# SVG vs PNG for Logos and Icons

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PixSquish Guides · Published July 2026 · Reviewed August 2026

![Flat geometric paper cut-outs beside a glossy photographic print, divided by a thin red ruler](https://pixsquish.com/wp-content/themes/pixsquish/assets/img/article-svg.webp)

Logos and icons live a double life: infinitely-scalable design assets, and concrete files that must open in places with rules of their own. Here is the practical split.

## The one-table answer

|  | SVG | PNG |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **What it stores** | Shapes as math (vector) | A grid of pixels (raster) |
| **Scaling** | Infinite, always sharp | Fixed — upscaling blurs |
| **File size (logo)** | Often 1–5 KB | Grows with dimensions |
| **Photos** | Wrong tool | Fine (PNG/WebP/JPG) |
| **Works everywhere** | Browsers yes; apps/stores often no | Universally |

## Use SVG when…

- The asset is your own website’s logo, icon set or illustration — one tiny file covers every screen density forever.

- You want to recolor via CSS (`currentColor`) or animate parts of the graphic.

- The graphic is genuinely flat shapes and text, not photographic.

## Use PNG when…

- **The destination demands it**: app store listings, marketplace uploads, email signatures, Slack/Discord emoji, older CMSs, print pipelines.

- The image contains photographic texture, shadows or complex gradients.

- You need pixel-exact control at a specific size — a hand-tuned 16 px icon often beats an auto-scaled vector.

## The crossover: rasterizing SVG

Sooner or later every SVG logo needs a PNG version. Render it at **exactly the size required, or 2× for high-DPI** — never upscale a small PNG later. Our [SVG to PNG converter](/svg-to-png/) renders with your browser’s own engine at 1×/2×/4×, keeping transparency, without uploading the file anywhere.

## Favicons: the special case

Modern browsers accept SVG favicons, but the bulletproof setup still includes PNG sizes and a classic .ico. Drop a 512×512 version of your mark into the [favicon generator](/favicon/) and it produces the whole set — 16 through 512 plus a real multi-size .ico — with the HTML snippet ready to paste. Full size reference: [image size cheat sheet](/articles/image-sizes-cheat-sheet/).

## Standards and references

- [SVG 2 specification](https://www.w3.org/TR/SVG2/)

- [HTML icon link specification](https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/links.html#rel-icon)