Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Bob Kruse

Top 10 Free and Paid Resources For Icons

Sometimes you don’t have time to create icons yourself. That’s where this list of top icon resources comes in.

Icons are a vital element of every web design project and can be quite time-consuming to create on your own. Due to this, many web designers lean on the creative work of others to supply icons for their web design projects.

There are many paid and free resources on the Internet that can provide you with high-quality icons, so how do you go about choosing the best ones? Don’t worry, we have you covered. We have picked out ten of the best free and paid resources where you can get a great selection of icons.

5 Free Resources For FREE Icons

No matter how much you love web design, there are days when you simply do not have time to create certain elements from scratch. That is when having access to a database of free icons will prove to be exceptionally beneficial. Thankfully, the Internet is not short on free asset libraries.

1. Behance

Behance is a smorgasbord of high-quality icons that you can use without attribution. Behance’ s mission is to remove the barriers between talent and opportunity to empower the creative world. Behance truly believes that great work should be shared openly and freely.

You can find almost anything you are looking for in Behance’ s icon library; however, be advised that Behance’ s search functionality is not as strong as the other free sources we are about to mention. Though you will have to work a little harder to find what you are looking for, you should not be deterred from using Behance. The icons you can download for free on this site are top-notch and will help you create attractive websites for your clients.

2. FlatIcon

FlatIcon is truly a web designer’s dream, with nearly 344,000 vector icons grouped into 6,111 packs. FlatIcon boasts being the largest database of free icons and has icons available in PNG, SVG, EPS, PSD, and Base 64 formats. Best of all, FlatIcon’s website is highly intuitive, and its search functionality is second-to-none.

FlatIcon is extremely easy to use. You can search the large database by pack, category, most popular, author, or keyword. FlatIcon makes it easy for the modern web designer to find what he or she needs quickly, so they can spend more time designing and less time researching.

FlatIcon is used by many big-name companies such as Adobe, Awwards, Smashing Magazine, and Google. FlatIcon truly is one of the best free resources on the Internet for free icons and is a site you would be foolish not to use on your next web design project.

3. Iconmonstr

Iconmonstr is another resource that can give you access to thousands of free icons. Iconmonstr offers free, high-quality icons with a simplistic, universal design. In addition, all the icons on Iconmonster are lightweight, meaning they are optimized for top web performance.

All the icons on Iconmoster are available in SVG, Al, PSD, and PNG formats, and you are able to create icons in any size, color, and background. Iconmoster makes it simple to search for icons via its powerful search function, and you can even save your favorite icons in a personal collection for future use.

Iconmonstr is a powerful resource you can use to help you save time and money on your web design projects. Add this tool to your web design arsenal right away.

4. Find Icons

Find Icons is the Google of icon search engines and boasts having the largest database of free icons in the world. The company is so confident in this claim that it openly challenges users to find a site with more.

What helps Find Icons stand out from the competition is its advanced search filtering and matching system, along with its output options. Find Icons tracks every search query and manually adjusts the results according to the ratings given by other users. In addition, Find Icons allows you to save frequently used icons into your personal favorites box, where you can access them anywhere you are 24/7.

The simplicity of Flat Icons, along with the ability to return extremely relevant results makes it an essential tool of the modern web designer.

5. Dribbble

Dribbble was created in 2009 and is the go-to resource for many web designers and developers. Some designers describe Dribbble as the social media network of web designers, providing designers with a platform to share creative work and collaborate on projects.

Dribble is a web designer playground, with thousands of free icons ready for use. Unlike some of the other free resources we have mentioned, some of the icons on Dribble are not properly tagged, so finding the perfect icon set for your design projects may be a bit more time-consuming.

5 Resources For Premium & Paid Icons

If you want access to even more icons beyond what a free resource can offer, it may be beneficial to upgrade to a premium subscription with one or more of the following companies.

