An ICO file can hold several image sizes at once; this tool extracts all of them as separate PNGs, delivered in a ZIP file.
Introduction
An ICO file and a PNG file solve different problems. PNG always holds exactly one image. ICO is a container built specifically for icons, and a single .ico file can hold several different images inside it at once — the same icon rendered at 16×16, 32×32, 48×48, 256×256, and other sizes, all packed into one file so an operating system or browser can pick whichever size fits a given spot. That difference — one format holds one image, the other can hold several — is the single most important thing to understand before converting, and it shapes exactly what you get back from this tool.
What You Actually Get: Every Size in the ICO, Not One
This tool doesn't pick one representative size out of your ICO file and discard the rest. It reads every image stored inside the file and converts each one into its own separate PNG, then delivers all of them together in a single ZIP file. If your ICO holds four sizes, you'll get four PNGs in the ZIP, each one named with its pixel dimensions so you can tell them apart without opening each one individually. If your ICO only ever held a single image, you still get a ZIP back — just one containing a single PNG — rather than a bare .png file on its own.
This matches how the ICO format is actually built, not an arbitrary choice on this tool's part. An ICO file starts with a small header that records how many images it contains, followed by one directory entry per image describing that image's width, height, and color depth — Microsoft's own published documentation of the icon format describes this directory structure in detail. Because the source file is genuinely organized this way, picking just "the one PNG" would mean discarding real, distinct image data the file deliberately contains — this tool keeps all of it instead.
One side effect worth knowing in advance: the result panel labels the converted file "PNG" (matching the format you asked to convert to), but the file your download link actually points to is the ZIP described above, not a raw .png file. Unzip it to reach the individual PNG images.
How the Conversion Works
This tool only accepts .ico files, up to 15 MB. The upload is checked against the actual ICO binary signature, not just the file extension, so a different file type renamed to end in .ico won't pass validation. If a file passes that check but still isn't a genuinely valid icon once the conversion runs, the tool reports an error rather than producing a broken result.
Converting Several ICO Files at Once
You can queue more than one ICO file in a single session. Each one is converted independently and, per the above, each produces its own ZIP of extracted PNGs. Once two or more conversions finish, a "Download all" option appears; it bundles those already-separate ZIP files together into one further ZIP. In other words, converting three ICO files and using "Download all" gets you a ZIP containing three ZIPs — one per original icon file — not one flat folder of PNGs. If you only convert a single ICO, downloading it directly gives you that one ZIP without the extra bundling step.
What to Check Before You Use the Result
- You'll get a ZIP, not a single image file. Even a one-image ICO comes back zipped. Unzip the download to reach the actual PNG file or files.
- Check the filenames to find the size you need. Each extracted PNG's filename includes its pixel dimensions, so you can identify the 32×32 version (or whichever size fits your use) without opening every file first.
- Transparency carries over. If the original icon had transparent areas, those are preserved in the extracted PNGs.
- Only .ico files are accepted, up to 15 MB. To go the other direction and build an ICO from a regular image, use Image To Ico.
Example
Someone downloads an old project's favicon.ico to reuse or inspect it, and it turns out to contain three sizes bundled together — 16×16 for a browser tab, 32×32 for bookmarks, and 48×48 for a taskbar shortcut. Converting it here returns a ZIP with three separate PNGs, one per size, each labeled with its dimensions, instead of losing two of the three representations by only getting a single PNG back.
FAQs
What ICO files can I convert?
.ico files, up to 15 MB.
Why did I get a ZIP file instead of a PNG?
An ICO file can hold more than one image size inside it. This tool extracts every image it finds and returns them as separate PNGs inside one ZIP file, so nothing embedded in the original icon is discarded — even a single-image ICO is still delivered inside a ZIP.
How do I know which PNG is which size?
Each extracted PNG's filename includes its pixel dimensions, so you can identify the size you need without opening each image.
Will transparency be preserved?
Yes. Transparent areas in the original icon carry through to the extracted PNGs.
Is my file kept afterward?
No. Files are processed only to complete the conversion and are automatically deleted within 2 hours — see the Privacy Policy for details.
I need to build an ICO from an image instead — is there a tool for that?
Yes, see Image To Ico.
