Short answer: Tabler Icons is the best free icon site for commercial work. Its open-source source ships under the MIT license, and its one-time $9 Bundle adds more than 6,200 icons under a personal and commercial license. Lucide, Heroicons, Iconoir, Ionicons and Bootstrap Icons also give free icons under MIT or ISC terms, with no price on their pages. Noun Project's free account downloads PNG and SVG files, but attribution is required and the free account has no royalty-free commercial license, so a product needs Noun Pro at $3.33 a month billed yearly.
8 icon sites compared on what the free download allows, which license applies and what the cheapest paid upgrade costs, checked on vendor pages in October 2026.
Two questions decide whether a free icon is usable before anything is downloaded: whether the file costs nothing, and whether the license lets the buyer use it in a product they sell. The second question decides more than the first. A free icon can carry an attribution rule, a ban on commercial use, or a license that covers the software but not the icons inside it.
Toolradar data: 93%% of the 29 icon libraries we track offer a free or freemium tier (15 free, 12 freemium). The other 2 tools (7%%) publish no free tier, so for a buyer on no budget the license on each free download is the deciding detail.
This guide ranks eight icon sites on three things: what the free download includes, which license applies, and what the cheapest paid upgrade costs. Methodology: sources are each vendor's own pricing or license page, read in October 2026. Logo, drawing and mockup tools have their own guides: best free logo makers, best free vector graphics editors and best free mockup generators. The full category ranking is on icon libraries.
Top Picks
Picked by editorial review, informed by G2 and Capterra review volume and rating and by media mentions, the signals behind our category rankings. How we rate
Open-source icons under the MIT license, plus a one-time bundle under a personal and commercial license.
Starting price
Free (MIT); Bundle $9 one-time
Best for
Designers and developers who want free icons now and a larger set later at a one-time price.
Consistent line icons under the ISC license, with Feather-derived icons under MIT.
Starting price
Free (ISC)
Best for
Product teams that want one clean set and can keep a notice file in the codebase.
Interface icons under the MIT license, with no price on the vendor page.
Starting price
Free (MIT)
Best for
Web developers who want MIT icons with no subscription to manage.
| Tool | Starting price | Rating | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tabler Icons | Free (MIT); Bundle $9 one-time | n/a | Designers and developers who want free icons now and a larger set later at a one-time price. |
| Lucide | Free (ISC) | n/a | Product teams that want one clean set and can keep a notice file in the codebase. |
| Heroicons | Free (MIT) | n/a | Web developers who want MIT icons with no subscription to manage. |
| Iconoir | Free (MIT) | n/a | Teams that want a free open-source set now and can wait for Iconoir Pro pricing. |
| Ionicons | Free (MIT) | n/a | Developers who want an MIT set from the team behind Ionic. |
| Bootstrap Icons | Free (MIT in repository) | 4.5 153 reviews | Teams already building on Bootstrap, or any project that needs a plain set of 2,000-plus icons. |
| Noun Project | Free; Noun Pro yearly plan | 4.8 20 reviews | Buyers who can credit the artist on free downloads, or who will pay for a commercial license. |
| Iconify | Free (Apache 2.0 software) | n/a | Developers who need several icon sets in one codebase and will check each license. |
Tabler Icons
Open-source icons under the MIT license, plus a one-time bundle under a personal and commercial license.
- Starting price
- Free (MIT); Bundle $9 one-time
- Free plan
- Free to use
Best for: Designers and developers who want free icons now and a larger set later at a one-time price.
- Pro: The free source ships under the MIT license, so a product can use it with no per-seat or per-download charge.
- Pro: The Bundle ships its icons in multiple formats under a personal and commercial license.
- Pro: The All Package is a $69 one-time purchase under the same personal and commercial license.
- Con: The free tier does not state how many icons it includes, so count the icons you need before relying on it alone.
- Con: MIT keeps one condition: the copyright notice has to stay with copies of the icons you ship.
