Image to Vector Converter
Turn any picture into vector artwork, in the format you need, without uploading it anywhere. Pictures such as PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF, BMP, AVIF and ICO are grids of pixels; vector files are shapes that stay sharp at any size. So the picture is traced: each area of colour becomes a filled shape. Drop in whatever you have: an animated GIF lets you pick the frame, an icon file lets you pick the size, old bitmaps are read by our own decoder, and iPhone HEIC photos work in Safari. The picture is traced once, and the same shapes are saved as SVG for the web and cutting machines, PDF for printing, EPS for print shops and sign makers, AI for designers, and DXF for laser cutters and CAD. Each file is read back after it is made, so you can see it holds shapes, not your picture. Logos, icons, flat illustrations and line art trace best; photos turn into posters of flat colour. Your picture never leaves your device.
100% private — everything runs in your browser. Your picture is traced and saved as vector files on your device; nothing is uploaded or stored.
Your picture
Traced vector shapes
Format
Each format, read back from the file
Tracing
Fewer colours give fewer, cleaner shapes. Photos trace into many small shapes, so start from a poster preset.
Size
Print size uses the resolution stored in the file, such as 300 ppi: a 900 px wide photo at 300 ppi makes a 3 inch artboard.
Leave the width empty to match the artboard (72 pt = 1 inch). The DXF is scaled so its picture is exactly this wide.
Runs in your browser: imagetracerjs (public domain) traces the picture once with the same settings as our PNG to SVG tool; our own code reads ICO and BMP files and GIF frames and writes the SVG, EPS and DXF, svg2pdf.js and jsPDF (MIT) write the PDF and AI, and pdf.js (Apache-2.0) checks them; the libraries load from jsDelivr. Your picture is never uploaded and nothing is saved. You may use what you make here, including commercially, with no credit needed. The rights in your own pictures stay as they were. Not affiliated with Adobe.
How to convert an image to vector
- Drop your picture on the box, or click Try a sample. For an animated GIF pick the frame; for an icon file pick the size (the largest is traced first).
- Pick a starting point such as Logo or Black and white, then move the Colours and Detail sliders until the traced shapes look right.
- Pick a format: SVG, PDF, EPS, AI or DXF. The table under the buttons shows what each file holds, read back from the file.
- Click Download, or Download all five formats for a ZIP.
What you can use it for
- Turn a logo you only have as a picture into vector artwork
- Trace a favicon or app icon (.ico) into an SVG
- Pick one frame of an animated GIF and make it a vector
- Rescue an old BMP graphic from a scanner or a Windows app
- Give a print shop the EPS or PDF it asks for
- Make a DXF from black and white art for a laser cutter
Every picture format, one trace
| Your picture | How it is read | What is traced |
|---|---|---|
| PNG, JPG, WebP | By your browser | The picture; see-through areas stay empty; phone photos upright |
| GIF (still or animated) | Our own GIF decoder | The frame you pick, as a browser shows it |
| BMP (1 to 32-bit, RLE) | Our own BMP decoder (the browser for any kind it cannot read) | The picture, incl. 32-bit see-through areas |
| AVIF | By your browser | The picture (first frame of an animated AVIF) |
| ICO (favicons, app icons) | Our own icon reader | The size you pick, largest first, with its see-through mask |
| HEIC (iPhone photos) | By Safari 17 or later | The photo; other browsers cannot read HEIC yet |
| SVG, PDF | Not traced | SVG is already vector; turn a PDF into a picture first |
Have an iPhone photo and no Safari? Save it with HEIC to JPG and trace the JPG. To change an SVG’s format instead, use the SVG Converter.
Which format for what
| Format | Best for | What is inside |
|---|---|---|
| SVG | Websites, cutting machines such as Cricut, most vector apps | Filled paths, sized to your picture |
| Printers, proofs, opening in any vector editor | The same paths as PDF drawing commands | |
| EPS | Print shops, sign makers, older layout apps | The same paths in PostScript, with a bounding box |
| AI | Designers who ask for an .ai file | A PDF-compatible .ai: the PDF part every modern .ai holds |
| DXF | Laser and CNC cutting, CAD apps | Closed outlines (R12 polylines), one layer per colour, at the width you set |
Every format comes from one trace, so the shapes in the SVG, PDF, EPS, AI and DXF are the same shapes. After writing them, the tool reads each file back and shows what it holds: paths in the SVG, vector paths and 0 pictures in the PDF and AI, a valid EPS structure, and closed polylines and layers in the DXF.
| Start from | Colours | Detail | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logo or flat art | 16 | 5 | Most logos and icons |
| Black and white | 2 | 6 | Line art, stamps, laser and vinyl cutting |
| Few colours, smooth | 6 | 4 | Simple shapes with clean edges |
| Photo poster | 8 | 5 | Photos turned into flat-colour posters (JPEG smoothing on) |
| Detailed | 32 | 8 | Illustrations with many colours |
These are the same settings and the same tracing engine as our PNG to SVG tool and the Image Vectorizer, so a picture traces the same way on all three. To edit the traced shapes in your browser, open the SVG in the SVG Editor; for more DXF settings (threshold, despeckle, invert), use PNG to DXF.
