honest comparisons
Best free icon library alternatives
We compared 17 icon libraries on licence, price, icon count, styles, CSS classes and AI support, using each one’s official sources. Short version: they’re all good at something. with icons is free and MIT, with 500 icons in 20 styles (all of which can move) for code, slides and docs; bigger sets like Font Awesome, Tabler and Material Symbols win on breadth.
Facts checked
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17 icon libraries at a glance
Click a library for the full side-by-side table, when to choose it, sources and a migration guide.
| Library | Licence | Price | Icons | Styles | CSS classes | AI / MCP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| with icons | MIT | Free | 500 × 20 styles | 20 (line to plush) + animations | Yes (with-*) | llms.txt, skill, MCP |
| Font Awesome | CC BY 4.0 icons (Free) | Free; Pro paid | over 2,000 free | 3 free (solid, regular, brands); many in Pro | Yes (fa-*) | Agent skills, docs llms.txt |
| Material Symbols | Apache-2.0 | Free | over 2,500 | 3 (outlined, rounded, sharp) + variable axes | Ligatures (material-symbols-*) | Google Design MCP (icons) |
| Heroicons | MIT | Free | 316 | 4 (outline, solid, mini, micro) | No (SVG / components) | None official found |
| Lucide | ISC | Free | over 1,600 | 1 (stroke, adjustable) | Icon font (not for heavy production) | llms.txt |
| Feather | MIT | Free | 287 | 1 (stroke) | No (data-feather + JS) | None official found |
| Phosphor | MIT | Free (donations) | about 1,500 × 6 weights | 6 weights | Yes (ph ph-*) | None official found |
| Bootstrap Icons | MIT | Free | over 2,000 | Outline + fill variants | Yes (bi bi-*) | None official found |
| Tabler Icons | MIT | Free; optional paid bundles | over 6,000 | 2 (outline, filled) | Yes (ti ti-*) | None official found |
| Ionicons | MIT | Free | about 1,300 | 3 (filled, outline, sharp) | No (web component) | None official found |
| Remix Icon | Remix Icon License v1.0 | Free | over 3,200 | 2 (line, fill) | Yes (ri-*) | Official MCP server |
| Boxicons | CC BY 4.0 (free icons) | Free; Pro from $39/yr | over 3,500 free | Basic + Filled free; more in Pro | Yes (bx-*) | None official found |
| Iconify | MIT framework; per-set icon licences | Free | over 300,000 (200+ sets) | Depends on the set | Via Tailwind / UnoCSS plugins | None official found |
| Flaticon | Flaticon licence (credit on free) | Free with credit; Premium plan | over 18 million (icons + stickers) | Thousands (many artists) | Yes, UIcons (fi-*) | None official found |
| Icons8 | Free with a link; paid licence | Free (PNG + link); paid plans | over 1.3 million | 130+ | Yes, via Line Awesome | Official MCP server |
| The Noun Project | CC BY 3.0 free; royalty-free paid | Free with credit; Pro from $3.33/mo (yearly) | millions (up to 10 million) | Thousands (many artists) | No | llms.txt; Noun Studio (AI) |
| Streamline | Free licence (credit); Pro | Free with credit; Pro from $19/mo (yearly) | over 300,000 | Many families & variants | No | Official MCP server |
| Lordicon | Free (credit) or PRO licence | Free with credit; PRO from $8/mo (yearly) | 47,900+ animated (9,700 free) | Animated, adjustable colours & stroke | No (<lord-icon> element) | API; no official MCP found |
Summary values, checked . Each library’s page has the full table with numbered links to official sources.
Quick guide
Which icon library should you use?
- You need brand logos or the classic fa- workflowLook at Font Awesome.
- Your app follows Material DesignLook at Material Symbols.
- You build with Tailwind CSSLook at Heroicons.
- You use shadcn/ui or want a big stroke setLook at Lucide.
- You want six weights, from thin to duotoneLook at Phosphor.
- Your site runs on BootstrapLook at Bootstrap Icons.
- You want the largest free MIT stroke setLook at Tabler Icons.
- You build with IonicLook at Ionicons.
- You want hundreds of sets behind one APILook at Iconify.
- You need an illustrated or very specific iconLook at The Noun Project.
- You want richly illustrated Lottie animationsLook at Lordicon.
- You want one set for code, slides and docs, in 20 styles, animated or still, with no creditThat’s with icons.
