Free & open source · Updated November 2026
Best Open Source Icon Libraries
Looking for open source icon libraries you can use in real projects? Here are 24 free icon sets and tools for websites, apps and WordPress themes, with the licence explained for every one, so you know exactly what you’re allowed to do.
- 24 libraries and tools
- 15 under MIT or ISC
- 100% free to start
- 0 affiliate links
Independent list: no referral links and no paid placements. Licences were checked against each project’s own site or repository in November 2026. This isn’t legal advice, so read the licence before you ship.
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Open source UI icon sets
These open source icon libraries are complete, consistent icon families for websites, apps and dashboards. All free for commercial use.
Lucide
Community-built fork of Feather with a huge, consistent set and packages for every framework.
Heroicons
Hand-crafted SVG icons from the makers of Tailwind CSS, with four sizes for crisp UI.
Phosphor
A flexible family with six weights per icon, ideal when you need visual hierarchy.
Tabler Icons
One of the largest free sets, drawn on a 24px grid with an adjustable stroke.
Material Symbols
Google’s variable icon font with adjustable fill, weight, grade and optical size.
Material Design Icons
Pictogrammers’ community set that extends Material Design with thousands of extra icons.
Bootstrap Icons
Official Bootstrap set that works with any framework as SVGs, a sprite or a web font.
Iconoir
Clean, slightly rounded icons with good coverage for apps and marketing sites.
Ionicons
Premium-quality icons from the Ionic team, designed for web and mobile apps.
Feather
The simple, minimalist set that inspired many others. Small but timeless.
Fluent UI System Icons
Microsoft’s friendly, rounded icons used across Windows and Microsoft 365.
Carbon Icons
IBM’s precise, technical icon set from the Carbon Design System.
Octicons
GitHub’s icons, perfect for developer tools and documentation sites.
Radix Icons
A crisp set designed on a 15px grid for compact, dense interfaces.
MingCute
Friendly, rounded icons with matching line and fill styles.
Akar Icons
Perfectly rounded icons that feel soft and approachable.
Free icon sets with conditions
Free to use, but with attribution or extra conditions. Read the licence before you ship.
Font Awesome Free
The most famous icon set. Free icons are CC BY 4.0, with attribution already embedded in the files.
Remix Icon
Neutral system icons, now under a custom licence that allows commercial use but forbids reselling or using them as a logo.
Specialty icons
Emoji, brand logos and pixel art for when a standard UI set isn’t enough.
Simple Icons
SVG logos for thousands of popular brands. The files are CC0, but the logos remain trademarks.
OpenMoji
Open-source emoji in a consistent style. Credit required, and changes must be shared alike.
Pixelarticons
Pixel-perfect icons on a 24px grid. The base set is free; extra styles are paid.
Find and manage icons
Tools for searching many libraries at once and dropping icons straight into your project.
Iconify
One framework and API for hundreds of open source icon sets. Each set keeps its own licence.
Icônes
Fast icon explorer built on Iconify. Search, preview and copy SVG or component code.
SVG Repo
Huge library of free SVGs gathered from many sources. Check the licence on each icon.
Open source icon libraries at a glance
A quick comparison of every library on this page. Icon counts are approximate and grow with each release; a dash means the project doesn’t publish a total.