Tabler Icons offers an incredibly generous pricing model, as it is entirely free.
- Starting price
- Free (ISC)
- Free plan
- Free to use
Best for: Product teams that want one clean set and can keep a notice file in the codebase.
- Pro: The ISC license grants permission for any purpose with or without fee, which covers commercial work.
- Pro: The page publishes no price, so there is no paid upgrade to budget for.
- Pro: The license page names the Feather-derived icons and their MIT terms separately.
- Con: ISC requires the copyright notice to appear in all copies, so a notice file has to travel with the icons.
- Con: One set carries two licenses, ISC and MIT, so the notice must cover both parts.
Lucide's pricing is exceptionally generous, as it offers all features for free under an open-source ISC license.
Watch out
No overage fees
- Starting price
- Free (MIT)
- Free plan
- Free to use
Best for: Web developers who want MIT icons with no subscription to manage.
- Pro: The vendor page names the MIT license and lists no price.
- Pro: The page names one license, so the terms do not change from icon to icon in the set.
- Pro: MIT permits commercial use under the same terms as the free download, so a product and a side project can use the set alike.
- Con: The vendor page gives no icon count, so check that the set covers your interface before committing.
- Con: The page names the license but says nothing about attribution or commercial use, so read the MIT text in the repository.
Heroicons offers an incredibly generous pricing model, as all 315+ SVG icons are available completely free under an MIT license.
- Starting price
- Free (MIT)
- Free plan
- Free to use
Best for: Teams that want a free open-source set now and can wait for Iconoir Pro pricing.
- Pro: The site calls its icons 100% free and names the MIT license.
- Pro: No price appears on the page, so trying the free set costs nothing.
- Pro: Its MIT license matches the other open-source sets on this list, so the terms can be compared side by side.
- Con: Iconoir Pro is marked coming soon with no price, so there is nothing to budget for yet.
- Con: The page states no icon count, so check coverage for your use case first.
Iconoir's pricing is exceptionally generous, offering a comprehensive icon library entirely for free.
Watch out
No overage fees or seat minimums.
- Starting price
- Free (MIT)
- Free plan
- Free to use
Best for: Developers who want an MIT set from the team behind Ionic.
- Pro: The page describes the set as completely open source, MIT licensed and built by Ionic.
- Pro: The page states its license directly, so the terms are visible before download.
- Pro: No price appears on the page, and no paid tier is listed to compare.
- Con: The page does not say whether attribution is required, so the MIT text in the repository is the source to check.
- Con: A buyer who needs more icons than the free set has no paid upgrade to consider on this site.
Ionicons offers an incredibly generous pricing model, as its single 'Open Source' tier is completely free.
Watch out
Potential for custom icon design costs if specific needs aren't met.
Bootstrap Icons
A free open-source library of 2,078 icons that works with or without Bootstrap.
- 4.5 on G2 (153 reviews)
- Starting price
- Free (MIT in repository)
- Free plan
- Free to use
- Rating
- 4.5 (153 reviews)
Best for: Teams already building on Bootstrap, or any project that needs a plain set of 2,000-plus icons.
- Pro: The page states 2,078 icons and says the library works in any project, with or without Bootstrap.
- Pro: The GitHub repository carries an MIT license file, so the terms can be read before download.
- Pro: No price appears on the page.
- Con: Its 2,078 icons are fewer than the more than 6,200 in Tabler's bundle.
- Con: The license sits in the GitHub repository rather than on the icon page, so a buyer has to go one step further to read it.
Noun Project
The largest library on this list by its own count, 10M icons, with free PNG and SVG downloads that need attribution.
- 4.8 on G2 (20 reviews)
- Starting price
- Free; Noun Pro yearly plan
- Free plan
- Yes
- Rating
- 4.8 (20 reviews)
Best for: Buyers who can credit the artist on free downloads, or who will pay for a commercial license.
- Pro: The free account includes PNG and SVG downloads from a library the vendor puts at 10M icons.
