8 Icon Design Software You Should Know

Icons are versatile visual tools that can be used for a range of things, from company logos to infographics, presentations and other visual communication. Creating your own icons doesn’t necessarily require advanced design skills if you can use an icon maker.

Icon makers are online tools or software that marketers, entrepreneurs and others can utilize to craft custom images and illustrations for their visual communications, branding and more. Let’s explore the best icon makers for 2024 and how to get the most out of each one.

1. Adobe Illustrator

For many professional designers, Adobe Illustrator is the gold standard when it comes to creating icons. The icon design software lets users create icons and illustrations from scratch. So, what’s the downside? It's expensive, and mastering it requires years of training and experience.

Still, for those who can get past the initial investment, Illustrator’s tools are peerless when it comes to customizability. Draw freehand using the pen tool or combine triangles, squares and circles to build complex shapes.

The minimum cost for a standalone Illustrator subscription from Adobe is $22.99 per month, which is around $275 per year, which makes Illustrator a big-ticket item that many teams have a hard time justifying.

2. Iconsflow

IconsFlow is a web-based icon creator that lets users modify icons selected from a vast library, while they can also use a limited set of tools to create unique shapes. It’s free to create or collect a maximum of two icons sets that can have as many as five icons. The most robust plan is $19.99 per month, or about $180 per year.

IconsFlow ensures scalability and quality with vector graphics. Create icons that look sharp and professional on any platform or screen size. You can also unleash your creativity with a plethora of customization tools. Adjust colors, shapes and sizes effortlessly to align your icons with your brand aesthetics.

3. ICO Convert

ICO Convert is a simple tool for creating avatars, favicons and profile icons. It’s not an icon maker in the same sense as other tools on this list, but being able to quickly create profile icons or favicons will save time for folks who need to create these visual assets for their brands’ blogs or other sites.

It’s also completely free and generates multiple types of files, including PNG and .ICO files that can be used on websites and for the Windows operating system.

4. Graphicsprings

GraphicSprings‘ icon maker is another web-based tool, though it was made for allowing entrepreneurs and small-business owners to quickly and easily make their own logos. While you can’t draw your own custom shapes, you can use the tool to create and download icons.

Another big limitation, beyond not being able to draw any shape you want, is that downloading your icons will cost you at least $19.99, though when you think about the fact that this is primarily a logo-building tool, it makes some sense.

5. Brand Crowd

Brand Crowd is another web-based icon-creating tool that’s geared toward those looking to build an icon-based company logo. As such, the built-in supply of icons is a bit limited. Still, you can see the available icons and customize them as you wish or use the editor to make your own combinations.

One very cool and unique aspect of BrandCrowd’s icon editor is that if you’re editing an existing icon-based logo and you want to bring a new shape or symbol into the frame, the system will automatically change its color to match your existing palette.

The tool is one of the most affordable icon design software in this list as it is free to use, but you will be asked to provide your email address in order to download your icons and logos.

6. Iconion

Iconion is a unique tool that turns icon fonts, which contain symbols instead of letters, into icons you can use outside of web, email and other text-based platforms. Iconion must be downloaded and run as a desktop program, and most features are only accessible after purchasing a commercial license which will cost you a one-time payment of $68.85.

Still, choose from dozens of styles, shapes and symbols to create a unique icon set that’s perfect for your brand’s visual communications. Once you have your icon set created, export PNG or jpeg files ready for use in all your design assets.

7. SoftOrbits

SoftOrbits‘ icon maker is designed for web developers, user interface designers and others who need to make graphic icons, but it can also be used for creating icons for use in visual assets like infographics, presentations and white papers.

It’s free to download, but accessing the full feature set for commercial use requires a purchase of at least $59.99, though the company often runs sales, so you could pick it up more cheaply. Once you’ve created your icons, download PNG, jpeg or other files for use.

While it’s a true icon maker in that you can create whatever shape you want, most people will have a steep learning curve as they get used to the tools and functionality, so be prepared for frustration in the early going.

8. Favicon Generator

Create favicons and app icons with Favicon Generator, or download favicon-sized graphics of dozens of icons, shapes and other illustrations. This free tool is a great resource for those who need to create website favicons and app icons, though it’s less useful for graphic designers and marketers.

No customization is available with this tool, so what you see is what you get, and while you can create favicons from uploaded images, you can’t add any embellishments or shapes to them.

How do I create an icon?

The term icon is quite broad and essentially refers to a visual element that’s meant to illustrate one or more aspects of a design. They can lean toward the very simplistic with clip art-style design, while they can also be more detailed, as the above examples illustrate.

There are many tools for creating icons, but the right one for you depends mostly on the types of icons you want to make and how you want to use them. The more advanced the icon you’re hoping to create, the more robust a tool you’ll need to use.