// Image Formats · 2026
SVG VS PNG
These are not two versions of the same thing - one is a drawing, the other is a grid of pixels. We compare scaling, size, editability and the security detail people miss.
Updated: August 2026 · 7 min read
↓ Skip to VerdictAt a Glance
| Category | SVG | PNG |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Vector - shapes and coordinates | Raster - a grid of pixels |
| Scaling | Infinite, always sharp | Blurs when enlarged |
| Photographs | Unsuitable | Excellent |
| Logos and icons | Ideal, usually tiny | Workable, needs multiple sizes |
| Styling with CSS | Yes - colours, hover, animation | No |
| Text inside | Real, selectable text | Baked into pixels |
| Security | Can contain scripts - sanitise untrusted files | Inert |
They solve different problems
A PNG is a grid of coloured pixels. An SVG is a set of instructions - draw a circle here, fill this path with that colour - which the browser renders at whatever size it needs. That single difference drives everything else. Ask whether your image is a drawing or a photograph, and the choice makes itself.
Scaling is the headline advantage
An SVG logo is equally sharp on a phone, on a 5K monitor, and on a printed banner, from one file. The PNG equivalent needs to be exported at several sizes, shipped with srcset, and it will still be soft if someone zooms past your largest export. For logos, icons, diagrams and charts, this alone usually settles it.
File size cuts both ways
For a flat icon, an SVG is often a few hundred bytes where a PNG is tens of kilobytes. But SVG size scales with complexity, not with dimensions - a heavily detailed vector illustration with thousands of paths can be far larger than a PNG of the same picture, and slower to render. If your vector file is over a few hundred kilobytes, exporting a PNG is often the better call.
SVG can be styled and animated; PNG cannot
Because an SVG is markup, CSS can reach inside it: recolour an icon on hover, adapt it to dark mode, animate a path. A PNG is opaque to all of that, which is why icon systems moved to SVG almost universally. It also means the text inside an SVG is real text - selectable, searchable and readable by a screen reader.
⚠️ One security detail worth knowing
An SVG is a document, and a document can contain <script>. An SVG uploaded by an untrusted user and served from your own domain is a cross-site scripting vector - a real one, not a theoretical one. PNG is inert and carries no such risk. If you accept SVG uploads, sanitise them or serve them from a separate origin. This is not a reason to avoid SVG for your own assets; it is a reason to be careful with other people’s.
Our Verdict
Logos, icons, diagrams and anything geometric should be SVG - one file, infinitely sharp, styleable with CSS. Photographs and complex textured images must be PNG or, better for the web, WebP. If a vector file is enormous because the artwork is very detailed, exporting it to PNG is the sensible exception rather than a failure.
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