SVG vs PNG for logos: which to use, and when
SVG vs PNG for logos: SVG stays sharp at any size, PNG opens almost anywhere. Which to use for websites, email, social, slides, print and favicons.
SVG vs PNG comes down to one question: will this logo ever be resized? An SVG is a vector file, drawn from shapes, so it stays sharp at any size, from a browser tab to a billboard. Use it on your website and send it to printers. A PNG is a grid of pixels with a transparent background: perfect at the size it was made, blurry if you blow it up, and accepted by nearly every app there is. That makes PNG the safe choice for email signatures, social media, Google Slides and anywhere SVG isn't welcome. Most brands need both.
What's the difference between SVG and PNG?
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) describes your logo as shapes: this curve, that line, this fill color. Your screen or printer redraws those shapes at whatever size it needs, so there are no pixels to blur. Under the hood, an SVG is a small text file.
PNG (Portable Network Graphics) stores your logo as a fixed grid of colored pixels. A PNG that's 1,000 pixels wide holds exactly that much detail, and stretching it past that makes the edges soft and jagged. Its superpower is transparency: a PNG can have a see-through background, so the logo sits cleanly on any color.
That's the vector vs raster difference in a nutshell. Our post on what a vector logo is goes deeper.
SVG vs PNG at a glance
| SVG | PNG | |
|---|---|---|
| Made of | Shapes (vector) | Pixels (raster) |
| Scales up without blurring | Yes, to any size | No, only down |
| Transparent background | Yes | Yes |
| File size for a simple logo | Usually tiny | Grows with the pixel size |
| Opens in | Browsers, design apps, Canva, Word and PowerPoint (Microsoft 365) | Practically everything |
| Easy to recolor or edit | Yes, in a vector app | Not really |
| Best for | Websites, print, signs, anything resized | Email, social media, slides, documents |
| Watch out for | Some apps and sites won't accept it | Blurs when enlarged |
Which should you use where?
On your website: SVG
An SVG logo stays crisp on every screen, and every modern browser shows it. One catch: an SVG is code, and code can carry scripts, so some website builders won't accept SVG uploads out of the box. WordPress, for example, needs a plugin (such as Safe SVG, which cleans each file as it uploads). If your site won't take an SVG, use a PNG exported at twice the size it displays.
In an email signature: PNG
SVG support differs from one email app to the next (caniemail.com tracks it app by app), so a PNG is the format you can count on. Export it at twice the size it shows in the signature, so it's sharp on high-resolution screens.
On social media: PNG
Profile pictures, posts and banners take PNG or JPEG. For your profile picture, use a square PNG of your icon or compact logo on a solid brand color, with room around it, since most platforms crop profile pictures to a circle.
In Canva, Word, PowerPoint and Google Slides: it depends
- Canva accepts SVG uploads, and SVG is the better choice there because it stays sharp when you resize it.
- Word and PowerPoint (Microsoft 365, and Office 2019 or later) insert SVGs through Insert > Pictures, according to Microsoft. Older versions need a PNG.
- Google Slides lists PNG, JPEG and GIF as its image formats in Google's own documentation, so give it a PNG.
When in doubt, a large PNG works in all of them.
For print: SVG, or the vector original
Printers want vector files so the logo prints with clean edges at any size. Send the SVG, or the original your designer made (usually a PDF, AI or EPS file). Signs, vehicle graphics, screen printing and embroidery start from vector too. If a printer only gets a PNG, it needs to be big: printers usually ask for 300 pixels per inch at the printed size, so a logo printed 3 inches wide needs a PNG about 900 pixels wide. If an AI or EPS file won't open on your computer, here's how to open it without Illustrator.
For a favicon: SVG, with PNG backups
The tiny icon in a browser tab can be an SVG in all the major browsers now (Safari joined in version 26, according to caniuse.com). Keep PNG versions too, for older browsers and for the icon a phone uses when someone saves your site to their home screen. Use your icon or monogram rather than the full logo: a browser tab shows it about 16 pixels wide.
Do SVG and PNG both support transparency?
Yes. Both can have a transparent background, which is what you want for a logo almost everywhere. JPEG is the one that can't: it always has a solid background, usually white, which is why a JPEG logo turns into a white box on a colored background. (If a JPEG is all you've got, here's what designers can do.)
One thing that catches people out: a white logo on a transparent background looks blank in most previews (white on white). Name it clearly, like "northline-logo-white.png", so nobody deletes it as empty.
Which is smaller, SVG or PNG?
For a simple logo, the SVG is usually much smaller, and it stays the same size whether it displays at 50 pixels or 5,000. A PNG gets heavier as you add pixels. The exception is a detailed, illustrated logo full of textures or gradients, which can make a heavy SVG.
How do you convert SVG to PNG, or PNG to SVG?
SVG to PNG: easy
Any vector app can export a PNG at whatever size you need:
- Inkscape (free, Mac and Windows): open the SVG, choose File > Export, pick PNG and set the width.
- Photopea (free, in your browser): open the SVG, then File > Export As > PNG.
- Affinity (free from Canva, Mac and Windows) or Illustrator: open it and export as PNG.
PNG to SVG: not really a conversion
Saving a PNG as an SVG doesn't make it vector. Some free online converters simply tuck the PNG inside an SVG file: the right name at the end, the same old pixels inside. For a true SVG you have two options:
- Auto-trace it with Illustrator's Image Trace or Inkscape's Trace Bitmap (Path > Trace Bitmap). This works well for simple, high-contrast logos and usually needs some cleanup.
- Redraw it by hand in a vector app. That's the right call for lettering and fine detail.
Common SVG and PNG mistakes
- Stretching a small PNG. Go back to the SVG and export a bigger one instead.
- Grabbing the logo off your website or Instagram. Those are small, compressed copies.
- Sending an SVG where it isn't supported. If someone says "the logo is blank", send a PNG.
- Trusting a fake SVG. If it goes blurry when you zoom in, it's a PNG in disguise.
- Keeping only one version. You want both formats, in color, black and white. Our guide to logo file formats has the full list, and logo variations explains which versions to make.
Keep both, so nobody has to choose
The easiest way to settle SVG vs PNG is to have both ready before anyone asks. In BrandTab, you upload your SVG logos once. On a share page (Creative and Studio plans), each SVG logo has a PNG download right beside it, and the brand package's "Download everything" zip includes a PNG copy of every SVG logo, for apps like Word and Google Slides.
If you're the one making the slide, BrandTab for Mac copies your logos to the clipboard as PNG images: press ⌥⌘B, pick the logo, and paste it into Keynote, Slides, Canva or Mail. Your first brand is free.
Questions people ask
PNG vs SVG: which is better for a logo?
Neither wins everywhere. SVG is better for websites, print and anything that gets resized. PNG is better for email signatures, social media and apps that don't accept SVG. Keep both.
Can I use an SVG logo in Canva?
Yes. Canva accepts SVG uploads, and an SVG logo stays sharp at any size in your designs.
How big should a PNG logo be?
For screens, about twice the size it will display. For print, 300 pixels per inch at the printed size. When in doubt, go big: you can always shrink a PNG, but you can't enlarge one without blurring it.
