How Big Should a Favicon File Be?
Favicons are small files. A multi-size favicon.ico is typically 5–15KB, an individual PNG size is a few kilobytes up to a few tens of kilobytes, and even a 512x512 PWA icon is usually well under 100KB. If a favicon is hundreds of kilobytes, something is wrong: normally a full-resolution photo saved at icon dimensions instead of being properly resized.
Tiny by nature
A favicon has very few pixels, so it compresses to almost nothing. There's no performance reason to fret over its size: it's a few kilobytes, fetched once, and cached hard by the browser after that.
The only time file size is worth a look is when it's surprisingly large, which points at a mistake rather than a design choice.
Rough sizes to expect
| File | Typical size |
|---|---|
| favicon.ico (multi-size) | 5–15KB |
| 32x32 PNG | 1–3KB |
| apple-touch-icon (180) | 5–20KB |
| 512x512 PNG | 20–90KB |
Favicon file size FAQ
How big should a favicon be?
In kilobytes: a favicon.ico is usually 5–15KB, small PNGs a few KB each, and a 512px icon under 100KB. In pixels, it's a set of square sizes from 16 to 512.
Is my favicon too big?
If any single icon is hundreds of kilobytes, yes: it's likely a full-size image saved at icon dimensions without resizing. Re-export at the correct size.
Do favicon file sizes affect page speed?
Negligibly. Favicons are small and cached aggressively after the first request, so they aren't a meaningful factor in load time.