- Pro: Noun Pro removes the attribution requirement and adds a royalty-free commercial license, at $39.96 a year when billed yearly.
- Pro: Noun Team covers a two-seat starter plan on a yearly billing term, with extra seats charged on top.
- Con: Free downloads need attribution, and the free account has no royalty-free commercial license, so product icons need a paid plan.
- Con: The Pro monthly rate is not shown on the page, so the verified price is the yearly-billed one.
Noun Project's pricing is incredibly generous, especially with its robust free tier.
- Starting price
- Free (Apache 2.0 software)
- Free plan
- Free to use
Best for: Developers who need several icon sets in one codebase and will check each license.
- Pro: The software is open source under Apache 2.0, a permissive license for the code, and the page lists no paid plan.
- Pro: Each icon set states its own license, so a developer can pick sets whose terms fit the product.
- Pro: The project publishes its software license openly, so a team can read the code terms before adopting it.
- Con: The Apache 2.0 license does not cover the icons, so every set has to be checked before it ships.
- Con: The page does not address API licensing on its own, so a team using the API should read those terms directly.
Iconify offers an exceptionally generous pricing model, as it is entirely free and open-source.
Other Icon Libraries tools worth considering
More published tools from our Icon Libraries category, ordered by our category ranking. They are not part of the editorial picks above.
What a free icon site actually gives you
A free icon site hands over icon files for nothing, but the word free covers three different deals. The first is an open-source icon set under a permissive license such as MIT or ISC. Tabler, Lucide, Heroicons, Iconoir, Ionicons and Bootstrap Icons work this way. You take the files, keep a license notice with them, and pay nothing.
The second deal is a free tier of a larger library. Noun Project offers a free account with PNG and SVG downloads. Its own comparison table marks attribution-free downloads and royalty-free commercial licenses as Pro features, so the free tier comes with conditions. The third deal is an aggregator. Iconify is an open-source project covering many icon sets. Its page says the Apache 2.0 software license does not apply to icons, so each set brings its own terms.
Paid upgrades come in two shapes. Tabler sells two one-time packages, its Bundle and its All Package, both under a personal and commercial license. Noun Project sells subscriptions: Noun Pro billed yearly, and a starter team plan for two seats.
Why the license matters more than the icon count
The license decides what you can ship, and the free sites on this list ask for different things. MIT and ISC are the most permissive open-source terms, and both keep one condition: the copyright notice stays with copies of the icons. For a product in a code repository, that means a notice file, not a credit line on a web page. Lucide uses the ISC license, which requires the notice be kept and grants permission "for any purpose with or without fee," which covers commercial work.
Noun Project asks for more. Its free account includes PNG and SVG downloads, but its comparison table lists attribution-free downloads and royalty-free commercial licenses that never expire as Pro features. A designer making a one-off poster with a credit line can work with that. A team putting icons into a paid app cannot, so the free account is the wrong starting point for product work.
Cost follows the same split. Noun Pro is $3.33 a month billed yearly, which works out to $39.96 a year, and it adds the commercial license and attribution-free downloads. Noun Team starts at $6.67 a month for two seats billed yearly, and each extra seat is charged on top. A five-seat team pays the two-seat price plus three extra seats, which comes to $16.66 a month. That is the number to set against a free MIT set when a team is choosing between free icons and a paid license.
Key Features to Look For
Free download format (Essential)
Noun Project's free account includes PNG and SVG downloads. Tabler's free tier is the open-source source code of its icons, and Bootstrap Icons says it works with or without Bootstrap in any project.
License on the free download (Essential)
Attribution (Essential)
Noun Project's free account requires attribution, because attribution-free downloads are a Pro feature. MIT and ISC ask only that the copyright notice stay with copies of the icons.
Commercial use on the free tier (Essential)
Noun Project's free account has no royalty-free commercial license. The MIT and ISC licenses on this list both permit commercial use, so a team can build a product on those sets without a paid plan.
