Vectorize an image.
Pixels to paths in seconds.

What it means to vectorize an image

To vectorize image files is to convert them from pixels into shapes. To vectorize an image is to convert it from pixels into shapes. A raster image such as a PNG or JPG is a grid of colored dots with a fixed resolution. A vector image describes the same picture as outlines, curves and fills defined by math, so it can be redrawn sharply at any size.

Designers call this process image tracing or vectorization. It is what Illustrator’s Image Trace and Inkscape’s Trace Bitmap do, and it is what this online vectorizer does without installing anything. The output is an SVG file, the open vector format supported by every browser and every major design tool.

Why vectorize image files

The most common reason is a logo that only exists as a small PNG or JPG. Printers, sign makers, embroidery shops and merch services usually ask for a vector file, because they need to scale the design without losing quality. Vectorizing recovers usable shapes from the bitmap.

Other uses include preparing cut files for Cricut, Silhouette, vinyl cutters and laser engravers (all of which follow vector paths), making crisp icons for websites and apps, turning hand drawings and signatures into digital line art, and shrinking simple graphics: a flat icon is often smaller as SVG than as PNG.

Which images vectorize well online

Vectorization works best on images that are already made of flat shapes: logos, icons, badges, stickers, clip art, cartoons, text, line drawings, stamps and silhouettes. High contrast, solid colors and clean edges give smooth, compact paths.

Photographs are the hard case. Skin, sky, hair and shadows are built from thousands of subtle color changes that no tracer can turn into a few clean shapes. A photo will vectorize into a posterized, screen-print style SVG. That can be a nice art effect, but it is not a realistic copy, and files can get large.

Tips to vectorize image files cleanly

Crop to just the artwork you need, and remove busy backgrounds first. Start with the Logo preset; switch to Illustration or Detailed only if colors are missing. For black ink on paper, use Line art. If you scanned or photographed the artwork, raise the contrast and even out the lighting before uploading. After download, delete stray specks and merge shapes in a vector editor for a production-ready file.

What happens when you press Vectorize

Your browser scales the picture so its longest side is at most 2000 pixels and traces it locally in a Web Worker, so the image never leaves your device. It runs a classic tracing algorithm (the open-source imagetracerjs library): it reduces the image to a small palette, finds the outline of every area that shares a color, and fits straight lines and quadratic curves along those outlines. The result is a standard SVG file made of filled paths that you can open in Illustrator, Inkscape, Figma, Affinity Designer, or any web browser.

This is a tracer, not an AI model. It does not invent detail, guess what is behind an object, or redraw your artwork in a new style. It follows the edges that are actually in your pixels. That makes it fast, predictable and cheap, and it means the output is only as clean as the input.

Choosing the right preset

Logo uses a small palette and smooth curves, which suits flat logos, icons, stickers and badges. Illustration keeps more colors for flat cartoon artwork. Line art produces a two-tone result for sketches, signatures, stamps and scanned ink drawings. Detailed keeps the most colors and the finest shapes; it is the closest you will get to a photo, but files get large and the look is posterized rather than photographic.

If the first result looks noisy, try a simpler preset before anything else. Fewer colors almost always means cleaner shapes and a smaller file.

Honest limits

Photographs, soft gradients, fur, hair and heavy textures do not become crisp vectors with any tracer. You will get a poster-style SVG with visible color bands. Very small text (under roughly 12 pixels tall in the source) may merge or lose its counters. Because images are scaled to 2000 pixels before tracing, extremely detailed artwork can lose fine lines. For production logos, treat the SVG as a strong starting point and tidy it up in a vector editor.

If a conversion fails, no credit is taken.

Privacy and file handling

Your image never leaves your browser: tracing runs on your device and the SVG is created locally. We do not keep a gallery of uploads or use your images to train anything. You need a free account so that credits can be tracked; each successful conversion costs 1 credit.