Updated · Built and checked by the PlinzoTools team, formulas tested against published sources
Convert a Windows .ico icon file to WebP instantly, right in your browser.
Upload a ICO file to convert it to WEBP.
This tool converts a Windows .ico icon file to WebP entirely in your browser. ICO is a container format built for Windows icons and website favicons -- a single .ico file can bundle several resolutions of the same image (e.g. 16×16, 32×32, 256×256) so the operating system or browser picks whichever fits. This tool reads the real ICO byte structure and extracts the largest embedded image, then re-encodes it as WebP.
Click the upload area and choose an .ico file. The converted preview appears immediately; click Download to save it as a real WebP file.
Need to go the other way? Use the WebP to ICO tab above, or open the WebP to ICO converter directly.
WebP is a far more widely supported, general-purpose image format than ICO -- most photo editors, social platforms, and websites don't accept .ico uploads at all, so converting to WebP is usually the first step to actually using an icon's artwork somewhere else (editing it, sharing it, or repurposing a favicon's image as a regular graphic).
The converter opens your .ico, chooses the largest embedded PNG image, draws it onto a canvas, and asks the browser to save the canvas as WebP at a quality of 0.92. The output keeps the pixel dimensions of that largest image. Because WebP supports an alpha channel, transparent parts of your icon stay transparent, unlike a JPG conversion where they would become white.
Unlike the BMP and GIF outputs, WebP is produced by the browser itself rather than by code in this tool. Current versions of the major browsers can encode WebP, but if a browser cannot, it may silently fall back to a different format or fail to create a file. If your download does not open as WebP, try another current browser. Once you have the file, it is worth checking that it opens in the software where you plan to use it, since some older desktop programs and email clients do not display WebP.
Suppose you have a 256x256 site icon whose artwork is a simple flat-color shape on a transparent background. Converting it produces a 256x256 WebP with the same transparency. The file will usually be small, but the exact size depends on the artwork, so do not assume a fixed saving. The tool shows the output size after conversion so you can compare it with your original .ico and decide whether the format is worth using.
A tiny icon such as 16x16 may not shrink at all, since the file is already only a few hundred bytes to a few kilobytes and format overhead dominates. WebP savings show up mainly with larger, more detailed images.
At 0.92 quality, WebP output is lossy. For clean icon artwork this typically looks fine, but a very close look at sharp text or thin lines can reveal slight softening. If you need pixel-perfect edges, keep a PNG instead. If your goal is fast-loading images on a website and the icon will be displayed at a moderate size, WebP is a reasonable choice.
Look at the dimensions shown after conversion. An ICO that only contains small sizes will produce a small WebP that looks blurry if scaled up. Also confirm the platform you are uploading to accepts WebP; some older content systems and form uploaders still expect JPG or PNG only. Keep the original .ico, because converting away from it discards the smaller bundled sizes.
No -- the whole conversion happens locally in your browser. Your file never leaves your device.
The largest embedded image is used, so you get the highest-resolution version the icon file contains.
Yes. WebP supports an alpha channel, so transparent areas of the icon stay transparent.
No. The tool encodes with a quality of 0.92, which is a lossy setting. For pixel-exact results, use a PNG conversion instead.
WebP encoding is done by the browser, so it depends on browser support. Try a current version of Chrome, Edge or Firefox if the download is not a WebP file.
Not always. It depends on the artwork and on how much is bundled in the ICO. Multi-size ICO files can be larger than a single WebP, while a tiny single-size icon may not shrink. Compare the sizes shown by the tool.
Converting ICO to WebP changes more than the file extension -- ICO is best suited to favicons and Windows application icons, while WebP is built for web images that should load fast, both photos and graphics.
| ICO | WebP | |
|---|---|---|
| File extension | .ico | .webp |
| Compression | a container holding PNG or BMP images | lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | Full transparency (alpha channel) | Full transparency (alpha channel) |
| Animation | Single image | Supported |
| Colours | up to 32-bit colour with alpha | 16.7 million plus an 8-bit transparency channel |
| Best for | favicons and Windows application icons | web images that should load fast, both photos and graphics |
| Support | all browsers for favicons and Windows for icons | all current browsers; some older desktop and print software cannot open it |
The conversion happens in your browser; the file is never uploaded.