What's the difference between TIFF and ICO?

TIFF is a flexible container format used heavily in print, scanning, and archival workflows. ICO is the Windows icon format and the classic home of the site favicon.ico.

Why convert away from TIFF?

TIFF is a flexible container format used heavily in print, scanning, and archival workflows. Where it falls down: web display (browsers won't render it); email and chat distribution. ICO addresses that for most workflows.

When is ICO the right format?

ICO is a good choice for: site favicons (favicon.ico) and Windows application/shortcut icons; bundling several icon sizes in one file. It is a poor choice when photographs and general web images (use WebP, JPG, or PNG).

Anything surprising about TIFF or ICO?

TIFFs can be huge — uncompressed full-color scans easily exceed 100 MB. And on the ICO side: modern .ico files embed PNG frames; convert.now packs a single PNG frame per icon.

Does this work on mobile?

Yes. The drop zone falls back to your phone's file picker, and conversions run on-device just like desktop. Large files may be slower on mobile due to CPU and memory constraints, but the workflow is identical.

What's the maximum file size?

No hard limit — the browser handles it. Files under 50MB convert in a few seconds. Larger files work but may take longer as the browser allocates memory. If you hit issues, batch in smaller groups.

Convert TIFF to ICO

Turn a TIFF into a multi-resolution ICO favicon. Multi-page TIFFs flatten to the first page. Free, in your browser.

Drop images to convert

PNG, JPG, WebP, AVIF, JPEG XL, TIFF, BMP, GIF, SVG, HDR, ICO — any combination

Files stay on your device. Open DevTools' Network tab to verify.

Output format

ICO

Overview

Why convert TIFF to ICO

ICO is a more practical choice than TIFF for most modern workflows: site favicons (favicon.ico) and Windows application/shortcut icons. Coming from TIFF, the thing to know is that web display (browsers won't render it).

Comparison

TIFF vs ICO: what actually differs

TIFF compared with ICO across encoding, fidelity, file size and support.
Attribute	TIFF	ICO
Compression	Lossy or lossless	Lossless
Transparency	Yes	Yes
Animation	No	No
Typical file size	Very large	Varies
Browser support	Not supported in any major browser. Web-bound TIFFs need converting.	Universally supported as a favicon — every browser reads .ico. Not used for general on-page images.

How to

How to convert TIFF to ICO

01
Drop your TIFF files
Drag one or more TIFF files onto the dropzone above, or click to browse. Files stay on your device — nothing uploads.
02
Convert in your browser
convert.now decodes each TIFF and re-encodes it as ICO via WebAssembly. The conversion runs in a Web Worker so the page stays responsive.
03
Download the result
Download a single ICO file or, for batch conversions, a zip of all converted files. Filenames preserve the originals.

Why here

Why convert.now

Private
Files stay in your browser. No upload step. Nothing for anyone to see.
Fast
No queue, no upload wait. Conversion starts the moment you drop a file.
Free
No ads. No file-count limit. No sign-up wall. Just the converter.

FAQ

TIFF to ICO: common questions

No. The conversion from TIFF to ICO runs entirely in your browser using WebAssembly. Files never leave your device. Open DevTools' Network tab if you'd like to verify — there are no network requests with file contents.

Related TIFF converters

Last updated 27 August 2026

Why convert TIFF to ICO

TIFF vs ICO: what actually differs

How to convert TIFF to ICO

Drop your TIFF files

Convert in your browser

Download the result

Why convert.now

TIFF to ICO: common questions

Related TIFF converters