7 Handy, Free favicon and Icon Editors

This article explores seven free icon and favicon editors: X-Icon Editor, Free Icon Maker, Junior Icon Editor, IcoFX Portable, KIconedit, OS X Icon Editor/Icon Maker for Mac, and Logaster. These tools, ranging from web-based to desktop applications, offer varying features and capabilities for creating and editing icons.

Icon editors generally cater to two needs: creating favicons, Apple Touch icons, and app icons; and designing icons for app and website UIs. Web-based editors, while often less feature-rich, are efficient for smaller tasks and ideal for manipulating small icon files. The best choice depends on your skill level and project complexity. Advanced features like layering, filters, format conversion, and batch processing are available in some, but not all, editors.

Earlier, we examined pre-made icons. However, custom icon creation is often necessary. While professional software like Photoshop can be used, specialized editors streamline the process. This review focuses on pixel-based icon editors.

Web-Based Editors (Generally less feature-rich):

1. X-Icon Editor: A browser-based editor (IE9 ) for creating favicons in four sizes (16x16, 24x24, 32x32, 64x64). Offers basic tools like brush, pencil, eyedropper, and text. Imports JPG, GIF, BMP, PNG, and ICO files.

2. Free Icon Maker: More features than X-Icon Editor, allowing creation from scratch or modification of existing icons. Includes free icons and presets, and supports SVG imports. Requires registration for upload/download.

Desktop Editors (More advanced features):

3. Junior Icon Editor: A cross-platform (Windows, iOS, Linux, Android) free editor supporting ICO, PNG, XPM, XBM, and ICPR formats. Offers extensive tools including pencil, brush, fill, text, spray can, color replacer, and various shape tools. Supports custom icon sizes and 32-bit True Color with alpha channel.

4. IcoFX Portable: A free (with a paid version) editor compatible with Windows and Mac icons. Offers features such as cross-platform icon conversion, custom effects, filters, batch processing, and icon manipulation within EXE files (availability may vary in the free version).

5. KIconedit (Linux): A basic Linux icon editor. Provides essential tools like rectangle, circle, ellipse, selection, line, freehand drawing, color picker, fill, and eraser. Supports various bitmap formats, grayscale conversion, resizing, and undo/redo.

6. OS X Icon Editor & Icon Maker (Mac): Two options for Mac users. OS X Icon Editor is a full-featured suite (Pic2Icon, Icon2PNG, Icns2icon, Icon2icns, Icon2ico), while Icon Maker offers simpler drag-and-drop functionality.

7. Logaster: An online tool that generates favicons and icons using a logo creation wizard. Allows customization but handles much of the design process automatically.

Conclusion: The ideal editor depends on individual needs. Web-based options are convenient for quick edits, while desktop applications offer greater control and advanced features for complex projects.

(FAQs section omitted for brevity, but could be easily re-added based on the original text.)

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