font-awesome vs bootstrap-icons vs ionicons vs material-icons vs feather-icons vs heroicons vs line-awesome vs boxicons vs octicons
Icon Libraries for Web Development Comparison
1 Year
font-awesomebootstrap-iconsioniconsmaterial-iconsfeather-iconsheroiconsline-awesomeboxiconsocticonsSimilar Packages:
What's Icon Libraries for Web Development?

Icon libraries provide a collection of scalable vector icons that can be easily integrated into web projects. They enhance user interfaces by offering visual representations of actions, objects, and concepts, making applications more intuitive and engaging. Each library has its own design style, usage guidelines, and features, catering to different aesthetic preferences and project requirements.

Package Weekly Downloads Trend
Github Stars Ranking
Stat Detail
Package
Downloads
Stars
Size
Issues
Publish
License
font-awesome865,98475,208-4,1659 years ago(OFL-1.1 AND MIT)
bootstrap-icons459,0387,6272.99 MB4185 days agoMIT
ionicons323,55217,7694.69 MB438 days agoMIT
material-icons208,9183422.23 MB123 months agoApache-2.0
feather-icons113,87325,435625 kB491a year agoMIT
heroicons41,06022,390700 kB96 months agoMIT
line-awesome31,9401,271-455 years agoMIT
boxicons23,7593,0843.75 MB873-(CC-BY-4.0 OR OFL-1.1 OR MIT)
octicons9,3218,493-86 years agoMIT
Feature Comparison: font-awesome vs bootstrap-icons vs ionicons vs material-icons vs feather-icons vs heroicons vs line-awesome vs boxicons vs octicons

Design Style

  • font-awesome:

    Font Awesome provides a diverse range of icons with various styles, including solid, regular, and light, catering to different design needs.

  • bootstrap-icons:

    Bootstrap Icons feature a flat design that aligns with Bootstrap's overall aesthetic, providing a cohesive look for Bootstrap-based projects.

  • ionicons:

    Ionicons feature a vibrant and modern design, optimized for both web and mobile applications, with a focus on usability and clarity.

  • material-icons:

    Material Icons follow Google’s Material Design guidelines, providing a consistent and recognizable design language across applications.

  • feather-icons:

    Feather Icons are characterized by their thin lines and minimalist design, making them suitable for projects that prioritize simplicity and elegance.

  • heroicons:

    Heroicons are designed with a focus on simplicity and clarity, featuring a balanced and modern aesthetic that fits well with Tailwind CSS.

  • line-awesome:

    Line Awesome offers a sleek line-based design that is modern and stylish, suitable for contemporary web applications.

  • boxicons:

    Boxicons offer both solid and outline styles, allowing for flexibility in design while maintaining a modern and clean appearance.

  • octicons:

    Octicons are designed specifically for GitHub and related projects, featuring a clean and modern style that enhances usability.

Usage Scenario

  • font-awesome:

    Suitable for a wide range of applications, from simple websites to complex web applications, due to its extensive icon library.

  • bootstrap-icons:

    Best used in Bootstrap projects where integration with Bootstrap components is needed, providing a seamless user experience.

  • ionicons:

    Best used in mobile and hybrid applications, especially those built with Ionic, ensuring a consistent look across platforms.

  • material-icons:

    Best suited for applications that follow Material Design principles, ensuring consistency with Google’s design language.

  • feather-icons:

    Great for projects that prioritize lightweight assets and a minimalist aesthetic, such as personal blogs or portfolios.

  • heroicons:

    Perfect for Tailwind CSS projects, providing icons that align with the design framework and enhance the overall user interface.

  • line-awesome:

    Ideal for modern web applications that require a clean and stylish icon set without heavy visual clutter.

  • boxicons:

    Ideal for web applications that require a mix of solid and outline icons for different UI elements, enhancing visual hierarchy.

  • octicons:

    Perfect for GitHub-related projects or applications that require a modern, clean icon set tailored for web interfaces.

Extensibility

  • font-awesome:

    Font Awesome offers extensive customization options, including the ability to use SVGs and customize styles through CSS, making it highly flexible.

  • bootstrap-icons:

    Bootstrap Icons can be easily customized with CSS to match the project's color scheme and size requirements, enhancing flexibility.

  • ionicons:

    Ionicons can be customized to fit various design needs, with options for different sizes and colors to match application themes.

  • material-icons:

    Material Icons can be customized through CSS and are designed to be easily scalable, fitting various screen sizes and resolutions.

  • feather-icons:

    Feather Icons are highly customizable, allowing developers to change stroke width and color to fit their design needs.

  • heroicons:

    Heroicons can be easily styled and customized to fit within Tailwind CSS projects, allowing for seamless integration and design consistency.

