What happens when you convert PNG to SVG
- The image is decoded and written as an SVG traced from the shapes and colours of the image.
- Tracing turns areas of similar colour into vector shapes. Logos, icons and flat artwork trace cleanly and scale to any size; photographs come out posterised, because every shade becomes a separate shape.
How to convert PNG to SVG online
- Press "Choose PNG files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. You can add files of any size your device can hold in memory.
- Adjust the settings if you need to. The output is lossless, so there is no quality setting to worry about.
- Press "Convert to SVG". Images convert in a second or two each.
- Save each SVG with its download button. Close the tab and every trace of the files is gone from memory.
Why convert PNG to SVG?
PNG files usually come from screenshots, logos, diagrams and anything with transparency. People convert them to SVG because SVG stays sharp at any size and is tiny for logos and icons, which makes it the standard for graphics on the web and in design tools.
In short, PNG is good at what it was made for, and SVG is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. PNG opens in every browser and image viewer, while SVG renders natively in every browser.
How to convert PNG to SVG on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your PNG files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each SVG is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the PNG files from Finder onto the drop zone and the SVG files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose PNG files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted SVG appears in Files, in the Downloads folder; to put it in your photo library, open it there, tap Share and choose Save Image.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose PNG files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The SVG is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for PNG to SVG
Two settings control the trace. Colours sets how many flat colours the SVG may use: 2 gives a black and white trace, ideal for signatures and line art; 8 to 16 suits most logos; 32 keeps more shading but produces far more shapes. Detail sets how closely the outlines follow the pixels: High keeps small features, Simple gives smoother, lighter files.
For the best result, start from the largest, cleanest version of the image you have, with a flat background. Blurry or heavily compressed JPGs trace with ragged edges, because the tracer follows the compression noise.
PNG vs SVG: the differences
| PNG | SVG | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Portable Network Graphics | Scalable Vector Graphics |
| Type | image | image |
| Created by | the PNG Development Group | the World Wide Web Consortium |
| First released | 1996 | 2001 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossless |
| Transparency | Yes | Yes |
| Animation | No | Yes |
| Vector or raster | Raster | Vector |
| Colour | up to 16 bits per channel with a full alpha channel | any colour, described as shapes rather than pixels |
| In a browser | opens in every browser and image viewer | renders natively in every browser |
| Common uses | screenshots, logos, diagrams and anything with transparency | logos, icons, charts and illustrations on the web |
| MIME type | image/png | image/svg+xml |
About PNG and SVG files
What is a PNG file?
PNG compresses without losing a single pixel, so screenshots and text stay razor sharp, but a photograph saved as PNG is often three to five times the size of the same photo as JPG.
What is an SVG file?
SVG describes shapes as text instructions, so it stays sharp at any size and a simple logo can be under 5 KB. Turning it into pixels fixes it at one resolution, so choose the output size before converting.
PNG to SVG not working? Common problems
- Colours look slightly different. Browsers convert images to the standard sRGB colour space when they decode them, so wide-gamut and CMYK images can shift a little.
- A phone photo comes out upright even though it looked sideways elsewhere. That is correct: the rotation stored in the photo is applied during conversion, so the SVG is always the right way up.
- The file is bigger than expected. It depends on the artwork. A simple logo traced to SVG is often a few kilobytes; a detailed image produces thousands of shapes and a larger file than the PNG. Fewer colours give a smaller SVG.
Convert PNG to SVG from the command line
ImageMagick cannot trace pixels into vector shapes; it only wraps the image inside an SVG. The standard open-source tracer is potrace, which works on black and white bitmaps:
magick input.png -threshold 50% input.pbm
potrace input.pbm -s -o output.svgThat gives a single-colour trace. For colour, the converter on this page traces each colour separately and combines them, without installing anything.
PNG to SVG converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting PNG to SVG?
The SVG is an interpretation, not a copy: tracing rebuilds the PNG as shapes. For logos and flat graphics it looks the same and stays sharp at any size; for photos, fine detail is simplified.
Why is the SVG a different size from the PNG?
It depends on the artwork. A simple logo traced to SVG is often a few kilobytes; a detailed image produces thousands of shapes and a larger file than the PNG. Fewer colours give a smaller SVG.
Are my PNG files uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion runs inside this browser tab using your browser's own image decoder, so your files stay on your device. You can disconnect from the internet after the page has loaded and it still works.
Can I convert several PNG files to SVG at once?
Yes. Select or drop as many files as you like; they are converted one after another and each gets its own download button.
How do I open an SVG file?
SVG renders natively in every browser. SVG is common for logos, icons, charts and illustrations on the web.
Is this PNG to SVG converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on how many files you convert. The site is paid for by advertising, and because conversions run on your device there is no server cost per file.
Can I convert PNG to SVG on my phone?
Yes. The converter works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. Converted files are saved to the Downloads folder.