Stated icon count (Important)
Bootstrap Icons states its icon count on its own page. Noun Project's comparison table claims 10M icons in thousands of styles. Each figure is the vendor's own count.
Paid upgrade path (Important)
Tabler's Bundle and All Package are one-time payments, and Noun Pro is a monthly plan billed yearly. Iconoir Pro is marked coming soon with no price.
Per-set licensing (Important)
Iconify's icon sets each carry their own license, so the terms change from set to set and must be read set by set.
Team pricing (Nice to have)
Noun Team covers a two-seat starter team, and each extra seat is charged on top. The other sites on this list publish no seat pricing.
Before you download anything
-
Read the license on the exact icon set, not only on the site. Iconify's own page says its Apache 2.0 software license does not apply to icons.
-
If the icons will ship inside a paid product, a free Noun Project account is not enough. Noun Pro adds the commercial license and removes the attribution requirement.
-
Count the icons you need against the stated numbers. Bootstrap Icons states 2,078, and Tabler's free tier states no count at all, so check coverage before you rely on the free source alone.
-
Keep a notice file in the repository for any MIT or ISC set. Lucide's ISC license requires the notice to appear in all copies.
-
Price the team before choosing a plan. Noun Team's starter covers two seats, and each extra seat is billed on top.
Evaluation Checklist
Read the license on the exact icon set you download. Iconify's own page says its Apache 2.0 software license does not cover icons.
Check whether the free download needs attribution. Noun Project's free account does, and its comparison table lists attribution-free downloads as a Pro feature.
Compare the icon count to what you need. Each site's count is its own claim, and Tabler's free tier states none.
If the icons ship in a product, keep the license notice inside the project. MIT and ISC both require the notice to stay with copies.
Price the team before buying. Noun Team's starter covers two seats on a yearly billing term, and each extra seat is charged on top.
Pricing Overview
Free open-source sets
Tabler's free source, Lucide, Heroicons, Iconoir, Ionicons and Bootstrap Icons: open-source icons under MIT or ISC, with no price on the vendor page.
$0
Free account
Noun Project's free account: PNG and SVG downloads, attribution required and no royalty-free commercial license.
$0
One-time bundle
Tabler's Bundle and its All Package, both one-time payments under a personal and commercial license.
$9 to $69
Subscription
Noun Pro, billed yearly, for commercial use without attribution, or Noun Team, a starter plan for two seats billed yearly.
$3.33 to $6.67/mo
Pricing Comparison
| Site | Best for | Free download and license | Cheapest paid upgrade |
|---|---|---|---|
Free icons that can ship, with a paid bundle when the free source runs short | Open-source source code under MIT | $9 one-time Bundle (personal and commercial license) | |
Lucide | A clean line set under a permissive license | ISC license, notice kept; Feather-derived icons under MIT | No price published |
Heroicons | Interface icons under MIT | MIT license | No price published |
Iconoir | A 100% free open-source set | MIT license | Iconoir Pro coming soon, no price published |
Ionicons | An MIT set built by Ionic | MIT license | No price published |
Icons with or without Bootstrap, with its count stated on the page | Free; MIT license in the GitHub repository | No price published | |
The largest library by its own count, 10M icons | Free account: PNG and SVG, attribution required, no commercial license | Noun Pro $3.33/mo billed yearly; Noun Team $6.67/mo for 2 seats billed yearly | |
Iconify | Developers pulling several icon sets | Free open-source software (Apache 2.0); each icon set has its own license | No paid plan published |
Prices and license terms checked on each vendor's own page in October 2026: Tabler Icons, Lucide license, Heroicons, Iconoir, Ionicons, Bootstrap Icons with its MIT license on GitHub, Noun Project pricing and Iconify.
Mistakes to Avoid
- ×
Assuming a free download means commercial use is allowed. Noun Project's free account has no royalty-free commercial license, so a product needs Noun Pro.
- ×
Downloading Noun Project icons without a credit line. Free downloads require attribution, and the page says so in its comparison table.