| Library | Licence | Icons | Styles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lucide | ISC | 1,600+ | Outline, Adjustable stroke |
| Heroicons | MIT | 300+ | Outline, Solid, Mini, Micro |
| Phosphor | MIT | 1,200+ | Thin, Light, Regular, Bold, Fill, Duotone |
| Tabler Icons | MIT | 6,000+ | Outline, Filled |
| Material Symbols | Apache 2.0 | 2,500+ | Outlined, Rounded, Sharp, Variable |
| Material Design Icons | Apache 2.0 | 7,000+ | Filled, Outline |
| Bootstrap Icons | MIT | 2,000+ | Outline, Fill |
| Iconoir | MIT | 1,600+ | Outline, Solid |
| Ionicons | MIT | 1,300+ | Outline, Filled, Sharp |
| Feather | MIT | 280+ | Outline |
| Fluent UI System Icons | MIT | — | Regular, Filled |
| Carbon Icons | Apache 2.0 | — | Outline, Filled |
| Octicons | MIT | — | 12px, 16px, 24px |
| Radix Icons | MIT | — | 15×15 outline |
| MingCute | Apache 2.0 | — | Line, Fill |
| Akar Icons | MIT | — | Rounded outline |
| Font Awesome Free | CC BY 4.0 | — | Solid, Regular, Brands |
| Remix Icon | Remix Icon License | — | Line, Fill |
| Simple Icons | CC0 | — | Brand logos |
| OpenMoji | CC BY-SA 4.0 | 4,400+ | Colour, Black |
| Pixelarticons | MIT | 1,000+ | Pixel art |
| Iconify | MIT | 300,000+ | Many sets |
| Icônes | MIT | — | Search, Copy as code |
| SVG Repo | Varies by icon | — | Search, Download |
Icon licences explained
Free doesn’t always mean “no conditions”. Before you use open source icon libraries in a product, app or client site, check what the licence asks of you:
- MIT and ISC: very permissive. Use the icons commercially and change them freely. If you redistribute the icon files or code, keep the licence text.
- Apache 2.0: also permissive, with an explicit patent grant. Keep the licence and any notice file if you redistribute the files.
- CC0: no conditions at all. Note that brand logos in sets like Simple Icons are still trademarks owned by each company.
- CC BY and CC BY-SA: free to use commercially, but you must credit the creator. With BY-SA, anything you build from the icons must use the same licence.
- Custom licences: read them carefully. Some allow commercial use but forbid reselling the icons or using them in a logo.
A practical rule: never use any icon from a library as your company logo or trademark. Most icon licences either forbid it or can’t give you exclusive rights to a shape anyone else can use.
How to use open source icons in WordPress
- Pick one of the open source icon libraries and stick to it. Mixing sets with different stroke widths and corner styles makes a site look untidy.
- Use inline SVG, not huge icon fonts. Copy just the SVGs you need into a Custom HTML block or your theme, so you don’t load thousands of unused icons.
- Be careful with SVG uploads. WordPress blocks SVG uploads by default because SVG files can contain code. Only allow them with a plugin that sanitises the files, and only from trusted sources.
- Make icons accessible. Decorative icons should be hidden from screen readers. Icons used as buttons need a text label.
- Keep the licence. If your theme or plugin bundles icon files, include the library’s licence file with them.
For more design resources, see our best UX tools and best AI design tools directories, and our guide to the best fonts for blogs.
How we chose these libraries
Every library here is free to start with, actively maintained or stable and widely used, and published with a clear licence that we checked against the project’s own site or repository in November 2026. We favoured complete, consistent sets over large collections of mismatched icons.
This list of open source icon libraries is independent. We don’t use affiliate links or accept payment for listings.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best open source icon libraries?
For most projects, Lucide, Heroicons, Phosphor, Tabler Icons and Material Symbols are excellent choices. They’re consistent, well maintained and released under permissive licences.
Can I use free icons in commercial projects?
Usually yes. MIT, ISC, Apache 2.0 and CC0 icons can be used commercially. CC BY icons need attribution, and custom licences may add limits, so always read the licence first.
Do I need to credit open source icons?
Not for MIT, ISC, Apache 2.0 or CC0 icons used on a website, although keeping the licence with redistributed files is required. CC BY sets such as Font Awesome Free and OpenMoji require credit.
Can I use an icon as my logo?
It’s best not to. Many icon licences forbid it, and even where they don’t, you can’t stop others using the same icon, so you couldn’t protect it as a trademark.
What is the difference between an icon font and SVG icons?
An icon font loads the whole set as a font file. SVG icons are added individually, so they’re lighter, sharper and easier to make accessible. For most modern sites, SVG is the better choice.
How do I add SVG icons to WordPress safely?
Paste the SVG code into a Custom HTML block or your theme files. If you need to upload SVGs to the media library, use a plugin that sanitises them, because WordPress blocks SVG uploads by default.
Final thoughts
The best open source icon libraries give you a consistent look, a clear licence and only the icons you need. Pick one family that matches your brand, check its licence once, and use it everywhere. Bookmark this page and use the search and licence filters above whenever you need a new set.
