Google favicon API: how it works, its limits and the alternatives

Most developers meet the Google favicon API the same way: they need a small site icon next to a link, and someone pastes a Google URL. It works, with no key. But we found no official page for it, and it has a few habits that bite in production. Here is how it works, and how it compares with two other no-key options.

Short answer

The Google favicon API is one public URL: https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=stripe.com&sz=64. It returns the site's icon as a PNG, with no key.

Its gaps: no official page that we could find, a 404 status with a small globe image for sites it has no icon for, and PNG only. If you need a documented URL, https://logoapi.sh/icon/{domain} returns an icon for any domain, free for 2M requests a month per site. In our test of 10 small sites, Google returned a real icon for 9, and so did /icon (2 catalog marks, 7 fetched site favicons, 1 name tile).

How the Google favicon URL works

You put the URL in an img tag. Google redirects it (a 301 to a gstatic.com address) and sends back an image. There are two query parameters.

<img src="https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=stripe.com&sz=64"
     alt="" width="32" height="32">

• domain: the site you want, for example stripe.com. A full URL such as https://stripe.com/pricing also worked.
• sz: size in pixels. For stripe.com, 16, 32, 64, 128 and 256 each came back at exactly that size. 512, or no sz at all, gave a 16 px icon.
• Result: a PNG of the icon the site publishes. It is a raster image, so it can't scale like an SVG.

The redirect is cached for 30 minutes and the image for 7 days. You will also see this called “Google S2 favicons” or the “s2 converter”. Same URL.

Quick comparison

Google and DuckDuckGo from plain requests, Nov 2, 2026. LogoAPI.sh from its docs and the same requests.

Service	Key needed	Format	Unknown site	Best for
DuckDuckGo	No	ICO	404 and a grey placeholder	A second no-key source
Google s2	No	PNG	404 and a small globe	Real favicons of small sites
LogoAPI.sh	No	SVG, or the site's favicon	Its own favicon, else a name tile	Sharp icons of known brands, documented

1. DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo serves site icons from its own icon host, with no key. It is the usual second choice when people want to avoid sending requests to Google.

There is no size option: ?size=64 on the same URL returned a 404. DuckDuckGo has a help page about favicons, but it covers the icons in its own search results, not this URL for developers.

https://icons.duckduckgo.com/ip3/stripe.com.ico

Pros

• No key, no account
• The stripe.com file held 48 px and 32 px icons in one ICO
• Requests go to DuckDuckGo, not Google
• Cached for 30 days

Cons

• ICO format, no size option
• A 404 status and a grey placeholder image on a miss
• No developer docs for this URL
• No CORS header, so you can't read it in a canvas or fetch

2. Google s2 favicons

Google's URL is the most widely used. Because it pulls the icon each site publishes, it can show a real favicon for small and local sites that no curated catalog covers.

The trade-off is that you depend on a URL we found no official page for. It can change without notice, and an unknown site gets a globe image, not a clean error.

https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=stripe.com&sz=64

Pros

• No key, no account
• Real favicons for small sites: 9 of our 10 test sites
• A size parameter, 16 to 256 px

Cons

• No official page that we could find
• PNG only
• A 404 and a globe image on a miss
• No CORS header, so you can't read it in a canvas or fetch

3. LogoAPI.sh

LogoAPI.sh is ours. /icon/{domain} returns an icon for any domain. For the 5,031 brands in our catalog it is the brand's mark, square for most sites; a brand that only has a wide wordmark, such as Stripe, gets that instead. For other domains it fetches the site's own favicon, and if there is none it returns a name tile, never a broken image. Free. No key. No signup. No attribution.

The catch: only catalog brands get a curated SVG mark. For other sites you get the site's own favicon, often PNG or ICO and not always sharp, or a name tile. In our 10-site test that was 2 marks, 7 favicons and 1 tile.

https://logoapi.sh/icon/stripe.com

Two other routes, for other jobs: https://logoapi.sh/{domain} returns the full logo, and https://logoapi.sh/favicon/{domain} returns catalog icons only, with a 404 for the rest. See the Favicon API page to try any domain.

Pros

• Documented, with a stated allowance and terms
• SVG for catalog brands, sharp at any size
• Never a broken image; open CORS
• No key, no signup, no attribution; commercial use included

Cons

• 5,031 curated brands; other sites get their own favicon (not always SVG) or a name tile
• A brand with only a wide wordmark is not square
• A young service next to Google

Switch in one line

Moving off Google is one src change. No key, nothing to install.

<!-- before -->
<img src="https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=stripe.com&sz=64">

<!-- after -->
<img src="https://logoapi.sh/icon/stripe.com" alt="" width="32" height="32">

<img src="https://logoapi.sh/favicon/stripe.com" alt="" width="16" height="16"
  onerror="this.onerror=null;this.src='https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=stripe.com&sz=32'">

How to choose

• Coverage. Lots of small or local sites? Google and /icon each returned a real icon for 9 of our 10 small sites. Test yours.
• Format. Need SVG or sharp icons at large sizes for well-known brands? LogoAPI.sh.
• Docs and terms. Need a stated allowance for a product? Only LogoAPI.sh publishes one.
• Misses. Want a clean error to handle? /favicon/{domain} gives a 404 with no image. Google and DuckDuckGo give a 404 with a placeholder image.
• Privacy. Each choice sends your visitors' requests to that company. Pick the one you trust.

Bottom line

There is no single right favicon URL. Google is the widest and shows real icons for small sites, but we found no official page for it. DuckDuckGo is a similar no-key option off Google. LogoAPI.sh is documented and sharp, but curates far fewer brands. Mixing them, as in the snippet above, is often the best answer.

Google and DuckDuckGo facts from plain requests on Nov 2, 2026. Both are third-party services and can change.

Our take

We build LogoAPI.sh, so weigh this: we win when you want a sharp icon for well-known brands, from a URL with docs and a stated free allowance.

Outside our catalog, we are no sharper than Google: you get the site's own favicon, as Google would.

Our 5,031 brands are a fraction of the web. In our 10-site test, 2 sites were in the catalog, 7 more got their own favicon, and 1 got a name tile. Google returned an icon for 9. So on coverage it was a tie; our edge is the curated SVG for catalog brands, and a documented URL.

Questions developers ask