Open-source icon libraries
- Font Awesome alternativeThe web’s most widely used icon toolkit: easy <i> tag classes, brand logos, a free set of over 2,000 icons and a huge Pro catalogue with many families and styles.
- Material Symbols alternativeGoogle’s Material Design icons: over 2,500 symbols in a free variable font with fill, weight, grade and optical-size axes, a natural fit for Material and Android-style interfaces.
- Heroicons alternativeHand-crafted SVG icons from the makers of Tailwind CSS: a small, polished set of 316 icons in outline, solid, mini and micro sizes.
- Lucide alternativeA community-built, consistent stroke icon set (a fork of Feather) with over 1,600 icons and official packages for almost every framework; popular with shadcn/ui.
- Feather alternativeThe original minimal 24 px stroke icon set: 287 simple, beautiful icons that inspired many later libraries.
- Phosphor alternativeA flexible family of about 1,500 icons in six weights (thin, light, regular, bold, fill, duotone), with packages for web, mobile and desktop.
- Bootstrap Icons alternativeBootstrap’s official icon library: over 2,000 polished icons on a 16 px grid with an easy web font, usable with or without Bootstrap.
- Tabler Icons alternativeThe largest free MIT stroke set: over 6,000 icons in outline and filled styles on a 24 × 24 grid, with packages for almost every framework.
- Ionicons alternativeThe Ionic team’s open-source app icons: about 1,300 icons in filled, outline and sharp variants, shipped as the <ion-icon> web component.
- Remix Icon alternativeA large, very consistent set of over 3,200 neutral system icons in matching line and fill pairs on a 24 × 24 grid.
- Boxicons alternativeA friendly web icon set with simple class names; version 3 adds React, Vue and Svelte packages and a large Pro catalogue of extra styles and weights.
Marketplaces, aggregators and animated icons
- Iconify alternativeOne framework and one syntax (prefix:name) for over 300,000 open-source icons from 200+ icon sets, loaded on demand.
- Flaticon alternativeThe biggest icon marketplace on this list, with millions of icons and stickers from many artists, plus UIcons, an icon font with ready CSS classes.
- Icons8 alternativeOver a million icons in 130+ consistent styles, with desktop apps, a Figma plugin, an AI icon generator and an official MCP server.
- The Noun Project alternativeA huge library of icons drawn by human artists in thousands of styles, with a fair-pay model for creators and a low-cost Pro plan.
- Streamline alternativeCarefully built icon families (Ultimate, Core, Flex, Sharp, Plump and more) in many variants, with strong Figma and developer tooling and an official MCP server.
- Lordicon alternativeA large library of richly illustrated animated icons, delivered as Lottie files and played with the <lord-icon> element, with a free plan (credit required) and paid PRO plans.
FAQ
Questions people ask
What is the best free icon library?
There isn’t one best library; it depends on the job. For brand logos and the classic <i> workflow, Font Awesome. For Material-style apps, Material Symbols. For the largest free MIT stroke set, Tabler Icons. For one set that works in code, slides and docs, in 20 styles with no credit required, with icons.
Which icon libraries are MIT licensed?
Of the libraries compared here: Heroicons, Feather, Phosphor, Bootstrap Icons, Tabler Icons, Ionicons and with icons. Lucide uses ISC, a similar permissive licence. Always check the licence page; the table links to each source.
Which icon libraries use CSS classes like Font Awesome?
Font Awesome, Phosphor, Bootstrap Icons, Tabler Icons, Remix Icon, Boxicons, Flaticon, Icons8 and with icons all offer <i class="…"> tags from a stylesheet. Material Symbols uses font ligatures instead, and Heroicons, Feather and Ionicons use SVG, components or a web component.
Which icon libraries don’t require attribution?
with icons, Heroicons, Lucide, Feather, Phosphor, Bootstrap Icons, Tabler Icons, Ionicons, Remix Icon and Material Symbols don’t ask for visible credit (permissive licences only ask you to keep the licence notice when you redistribute the code). Font Awesome Free and Boxicons are CC BY 4.0, but say the credit already inside their files is enough. Flaticon, Icons8, The Noun Project, Streamline and Lordicon require credit on their free plans.
How were these facts checked?
Each library page lists its sources: the official website, GitHub repository, npm registry and pricing or licence pages, checked on the date shown on each page (from 1 October 2026). Counts are given the way each source states them (“over”, “about”).
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