1. Creative Market

Creative Market is a well-known resource within the web design industry, and while it does not focus solely on icons, the site does offer over 16,000 icon packs from a variety of authors. Icons are available in a variety of dimensions and formats, but typically, you can get standard PNG, SVG, and EPS formats.

Creative market has some of the most premium icons on the market, thus you must pay to gain access to them. With Creative Market, you pay by the icon pack, though the company does offer various discounts throughout the year.

2. Iconfinder

Iconfinder is one of the top premium icon resources on the Internet with over 1.5 million icons and over 36,000 icon sets. Iconfinder prides itself on delivering high-quality icons in a variety of formats including SVG, PNG, ICO, ICNS, and AI. Though icon finder does offer some free icons, you will have to pay to gain access to the large majority of the icon database.

To purchase icons from Iconfinder, you can simply pay per icon pack, or opt to sign up for an Iconfinder Pro account, starting at just $9 per month for up to 25 monthly downloads. With an Iconfiner Pro account you will gain access to Iconfinder’s entire icon database, and get licenses for commercial projects. If you require more than 25 downloads per month, you can upgrade to the unlimited plan for just $25 per month.

Note: They also have a ton of FREE icons too, so it can really be in both categories.

3. Flaticon

I mentioned Flaticon as a great resource to help you gain access to a bunch of free icons, but the company also offers premium packages with even more bells and whistles. Since you already know about all the great features of Flaticon, we’ll get right down to business.

A premium subscription with FlatIcon will provide you with full licensing rights, access to exclusive content, no ads, MacOS app and Adobe extensions, and the ability to create unlimited collections. In addition, you will gain access to over 36,000 premium icons. Packages start at just $7.50 per month for the basic package and go up to $9.99 per month for the premium package.

4. The Noun Project

The Noun Project offers one of the largest icon libraries on the Internet and adds new icons daily. Millions of web designers from around the world count on The Noun Project to help them communicate with images. Most of the icons in the database are in black and white; however, the company is slowly adding more icons in color.

You can become a member at The Noun Project for free; however, there are many stipulations put on your access to the database. For instance, with a free membership, the icon creator’s name will be included in the image, and you will be required to pay a $1.99 royalty fee per icon to get unlimited use.

Most web designers who use The Noun Project opt to invest in a NounPro account. You can purchase a NounPro account for just $39.99 for the year, or $9.99 for a month-to-month subscription. The Noun Project is the perfect resource for a web designer who wishes to gain access to thousands of simple icons at a very affordable price.

5. Icons Mind

Icons Mind offers over 2,000 icons in over 50 categories that are ready for iOS, Android, and website use. Icons Mind has become a popular resource for the modern web and graphic designer. One of the neat aspects of Icons Mind is the design on a grid system, which helps cater to a variety of modern web design needs.

You can get started with an Icons Mind account for just $59, which will give you access to the entire database of icons in AI and ESP formats. Most web designers who use Icons Mind opt to purchase the Ultimate Package for $79, which will give you access to Icons Mind’s entire icon database in AI, ESP, PSD, CSH, PNG, Sketch, and Iconjar formats. Right now, the company is offering 15% off for new customers.

Bonus: Graphic River

Graphic River is part of the Envato Marketplace which is hugely popular for selling stock and template media elements, from sound and video to website and graphic design elements.

They have huge selection of icons and is easily searchable and filterable. Icons range from $1 to over $100 for complete sets.

They also have a custom icon design service starting at $100.

Runners Up:

Where To Go From Here

I suggest starting with a free service before you elect to pay for a monthly or yearly subscription. Since there are some great resources available to provide you with free icons, it only makes sense to give them a try before investing your hard-earned money into a paid service. Either way, it sure beats spending time design icons yourself.

If you have other sites you like, leave a comment below and I’ll add them to the list!

10 Free and Paid Resources For Icons was originally published in Prototyping: From UX to Front End on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

10 Free and Paid Resources For Icons

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