Vectorize image

How it works

1. 1Choose an image from your computer. The tool accepts PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF and BMP files, up to 5 MB per image.
2. 2Choose the kind of image: logo, icon or flat illustration, black and white line art, or photo. Each choice sets starting values.
3. 3Open the advanced settings only if you need to change colours, curves, specks or precision. Changing any value switches the menu to Custom settings.
4. 4If you are not signed in, complete the human check. Then press Vectorize image.
5. 5Check the preview on its checkerboard background and the file size, then press Download SVG.

Example output

Original PNG, 1200 x 900 px, 100 KB

Traced SVG, 51 paths, 49 KB

Original, enlarged 6 times

SVG, enlarged 6 times

How to vectorize an image

Open the image vectorizer and choose the picture you want to convert. The tool accepts PNG, JPG (JPEG), WebP, GIF and BMP files. It checks the file type from the content, not from the file name.

Before the upload starts, the browser checks the type, size and pixel count of the file. It then shows a preview with the image size, so you can confirm you chose the right picture.

Choose the kind of image, press Vectorize image, and wait for the job to finish. The tool then shows the SVG on a checkerboard so you can see the transparent areas.

Download the SVG when the result looks right. If it does not, change one or two settings and run the job again. Use the PNG to SVG tool or the JPG to SVG tool if your file is one of those formats and you want a page for that format.

What it means to vectorize an image

This is what people mean by image to vector conversion. A raster picture is a grid of pixels. Each pixel holds one colour, so the picture has a fixed number of pixels and turns blocky when you enlarge it far enough.

A vector picture is a set of paths: points joined by lines and curves, each filled with a colour. Because the paths are described by math rather than a grid, the SVG can be scaled to any size with clean edges.

To vectorize an image means to trace it. The program finds areas of similar colour, fits curves around each area and writes the result as filled paths in a new file.

The SVG has a width, a height and a viewBox, so it can be used at any size. Letters in the picture become shapes, not editable text.

Vectorizing is not the same as embedding

Embedding puts a raster picture inside an SVG file as an image element. The file is labelled SVG, but the pixels are still there, so enlarging it still shows the pixel grid.

Vectorizing replaces the pixels with filled paths. The SVG that this tool makes contains only filled paths: no embedded raster image, no text elements, no scripts and no links.

The result panel shows the number of vector paths. A file with paths and no image inside is the kind of file this tool makes. To convert a picture to SVG this way, check that the path count is what you expect.

• Embedded: a raster image wrapped in an SVG file, still made of pixels.
• Vectorized: traced shapes made of filled paths, which scale cleanly.

Which images vectorize well

The tool suits logos, icons, flat illustrations, line art, signatures, silhouettes and scanned drawings. These usually have a few solid colours and sharp edges, which suit the tracing method.

Transparent PNG, WebP and GIF files keep their transparency, so a logo on a transparent background stays transparent. A JPG has no transparency, so its background becomes a coloured shape behind the drawing.

Start from the largest, sharpest version you have. A blurry or low-resolution source gives rough edges, and small text becomes shapes rather than editable text.

• Logos and icons with a few solid colours.
• Flat illustrations and drawings with sharp edges.
• Black and white line art, signatures and silhouettes.
• Scanned drawings, after you have cropped them to the picture.

Photos and shaded artwork

Photos and images with smooth gradients, shadows or fine texture do not trace well. The shading turns into many flat colour patches, which gives a posterised look.

With default settings, a photograph can produce a very large SVG, many megabytes with thousands of paths. The Photo preset makes a much smaller file, but it loses detail.

Tracing does not add back detail that is not in the original. Gradients become bands of flat colour, so expect a stylised result rather than a copy of the photo.

Settings explained

The 'What kind of image is it?' menu sets a group of values. Logo, icon or flat illustration is the default: full colour, remove specks smaller than 4 px, colour precision 6, colour layer difference 16, corner threshold 60 and smooth curves.

Black and white line art makes one black layer on a transparent background. The Photo preset uses fewer colours for a smaller file: remove specks 16, colour precision 5 and colour layer difference 32.

Open the advanced settings to change single values. JPEG noise around edges can show up as specks, so raise remove specks to clean it.

• Colours: full colour or black and white.
• Curve style: smooth curves or straight edges.
• Remove specks smaller than: 0 to 16 px.
• Colour precision: 1 to 8. Lower means fewer colours.
• Colour layer difference: 0 to 255. Higher means fewer layers.
• Corner threshold: 0 to 180 degrees. Higher means rounder corners.

Formats and size limits

The tool accepts PNG, JPG (JPEG), WebP, GIF and BMP. BMP files must be uncompressed 8, 24 or 32-bit. SVG, PDF, TIFF, HEIC and AVIF files are not accepted, so export those as PNG or JPG first.

For a GIF or an animated WebP, only the first frame is traced. JPG photos from phones are turned upright using their orientation tag.

An image larger than 4 MP (for example 2000 x 2000) is scaled down before tracing. The SVG is still made of vector paths, and the result panel shows the traced size.

If the SVG would be larger than 20 MB, the job fails with an output too large message. It does not return a cut-off file. Raising remove specks or lowering colour precision gives a smaller file.

• Free web tool: up to 5 MB per image and 10 images per day.
• Signed-in users: up to 10 MB per image.
• Every image must be within 16 MP (4096 x 4096).
• Signed-in users use 5 credits per image, plus 1 credit per 5 MB of SVG after the first 5 MB.

Image to SVG from code

You can run the same tracing from code through the API. Send a POST request to the image jobs path, /v1/image-jobs, on the API host. The body is the raw image bytes, not JSON and not multipart form data.

Set the Content-Type header to image/png, image/jpeg, image/webp, image/gif or image/bmp. Send your API key in the Authorization header as Bearer followed by the key, or in the x-api-key header.

Settings go in the query string. The operation op=image_to_svg is the default and the only one. Colormode can be color or binary, hierarchical can be stacked or cutout, and mode can be spline or polygon. Unknown names are rejected.

The request returns a 202 response with a job_id, the status queued and the credits reserved. Poll GET /v1/jobs/:id until the status is succeeded, failed or timeout.

When the job succeeds, the result gives bytes, width, height, paths, src_width, src_height and downscaled. Download the file from download_url. That link is short-lived, so download the SVG soon after the job finishes.

Failed and timed-out jobs are refunded. The API has no batch endpoint, so send one request per image. Webhooks are not available yet.

• filter_speckle: 0 to 16.
• color_precision: 1 to 8.
• layer_difference: 0 to 255.
• corner_threshold: 0 to 180.
• segment_length: 3.5 to 10.
• splice_threshold: 0 to 180.
• path_precision: 0 to 4.
• timeout_sec: 1 to 60.

Privacy: what happens to your file

Your image is sent to our server, because the tracing runs there and not in your browser. The uploaded image is used only to make the SVG, and it is deleted as soon as the job ends, whether the job succeeds or fails.

The SVG result from the free web tool is deleted after 10 minutes. No history of your conversions is kept, so download the SVG before that time. Download links are short-lived.

Only upload images you have the right to use. Tracing a logo or artwork you do not own does not give you the rights to it. See the Acceptable Use Policy for the rules.

Questions