- ×
Taking one license for a whole set. Lucide's Feather-derived icons fall under MIT, not only ISC, so the notice has to cover both.
- ×
Mixing Iconify icon sets without checking each one, since the license is set by set rather than by the Apache 2.0 software.
- ×
Paying for a bundle before checking whether the free MIT source covers the icons you need. Tabler's free tier is open source at no price.
Expert Tips
- →
For product UI, start with an MIT or ISC set. The only condition is a notice file in the repository, not a paid plan.
- →
Use Noun Project for a one-off marketing piece with a credit line, not for product icons, since the free account has no commercial license.
- →
Buy Tabler's bundle when the free source is too small. It is a one-time payment under a personal and commercial license.
- →
Keep a dated copy of each license page in the project folder, so the terms you shipped under can be shown later. For a full design toolkit beyond icons, compare the graphic design software category before you buy.
Red Flags to Watch For
-
A free account that downloads files but carries no royalty-free commercial license, which is the case on Noun Project's free tier.
-
A set whose software license is clear but whose icons fall under a separate license, as Iconify's page describes for its icon sets.
-
A paid bundle with no license named on its own price line, so the buyer cannot tell whether commercial use is covered.
-
A paid tier marked coming soon with no price, as on Iconoir Pro, which makes the upgrade impossible to budget.
The Bottom Line
Pick Tabler Icons when you need free icons that can ship in a product. Its open-source source is MIT licensed, and the one-time Bundle covers more than 6,200 icons under a personal and commercial license if the free set runs short. Lucide, Heroicons, Iconoir, Ionicons and Bootstrap Icons are the cleanest free picks, each under MIT or ISC with no price on its page.
Pick Noun Project when the largest library matters more than the license and you can credit the artist on free downloads. For a product, pay for Noun Pro rather than relying on the free account. Iconify suits developers who want several icon sets in one codebase, provided each set's license is checked.
Pricing and license terms above were checked on each vendor's own page in October 2026, against the 29 tools in the icon libraries category. Cite this: Toolradar, "Best Free Icon Sites in 2026", October 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free icon site in 2026?
Tabler Icons is the best free icon site for commercial work. Its open-source source is MIT licensed, and its one-time Bundle covers more than 6,200 icons under a personal and commercial license. Lucide, Heroicons, Iconoir, Ionicons and Bootstrap Icons are the other free sets on this list, each under MIT or ISC terms with no price on its page.
Are free icons safe to use commercially?
It depends on the license. MIT and ISC sets, including Tabler, Lucide, Heroicons, Iconoir, Ionicons and Bootstrap Icons, permit commercial use as long as the copyright notice stays with copies of the icons. Noun Project's free account has no royalty-free commercial license, so a product needs Noun Pro, which is billed yearly.
Do free icon sites require attribution?
Noun Project's free account does require attribution, and its comparison table lists attribution-free downloads as a Pro feature. MIT and ISC sets ask for something lighter: the copyright notice must stay with copies of the icons, but no credit line on a web page is needed.
How much does Noun Project cost?
Noun Pro costs $39.96 a year when billed yearly, and it adds the commercial license and attribution-free downloads. Noun Team covers two seats at $6.67 a month billed yearly, and each extra seat is charged on top, so five seats come to $16.66 a month. The Pro monthly rate is not shown on the page.
Is there a limit on free icon downloads?
No vendor page in this guide states a download cap on its free tier. The limits that matter on these sites are licensing and attribution, not the number of files. Noun Project's free account is the exception, because it lacks both attribution-free downloads and a royalty-free commercial license.
Can I use Iconify icons for free?
Iconify's software is open source under Apache 2.0, and its page lists no paid plan. The Apache 2.0 license does not cover the icons, though, and each icon set carries its own license. Check the license of each set before a product uses it.
Cite this page: Toolradar, "Best Free Icon Sites in 2026", updated October 2026, https://toolradar.com/guides/best-free-icon-sites
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