15 October 2026
SVG or PNG? Choosing the right logo file
SVG, PNG, or something else entirely? A plain guide to which logo file to use for websites, slides, print and social media.
Most logo downloads come in two flavours: SVG and PNG. They look identical on screen, which is exactly why people pick the wrong one. Here's what each is for, and how to choose in about ten seconds.
The short answer
Use SVG for websites, apps and anything that might be printed or resized. Use PNG for slides, documents, emails and social posts, where the software expects an image file. If in doubt, download both. They're free.
What an SVG actually is
An SVG isn't a picture so much as a set of drawing instructions: start here, curve to there, fill with this colour. Your browser or design app follows the instructions every time it shows the logo, at whatever size you ask for. That's why it's called a vector file.
The practical upshot is that an SVG never goes blurry. A logo that looks crisp at 32 pixels will look just as crisp across the side of a van. The files are also tiny. Most of the single-colour logos on MisterLogo are under 2KB, smaller than this paragraph.
SVGs are also editable. Open one in Figma, Illustrator or Affinity Designer and you can change the colour, or pull the mark apart. (Whether you should change a brand's logo is another matter. Usually, you shouldn't.)
What a PNG actually is
A PNG is a grid of coloured pixels, fixed at the size it was saved. Ours are 1,024 pixels across, which is plenty for a slide or a document. Stretch one bigger and it starts to soften at the edges, because the software has to guess at pixels that were never there.
PNGs have one big advantage over JPEGs: transparent backgrounds. A PNG logo sits cleanly on a coloured slide without a white box around it. That's why you should never use a JPEG for a logo if you can help it.
Which one, where
- Websites and apps: SVG. It's sharp on every screen, including high-resolution phones, and loads almost instantly.
- Presentations (PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides): PNG is the safe choice. Newer versions of PowerPoint and Keynote handle SVG well, but if you're sending the deck to someone else, a PNG won't surprise them.
- Word documents and emails: PNG. Email software in particular has patchy SVG support.
- Print: SVG, or ask the printer what they want. Many will also accept a PDF or EPS, which are vector formats too.
- Social media: PNG. Instagram, LinkedIn and the rest won't accept SVG uploads.
- Favicons and app icons: SVG where it's supported, with a PNG as a fallback.
Single colour or full colour?
Many logos on MisterLogo come in two versions. The single-colour version is one shape in one colour, which makes it easy to drop onto any background or recolour to match a layout. It's what you want for a row of "works with" logos, where everything should look consistent.
The full-colour version is the logo as the brand presents it, with every colour and detail intact. Use it when the brand itself is the point, such as a partner announcement or a case study.
One last tip
Whichever file you use, check the brand's own guidelines if it has them. Most set rules on clear space around the logo, minimum sizes and which backgrounds it can sit on. We link to them on each logo's page where we can find them. Ten minutes of reading saves an awkward email later.
Start with a few well-used examples: the Spotify logo, the Slack logo or the GitHub logo.
