Tools
SVG tools — 25 ways to end up with a vector file.
Generating, converting, editing and packaging — plus the guides for what a cutter, a printer or a browser needs from the file once you have it. Everything except generation is free and unmetered, and the last section covers the tools we do not make.
01 · Generate
Start from nothing but a sentence.
7 entries
Text to SVG
Write a prompt, get closed geometry with named layers.
1 – 2 credits
AI icon generator
Grid-aligned icon sets with consistent stroke weight.
1 – 2 credits
AI logo generator
Six mark archetypes, and full commercial rights.
1 – 2 credits
Vector art generator
Twelve style vocabularies, from flat to gradient mesh.
1 – 2 credits
Line art generator
Single-weight stroke drawings you can re-weight later.
1 – 2 credits
SVG illustrations
Hero art and spot art with a byte budget per placement.
1 – 2 credits
Pattern generator
Seamless tiles wrapped in a repeating pattern definition.
1 – 2 credits
02 · Convert
Start from a file you already have.
4 entries
Image to SVG
Every supported raster format, with a verdict for each.
1 – 2 credits
PNG to SVG
Lossless source with transparency — the best case.
1 – 2 credits
JPG to SVG
Working around compression artefacts before you upload.
1 – 2 credits
Logo to SVG
Rebuild a brand mark as a scalable asset set.
1 – 2 credits
03 · Edit and clean
Free and unmetered, whatever the file started as.
3 entries
04 · Export and package
Turn one drawing into the files a platform asks for.
4 entries
05 · Make something physical
What the machine or the printer needs from the file.
5 entries
Cricut and Silhouette
Closed paths, welded overlaps, colour-separated layers.
Free guide
Laser cutting
Cut, score and engrave signalling, plus kerf allowance.
Free guide
Sticker maker
Cut line, bleed, safe zone and the layer names vendors want.
Free guide
T-shirt designs
Screen print separations, DTG, vinyl and embroidery.
Free guide
Coloring pages
Stroke weight by age, paper sizes and print checks.
Free guide
06 · Add motion
Animation that lives inside the file.
2 entries
Elsewhere
Six tools we do not make, and when to reach for them.
No toolkit is one vendor's. These do things we do not, and on the jobs below they are the better answer — which is worth knowing before you spend a credit finding out.
Inkscape
A full desktop vector editor
Free, open source, and SVG is its native format rather than an export target. Anything involving boolean operations, offset paths, mesh gradients or serious node surgery belongs here, not in a browser tab.
Illustrator
Print production
Spot colours, separations and the EPS, PDF and AI formats print vendors sometimes insist on. We export SVG and PNG only, so a job gated on a real spot separation needs it or Inkscape.
Figma
Interface design in a team
Components, variants and a shared library. Our part of that workflow is generating something to paste in — the import mechanics are on the Figma page.
SVGO and SVGOMG
Optimisation in a build pipeline
The reference implementation, and the right answer when the cleanup has to run on every commit rather than on a file you are holding. Our optimiser is the in-browser equivalent for one-off files.
SVG Repo and Iconify
Artwork that already exists
Half a million open-licensed icons between them. If somebody has already drawn the thing you need, downloading it beats generating it on every axis including cost.
fffuel and Pattern Monster
Parametric backgrounds
Slider-driven generators for gradients, grain, waves and repeating tiles. Instant and free, and better than a prompt whenever a preset is close enough.
Questions
What SVG is, and what edits it.
- What are the best SVG editing tools?
- It depends what you are doing. Inkscape is the most capable free editor and uses SVG natively; Illustrator is the industry standard where print production is involved; Figma is the right answer for interface work in a team. The editor here is deliberately narrower — bezier editing, named layers and a live code panel, in a browser tab, aimed at finishing a generated file rather than replacing a desktop application.
- What does SVG stand for?
- Scalable Vector Graphics. Scalable because the file stores geometry rather than pixels, so the same drawing renders sharp at any size.
- Is SVG HTML or XML?
- XML. SVG is an XML-based markup language with its own elements and attributes, which is why a file opens in a text editor as readable markup. It can be written inline inside an HTML document, which is where the confusion comes from — but it is its own language with its own specification.
- What software uses SVG?
- Every browser renders it natively. Inkscape uses it as its working format; Illustrator, Figma, Sketch and Affinity all import and export it. Cutting and fabrication software reads it too — Cricut Design Space, Silhouette Studio, LightBurn, Glowforge and xTool all take SVG, which is why so much of this site is about preparing files for machines.
- Which of these tools are free?
- Everything except generation. The editor, the optimiser, the icon and favicon packaging, the component export and every guide are unmetered and cost nothing. Credits are spent only when a model generates or converts artwork, and a free account starts with one so you can judge the output before paying anything.
One free credit. No card.
Editing, optimising and packaging never cost anything. The credit is only for asking the model to draw something new.
Open the editor