PNG to SVG Converter

A PNG to SVG Converter turns a pixel image into vector shapes. This one first finds the colors in your PNG: if there are 16 or fewer, it keeps them exactly; otherwise it groups similar colors into 16 representative ones. It then removes isolated stray pixels and traces each color region into closed path outlines along the pixel edges, keeping holes such as the inside of an O. The result is a true SVG of filled shapes, not a PNG wrapped in an SVG file.

A PNG watermark has a fixed number of pixels, so stretching it across a large print makes its edges blocky and soft. A traced SVG is made of shapes, so it can be scaled up without adding blur. Keep in mind that this converter follows the pixel grid, so its outlines have small steps that match the pixels of the traced image. For the cleanest watermark, start from a sharp PNG with flat colors, so each step is tiny relative to the shapes.

Click the upload area or drag PNG files onto it; you can add several at once. The selected files and their count appear in a list. Click Convert to SVG, and each file is traced in turn, its status changes to Done, and an .svg file with the original name downloads automatically. Simple logos finish almost instantly, while a large photo takes a moment longer. Clear Files empties the list so you can start again.

Choose SVG for graphics made of flat shapes and a few colors: logos, watermarks, signatures, icons and simple illustrations. They scale to any size on screen and in print and can be recolored in a vector editor. Keep photographs as JPG or PNG. A photo traced by this tool becomes a posterized image of at most 16 colors made of thousands of shapes, which loses the tones and detail that make a photograph worth showing, and the file is often larger too.

Rasterizing and vectorizing are opposite processes in digital imaging. Rasterizing takes a vector graphic, which is composed of mathematical paths, and converts it into a pixel-based format like PNG or JPEG. This is often done when an image needs to be displayed on screens that render pixels. Vectorizing takes a pixel-based raster image and calculates paths that recreate its shapes. Vectorizing is useful when you have a flat graphic that needs to be scaled up without the pixelation of raster formats.

Three things change the look. First, the image is reduced to at most 16 colors, so gradients, shadows and photographic tones become flat bands. Second, pixels that are mostly transparent are dropped and the rest become solid, so soft edges and glows turn hard. Third, tracing happens at up to 1,000 pixels on the longest side, and outlines follow that pixel grid, so curves show small steps when you zoom in. Flat, high-contrast graphics convert most faithfully.

Yes. Pixels that are more than half transparent are left out of the trace entirely, so the background of your SVG stays empty and the shapes can sit over any photo or layout. Pixels that are more than half opaque become fully solid, because each traced shape has a single flat color without partial transparency. A logo with soft drop shadows or feathered edges therefore gets a crisp edge instead, which is usually what you want for a watermark.

First check the file is really a PNG: the tool only accepts PNG files, and a file renamed from another format may not decode. If the status shows Could not read this PNG, open the file in an image viewer to confirm it is not damaged, then export it again as PNG. Large images are traced at up to 1,000 pixels on the longest side, but a busy photo can still take a while, so give it time or crop it first. A slower device simply takes longer.

For the cleanest vector, prepare the PNG first. Remove the background in a photo editor if you want it transparent, because a white background is traced as a white shape. Increase contrast so the graphic stands out, and clean up noise, stray pixels and compression artifacts around the edges. Reduce the design to the few flat colors you actually need, since anything beyond 16 colors gets merged. A sharp source of around 1,000 pixels on its longest side gives the tracer the most detail to work with.

It depends on the image. A flat logo with a few colors usually becomes a compact SVG, often smaller than a high-resolution PNG, because only the outlines of a few shapes are stored. A photo or a graphic with gradients is different: after reduction to 16 colors it breaks into thousands of small shapes, and the path data can make the SVG much larger than the PNG. If the SVG is bigger than expected, the source is probably too detailed for vector tracing.