile search results, so a clear icon helps you stand out. Sites with no favicon show a plain globe, which looks unfinished and quietly costs clicks.
Google has rules for the search favicon: it must be a square multiple of 48 pixels, it has to be crawlable rather than blocked by robots.txt, and it should clearly stand for your brand. Changes can take days or weeks to appear, so set it once and set it well.
Keep the design simple. Fine detail disappears at 16 pixels, so a single bold mark or letter reads far better than a full logo with text. Test the icon at its smallest size before you ship it.
Grab your first favicon now
That is everything you need to get a favicon from any website, in any size, in the format you want. Scroll back up, paste a web address, and download the icon in a few seconds. It is free, and there is nothing to install.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I get the favicon from a website?
- Paste the website's address into the box at the top of this page and press the button. The tool reads the domain and pulls that site's favicon from Google, DuckDuckGo and Icon Horse at the same time. You then see the icon in every common size and can download each one as a PNG, WebP or ICO file. There is nothing to install and no login.
- Is this favicon downloader free to use?
- Yes. The favicon grabber is completely free and has no daily limit. You can look up as many websites as you like and download every size and format. We do not ask for an email or a sign-up. The icons load straight from the public favicon services, so you get them in seconds.
- What sizes and formats can I download?
- You can grab favicons from 16x16 pixels all the way up to 256x256 and larger. Each row lets you save the icon as a PNG, a WebP, or, for DuckDuckGo, the original ICO file. PNG is the safest all-round choice, WebP is smaller, and ICO is the classic favicon format that works in every browser, including older ones.
- Can I get the favicon from any website?
- Almost always, yes. As long as the site has a favicon and is reachable on the public web, one of the three services will find it. If a site has no favicon at all, or it is very new and not yet cached, you may see a blank box or a fallback icon. Trying a second source on the page usually solves it.
- How does this favicon grabber work?
- It builds favicon URLs for the domain you enter and asks three public services for the icon: Google's S2 favicon API, DuckDuckGo's icons API, and the open-source Icon Horse. The work happens in your browser, so no file ever passes through our server. To download, the tool draws the icon onto a canvas and saves it in the format you pick.
- Is it legal to download a favicon from another website?
- Downloading a favicon to view it, test it, or check how a site renders is generally fine. A favicon is still the brand owner's artwork, though, so you should not reuse someone else's icon as your own logo or pass it off as your brand. Use this tool for research, design references, link previews and your own sites, not to copy a competitor's identity.
- What size favicon does Google show in search results?
- Google wants a favicon that is a square multiple of 48 pixels, such as 48x48, 96x96 or 144x144, and it picks the size it needs from there. The file must be crawlable, meaning robots.txt does not block it, and it should clearly represent your brand. Google can take days or weeks to pick up a new or changed favicon, so do not expect an instant update in search.
- Why is a favicon important for my website?
- A favicon is the small icon people see in browser tabs, bookmarks and mobile search results. It is one of the fastest ways visitors recognise your brand and a quiet trust signal that your site is looked after. Sites with no favicon show a plain globe, which looks unfinished and can cost you clicks. Adding one is a small fix with an outsized effect on how polished your site feels.