Convert PNG to SVG

How to use the PNG to SVG converter

1. Add the PNG. Clean artwork with solid areas gives the best outline.
2. Set Colours to match the design: 2 for one-colour marks, around 4 to 16 for most logos.
3. Optionally scale the image under More settings first, then convert.
4. Check the SVG in a vector app or a browser tab, zoomed in on the curves.

Artwork that traces well

The tracer groups pixels by colour and turns the borders between groups into smooth paths. Badges, emotes, stamps, cartoon characters and wordmarks with a handful of flat colours come out cleanly and can be recoloured shape by shape afterwards.

Photographs and video stills are the opposite case. Every gradual shade change becomes another shape, so the SVG balloons in size and still looks like a poster. Keep those as raster images.

Tuning the result

The Colours setting is the main control. Each extra colour adds a layer of regions, so start low and raise it only when a part of the design disappears. Fewer colours also mean a lighter file.

Transparent parts of the PNG are left empty in the SVG, so a logo cut out for overlays stays cut out. Feeding in the biggest, crispest version you own gives smoother outlines than a tiny favicon-sized copy.

Where traced files earn their keep

Vinyl cutters, laser engravers, embroidery programs and sign makers want outlines, not pixels, and a traced SVG gives them exactly that. Merch mock-ups and large printed banners benefit too, since the shapes scale without blur.

For use on a website, the SVG can be tidied further in Inkscape or Illustrator, for instance by merging neighbouring shapes that share a colour.

Questions