Favicon Size Guide: All Dimensions You Need for Perfect Display

Creating favicons in the correct sizes ensures your website icon looks crisp and professional across all browsers, devices, and contexts. This comprehensive guide covers every favicon dimension you need in 2025.

Standard Favicon Sizes

The fundamental favicon sizes that every website should have:

16x16 pixels: The classic favicon size displayed in browser tabs, bookmarks, and the address bar. This is the minimum size and most commonly seen.

32x32 pixels: Used for higher resolution displays and Windows taskbar shortcuts. This size provides better clarity on modern screens.

48x48 pixels: Windows site icons and Chrome extension icons use this size for better visual quality on desktop environments.

Modern Device Favicon Sizes

Today's multi-device world requires additional sizes for optimal display:

180x180 pixels (Apple Touch Icon): When iOS users add your website to their home screen, this size is used as the app icon. It's displayed on iPhones and iPads with crystal clarity.

192x192 pixels (Android Chrome): Android devices use this size when users add your site to their home screen. It ensures sharp display on all Android screen densities.

512x512 pixels (PWA Icon): Progressive Web Apps and modern Android devices use this larger size for app icons and splash screens. This is the largest favicon size needed.

Additional Recommended Sizes

For comprehensive coverage across all platforms:

• 64x64 pixels: High-DPI browser tabs and Windows taskbars
• 96x96 pixels: Google TV favicon size
• 128x128 pixels: Chrome Web Store apps
• 144x144 pixels: Windows 8/10 tile size
• 152x152 pixels: iPad touch icon for older iOS versions
• 167x167 pixels: iPad Pro touch icon
• 256x256 pixels: Safari tabs on high-resolution displays

Favicon.ico Multi-Size Format

The traditional favicon.ico format is special because it can contain multiple icon sizes in a single file. A properly formatted .ico file typically includes:

• 16x16 pixels (256 colors)
• 32x32 pixels (256 colors)
• 48x48 pixels (256 colors)

This multi-size approach ensures compatibility with older browsers while maintaining visual quality across different contexts. Our free favicon generator automatically creates .ico files with all these sizes included.

Which Sizes Are Most Important?

If you need to prioritize, focus on these essential sizes:

1. 16x16: Absolute minimum for browser compatibility
2. 32x32: Standard for modern browsers
3. 180x180: Critical for iOS devices
4. 192x192: Essential for Android devices
5. 512x512: Required for PWAs and modern Android

How Size Affects Visual Quality

Favicon design becomes more challenging at smaller sizes. Details that look great at 512x512 pixels may become muddy or unrecognizable at 16x16 pixels. This is why emoji favicons are so effective - they're already designed to be clear and recognizable at tiny sizes.

When creating custom favicons from logos or images, test how your design looks at 16x16 pixels first. If it's not immediately recognizable at this size, simplify your design.

Responsive Favicon Strategy

Modern best practice is to provide multiple sizes so browsers can select the most appropriate one:

<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="/favicon-16x16.png">
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/favicon-32x32.png">
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="48x48" href="/favicon-48x48.png">
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/apple-touch-icon.png">
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="192x192" href="/android-chrome-192x192.png">
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="512x512" href="/android-chrome-512x512.png">

Using Favicon Generators

Rather than manually creating and resizing favicons in multiple dimensions, use our free online favicon generator. Upload one image or select an emoji, and the generator automatically creates all necessary sizes in the correct formats, saving hours of manual work.

The generator ensures each size is properly optimized with:

• Correct dimensions and aspect ratios
• Appropriate file formats (.ico, .png)
• Optimized file sizes for fast loading
• Browser-compatible color spaces

Common Size Mistakes to Avoid

Using Only 16x16: While this is the classic size, it looks pixelated on modern high-DPI displays. Always include at least 32x32.

Stretching Small Icons to Large Sizes: If you start with a 16x16 icon and scale it up to 512x512, the result will look blurry and unprofessional. Always work from a high-resolution source.

Forgetting Mobile Sizes: With mobile traffic dominating the web, omitting 180x180 and 192x192 sizes means iOS and Android users see generic icons when they save your site.

Using Wrong Aspect Ratios: Favicons must be perfect squares. Using rectangular images will result in distorted or cropped icons.