SVG vs PNG for your logo, shown live
Every logo eventually meets a surface that stretches it: a retina screen, a printed shirt, a conference banner. Whether it survives depends on the file format. Instead of describing the difference, this page lets you zoom it.
The zoom test
Below is the same mark twice. The left one is a real SVG, the exact file this site uses. The right one was rendered once as a 48 pixel bitmap, the way a small PNG export works, and is then enlarged like any raster image would be. Push the zoom and watch what happens to the edges:
That is the whole argument in one image. The SVG describes shapes as curves and redraws them at every size, so 8x zoom costs nothing. The PNG committed to a fixed grid of pixels the moment it was saved, and no amount of enlarging can invent detail that was never stored.
What an SVG file is
SVG stands for Scalable Vector Graphics. The file is plain text that describes shapes: this curve, this fill, this proportion. Because nothing is stored as pixels, the same file renders sharp at 16 pixels in a browser tab and at two meters on a trade show wall, and it usually weighs a few kilobytes. Browsers treat it as a first-class image format, CSS can recolor it, and every professional logo workflow uses a vector file as the master from which everything else is exported.
What a PNG file is
PNG is a raster format: a fixed grid of pixels with lossless compression and clean transparency. At or below the size it was exported for, a PNG is flawless, which is why it remains the default for screenshots, email and every upload form on the internet. Its one limitation is the one the demo above shows: the pixel grid is the ceiling. Ask a PNG to be bigger than it was born and it can only stretch.
When PNG is still the right choice
The zoom test does not make PNG obsolete; it defines its job. Email signatures need PNG because several major clients block SVG images outright. Social platforms, app stores and most upload forms accept only raster files and re-encode whatever you send, so you upload a PNG at exactly the size they ask for. Office documents and slide decks place PNGs predictably where SVG support is patchy. The rule is simple: keep one SVG as the master, and export a PNG at the right fixed size for every surface that demands pixels.
Which file goes where
| Surface | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Website header and pages | SVG | Sharp on every screen density, smallest file, styleable with CSS |
| Favicon and app icons | PNG set plus ICO, SVG where supported | Browsers and stores request fixed pixel sizes |
| Email signature | PNG at 2x display size | Major email clients block or strip SVG |
| Social profiles and avatars | PNG at the platform's stated size | Most upload forms reject SVG and re-encode what you send |
| Docs, decks and invoices | PNG | Office tools handle PNG predictably; SVG support is patchy |
| Print, signage and merch | SVG (or PDF/EPS from it) | Print needs resolution no fixed-pixel file can guarantee |
Favicons are the extreme case of the pixel question, small enough that every pixel is a decision; the favicon size guide covers each required size and the three link tags that serve them. And the format only carries half the impression: the other half is type, which you can preview on your own name with the logo font pairings tool.
What the LogoRay kit ships
This is why the kit is built the way it is. Every LogoRay logo is composed from hand-curated vector marks, so the master file is a clean SVG, not a trace of a bitmap. From it the kit exports every PNG size the table above calls for: favicon and app icon sets, avatars, and full-size marks for docs and social. One purchase, both formats, every surface covered; the pricing overview lists exactly what ships in each kit.
Common questions
Is SVG or PNG better for a logo?
You need both, in different roles. SVG is the master file: it scales to any size with no quality loss and stays tiny. PNG is the delivery format for surfaces that cannot read SVG, like email signatures and many upload forms. Keep the SVG as the source of truth and export PNGs from it.
Why does my logo look blurry when I enlarge it?
Because it is a raster file. A PNG stores a fixed grid of pixels, so enlarging it forces the screen to stretch those pixels, which reads as blur or visible squares. An SVG stores shapes as math and redraws them sharp at any size, which is what the zoom demo on this page shows.
Can I convert a PNG logo to SVG?
Auto-tracing tools can wrap a PNG in an SVG container, but the result is only as good as the pixels going in: soft edges, gradients and photos trace badly. A logo built as vector shapes from the start is cleaner and smaller than any trace of it.
Should the logo in my email signature be SVG or PNG?
PNG. Several major email clients block or strip SVG images for security reasons, so an SVG signature logo simply fails to render for part of your recipients. Export a PNG at twice its display size so it stays sharp on high-density screens.
What logo file do printers and merch shops want?
A vector file: SVG, or a PDF or EPS exported from it. Print resolution is far higher than screen resolution, so a web PNG that looks fine on a monitor turns soft on a shirt or sign. Vector files scale to any print size with no loss.
Compose a real logo from hand-curated original marks and own the clean SVG plus every export the table above calls for. Free to design, $39 once for the files.