Need to grab a website's favicon for a project, presentation, or competitive analysis? Here are 3 reliable methods, from simplest to most powerful.

Method 1: The Browser Address Bar Trick

The simplest approach — just type a URL directly into your browser:

https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=example.com&sz=64

This uses Google's public favicon service to fetch the icon. You can change the sz parameter to get different sizes (16, 32, 64, 128, 256).

Pros: No tools needed, works in any browser.
Cons: Limited sizes, sometimes returns low-quality or default icons. No batch download.

Method 2: Check the Website's HTML Source

Every website declares its favicons in the <head> section of its HTML. Here's how to find them:

  1. Open the target website in your browser.
  2. Right-click and select "View Page Source" (or press Ctrl+U).
  3. Search for rel="icon" or rel="shortcut icon".
  4. Copy the href value — that's the favicon URL.
  5. Open the URL in a new tab and save the image.

You might find multiple favicon declarations pointing to different sizes and formats. Common patterns:

<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="/favicon-32x32.png">
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="/apple-touch-icon.png">
<link rel="manifest" href="/site.webmanifest">

Pros: Gets the exact icons the site actually uses.
Cons: Manual, time-consuming. Some sites use complex paths or CDN URLs that are hard to find.

Method 3: Use a Dedicated Favicon Tool (Recommended)

The most efficient method is using a purpose-built favicon downloader like Mzu favicondl:

  1. Go to favicondl.com.
  2. Enter any domain name (e.g., github.com).
  3. See the favicon preview in multiple sizes (32px and 128px).
  4. Click Download to save the icon immediately.

Pro tip: Need favicons for multiple sites? Use our Batch Processing tool in the Tools section to download favicons from a list of domains at once.

Pros: Instant, multiple sizes, batch processing, no coding required.
Cons: None — it's free!

Method 4 (Bonus): Using the Command Line

For developers who prefer the terminal, you can use curl:

# Download via Google's favicon API
curl -o favicon.png "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=github.com&sz=128"

# Or download directly from the website
curl -o favicon.ico "https://github.com/favicon.ico"

Which Method Should You Use?

MethodSpeedQualityBest For
Google URL trickFastMediumQuick one-off grabs
HTML sourceSlowHighFinding exact icon files
Mzu favicondlFastestHighEverything — single & batch
Command lineMediumMediumAutomation scripts

Common Questions

Is it legal to download favicons?

Favicons are publicly served by websites and intended to be displayed by browsers. Downloading them for personal use, research, or reference is generally fine. However, using someone else's favicon as your own brand icon could raise trademark issues.

Why is the favicon I downloaded blurry?

Many websites only provide a 16×16 or 32×32 pixel favicon. Try looking for the Apple Touch Icon (180×180) or Android Chrome icon (192×192 or 512×512) for higher quality. Mzu favicondl automatically fetches multiple sizes so you can pick the best one.