Tested on real pictures
| Our test picture (360 × 240 px unless noted) | Read by | SVG paths | PDF / AI vector paths (pictures) | DXF polylines (layers) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PNG | browser | 6 | 7 (0) | 11 (4) |
| WebP (lossless) | browser | 6 | 7 (0) | 11 (4) |
| AVIF | browser | 138 | 139 (0) | 166 (10) |
| Animated GIF, frame 2 of 3 | own GIF decoder | 6 | 7 (0) | 11 (4) |
| 8-bit RLE8 BMP | own decoder | 6 | 7 (0) | 11 (4) |
| 32-bit BMP with a see-through corner | own decoder | 6 | 7 (0) | 11 (4) |
| ICO, 48 × 48 bitmap with mask (of 2 sizes) | own icon reader | 32 | 33 (0) | 47 (7) |
Each file made in testing was also opened by independent programs: the PDF and AI in a second PDF reader (vector drawings, no pictures), the EPS in a PostScript interpreter, and the DXF in a separate DXF parser. Our BMP and icon readers were checked pixel for pixel against a second image library on 1, 4, 8, 24 and 32-bit, RLE8, RLE4 and top-down bitmaps and on three kinds of icon file.
Not affiliated with Adobe.
Sources
Sources: imagetracerjs on GitHub (The Unlicense); Microsoft Learn: BITMAPINFOHEADER (bit depth, colour table, row stride, top-down bitmaps); Can I use: HEIF/HEIC image format (Safari 17 and later only); JPEG File Interchange Format 1.02 (density in dots per inch or per cm); Library of Congress: Encapsulated PostScript File Format (one page, the %%BoundingBox comment); DXF Reference: header variables incl. $INSUNITS (4 = millimetres, 1 = inches); svg2pdf.js on GitHub (MIT licence); pdf.js on GitHub (Apache-2.0 licence); CSS Values and Units (W3C): 1 in = 96 px = 72 pt.
More free design file tools
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Trace, view and convert design files with free tools that run privately in your browser: nothing uploaded.
See all free tools →Frequently asked questions
Is this image to vector converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no daily limit. The tracing and all five files are made in your browser, so your picture never leaves your device.
Which pictures can I convert?
PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF, BMP, AVIF and ICO in any current browser, and HEIC photos from an iPhone in Safari. SVG files are already vectors, so there is nothing to trace; PDFs need to be turned into a picture first.
Which vector format should I choose?
SVG for websites and cutting machines such as Cricut, PDF for printing and proofs, EPS when a print shop or sign maker asks for it, AI when a designer asks for an .ai file, and DXF for laser cutters, CNC machines and CAD apps. Download all five formats gives you every one in a ZIP.
What happens with an animated GIF?
A vector file made by tracing holds one still picture, so one frame is traced. The first frame is traced at the start; move the frame slider to trace another. The frame is drawn the way a browser shows it at that moment.
Which size of an icon file is traced?
An .ico file holds the same icon at several sizes. The largest is traced by default because it has the most detail; the size list lets you pick another. Both kinds of icon picture work: PNG inside the icon, and the older bitmap kind with its see-through mask.
Can I open BMP files?
Yes. Our own decoder reads 1, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 32-bit bitmaps, compressed (RLE) ones and top-down ones, and keeps the see-through areas of a 32-bit bitmap. For any other kind, the browser tries. The facts line says which reader was used.
Why does my HEIC photo not open?
HEIC is the photo format of iPhones. Safari 17 and later can read it; Chrome, Edge and Firefox cannot yet. Open the page in Safari, or save the photo as JPG first.
Are the files real vectors?
Yes. The picture is traced into filled shapes, and only those shapes go into the files. The tool reads each file back: the table shows the number of paths in each, and 0 pictures in the PDF and AI.
What size is the artboard?
By default one pixel becomes one point, so a 600 × 400 px picture makes a 600 × 400 pt artboard. Print size uses the resolution stored in the file instead: a 900 px wide picture saved at 300 ppi makes a 3 inch (216 pt) artboard. CSS size uses 96 pixels to the inch.
Is my picture uploaded?
No. imagetracerjs, svg2pdf.js, jsPDF and pdf.js are downloaded from jsDelivr and run in your browser; the SVG, EPS and DXF, and the readers for ICO, BMP and GIF files, are our own code on your device.