SVG vs PNG — Which Vector or Raster Format Is Right?
Compare SVG and PNG image formats. Learn about scalability, file size, browser support, and when to use vectors versus raster images for logos and icons.
| Feature | SVG | PNG |
|---|---|---|
| Scalability | Infinite (vector) | Fixed resolution (raster) |
| File Size (logos) | Small | Larger |
| File Size (photos) | Very large (not practical) | Manageable |
| Animation | Yes (CSS/JS) | No |
| Editability | Yes (text/code) | Requires raster editor |
| CSS Styling | Yes | No |
| Browser Compatibility | All modern browsers | Universal |
| Security Risk | XSS if untrusted | None |
Verdict
Use SVG for logos, icons, illustrations, and any graphic that needs to scale. Use PNG for photographs, screenshots, or when you need maximum compatibility across all contexts (email, PDFs, older browsers). Most modern websites serve SVG logos and PNG/WebP photos.
Vector vs Raster: The Fundamental Difference
The difference between SVG and PNG reflects the difference between vector and raster graphics. PNG stores image data as a grid of pixels — each pixel has a specific color. When you scale a PNG up, the browser must guess what the missing pixels should look like, resulting in blurriness or pixelation. SVG stores images as mathematical descriptions of shapes: 'a circle at position (50,50) with radius 20, filled with #FF0000.' At any zoom level, the browser recalculates the pixel positions from these formulas, always rendering perfectly sharp results. This is why a logo in SVG looks crisp on a 4K display while the same logo as a 100x100 PNG looks blurry.
Performance Implications for Websites
For icons and logos, SVG typically wins on performance. A well-optimized SVG logo might be 2-5KB; the equivalent PNG at 2x resolution for Retina displays might be 15-30KB. Inline SVG icons eliminate HTTP requests entirely. For a site with 20 icons in a toolbar, that's 20 fewer requests. Tools like SVGO aggressively compress SVG files by removing redundant path data, comments, and metadata — often reducing file sizes by 50-70% without visual changes. The caveat is complex SVGs with hundreds of path nodes can become very large and slow to render; for these, rasterized PNG/WebP is sometimes more practical.
Frequently Asked Questions
SVG is the preferred format for logos. A single SVG file displays crisply at any size — from 16px favicon to 200px header logo to print resolution. PNG logos must be created at multiple sizes, and a low-resolution PNG will look blurry on high-DPI screens. Always request SVG source files from designers.
SVG is safe when used as an <img> tag or CSS background — browsers sandbox it. When SVG is inlined directly in HTML or loaded as a trusted source, it can execute JavaScript and CSS, which is useful for interactivity but requires trust in the SVG source. Never inline SVG from user-uploaded or untrusted sources without sanitizing it.
Generally no — major email clients (Outlook, Gmail) have poor or no SVG support. For email, always use PNG (or JPG for photos). This is one of the few contexts where PNG remains clearly better than SVG for logos.