PNG to Vector Converter
Turn a PNG into vector artwork, in the format you need, without uploading it anywhere. A PNG is a grid 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. Choose how many colours and how much detail, from a two-colour stamp to a 32-colour illustration, and compare the result with your picture side by side. 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 thousands of small shapes. 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 PNG
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
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 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 a PNG to vector
- Drop your PNG on the box, or click Try a sample.
- 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 saved as PNG into vector artwork for print
- Give a sign maker or print shop the EPS or PDF they ask for
- Make a DXF from simple black and white art for a laser cutter
- Get an SVG of an icon for a website or a cutting machine
- Send a designer an .ai file of a flat illustration
- Rebuild a small graphic at a much larger size without blur
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.
What tracing does to your picture
| Your PNG | In the vector files | How well it traces |
|---|---|---|
| Logo or icon in a few flat colours | One shape per area of colour | Very well |
| Black and white line art, stamps, signatures | Black shapes on an empty artboard | Very well (use 2 colours) |
| Flat illustration with many colours | Many shapes in up to 32 colours | Well |
| Photo or soft gradients | Thousands of small shapes in steps of colour | Poorly: keep photos as pictures |
| See-through areas | Left empty | Kept |
The tool is honest about what you get: shapes traced from your picture, not your original file’s layers or the fonts in it. Text in a PNG becomes shapes of letters, not editable text.
| 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 |
| 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 PNG | SVG paths | PDF / AI vector paths (pictures) | EPS paths | DXF polylines (layers) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The sample logo (480 × 320 px, 4 colours) | 113 | 114 (0) | 113 | 115 (6) |
| A 200 × 120 px RGB test picture | 4 | 5 (0) | 4 | 7 (4) |
| A PNG with soft see-through edges | 55 | 56 (0) | 55 | 73 (6) |
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, which found the same outlines, layers and width.
Not affiliated with Adobe.
Sources
Sources: imagetracerjs on GitHub (The Unlicense); 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); jsPDF 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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See all free tools →Frequently asked questions
Is this PNG 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 PNG never leaves your device.
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.
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.
Will it look exactly like my PNG?
Close, not exact. Tracing turns each area of colour into a shape, so soft shading becomes steps of colour and very fine detail is smoothed. Logos, icons and flat art come out very close; photos do not suit tracing.
Is it a real .ai file?
It is a PDF-compatible .ai, which is what a modern .ai file is underneath: the PDF part Illustrator saves inside every .ai with PDF compatibility, the part other programs read. It has no Illustrator editing data, so Illustrator opens it the way it opens a PDF, with every shape there to edit.
How big is the DXF?
By default the DXF matches the artboard: a 600 px wide PNG makes a 600 pt artboard, which is 211.67 mm. Type a width in millimetres or inches and the DXF is scaled so the picture is exactly that wide. Each colour is its own layer of closed outlines.
Does transparency stay transparent?
Yes. See-through areas of the PNG are not traced, so they stay empty in every format. You can also remove a solid background colour: tick Remove the background colour.
What size is the artboard?
By default one PNG pixel becomes one point, so a 600 × 400 px PNG makes a 600 × 400 pt artboard in the PDF, EPS and AI, the same numbers you see in a vector editor. CSS size uses 96 pixels to the inch instead: the same PNG makes a 450 × 300 pt artboard.
Is my PNG uploaded?
No. imagetracerjs, svg2pdf.js, jsPDF and pdf.js are downloaded from jsDelivr and run in your browser; the SVG, EPS and DXF are written by our own code on your device.