  • line-awesome:

    Line Awesome icons can be easily styled with CSS, allowing for a high degree of customization to fit specific design requirements.

  • boxicons:

    Boxicons allow for easy customization and can be combined with other icon sets for a unique look, providing versatility in design.

  • octicons:

    Octicons can be customized to fit different themes and styles, making them adaptable for various web applications.

Performance

  • font-awesome:

    Font Awesome offers both SVG and web font options, allowing developers to choose the best method for performance based on their needs.

  • bootstrap-icons:

    Bootstrap Icons are lightweight and optimized for performance, ensuring fast loading times in web applications.

  • ionicons:

    Ionicons are designed with performance in mind, providing a rich icon set without compromising load times.

  • material-icons:

    Material Icons are optimized for performance, ensuring quick loading times and efficient rendering in web applications.

  • feather-icons:

    Feather Icons are extremely lightweight, making them ideal for performance-sensitive applications where load times are critical.

  • heroicons:

    Heroicons are optimized for performance, ensuring that they load quickly and do not negatively impact application speed.

  • line-awesome:

    Line Awesome is lightweight, ensuring that it does not slow down web applications while providing a modern icon set.

  • boxicons:

    Boxicons are designed to be lightweight, ensuring minimal impact on page load times while providing a rich set of icons.

  • octicons:

    Octicons are designed to be lightweight and efficient, ensuring that they load quickly and enhance user experience without delays.

Community and Support

  • font-awesome:

    Font Awesome boasts a large community and extensive documentation, making it easy to find support and resources for implementation.

  • bootstrap-icons:

    Bootstrap Icons benefit from the extensive Bootstrap community, providing ample resources and support for developers.

  • ionicons:

    Ionicons has a dedicated community, especially among Ionic developers, providing support and resources for mobile application development.

  • material-icons:

    Material Icons benefit from Google's extensive resources and community support, making it easy to find help and documentation.

  • feather-icons:

    Feather Icons has a supportive community, with documentation and resources available for developers looking to implement the icons effectively.

  • heroicons:

    Heroicons is supported by the Tailwind CSS community, providing resources and examples for effective use in Tailwind projects.

  • line-awesome:

    Line Awesome has a smaller community but offers sufficient documentation and resources for developers to get started easily.

  • boxicons:

    Boxicons has a growing community, with resources available for integration and customization, although smaller than some other libraries.

  • octicons:

    Octicons are supported by the GitHub community, providing ample resources and documentation for developers working on GitHub-related projects.

How to Choose: font-awesome vs bootstrap-icons vs ionicons vs material-icons vs feather-icons vs heroicons vs line-awesome vs boxicons vs octicons
  • font-awesome:

    Font Awesome is a great choice if you require a comprehensive icon library with extensive options, including social media icons and brand logos, along with support for SVG and web fonts.

  • bootstrap-icons:

    Choose Bootstrap Icons if you are already using Bootstrap in your project, as it seamlessly integrates with Bootstrap's styling and components, providing a consistent look and feel.

  • ionicons:

    Choose Ionicons if you are building an Ionic application, as it provides a wide range of high-quality icons specifically designed for mobile and web applications.

  • material-icons:

    Material Icons are ideal for projects that follow Material Design principles, offering a wide range of icons that are consistent with Google’s design guidelines.

  • feather-icons:

    Select Feather Icons for a minimalist approach with a focus on simplicity and elegance. Ideal for projects that prioritize clean design and lightweight assets.

  • heroicons:

    Heroicons is perfect for Tailwind CSS users, offering beautifully crafted icons that align with the Tailwind design philosophy, making it easy to maintain a consistent aesthetic.

  • line-awesome:

    Line Awesome is a good option for projects that require a line-style icon set, providing a modern alternative to Font Awesome with a focus on simplicity and elegance.

  • boxicons:

    Opt for Boxicons if you need a versatile icon set that offers both solid and outline styles, along with a focus on simplicity and modern design, suitable for various web applications.

  • octicons:

    Opt for Octicons if you are developing GitHub-related applications or want a clean, modern icon set that is specifically designed for web interfaces.

README for font-awesome

Font Awesome v4.7.0

The iconic font and CSS framework

Font Awesome is a full suite of 675 pictographic icons for easy scalable vector graphics on websites, created and maintained by Dave Gandy. Stay up to date with the latest release and announcements on Twitter: @fontawesome.

Get started at http://fontawesome.io!

License

  • The Font Awesome font is licensed under the SIL OFL 1.1:
    • http://scripts.sil.org/OFL
  • Font Awesome CSS, LESS, and Sass files are licensed under the MIT License:
    • https://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html
  • The Font Awesome documentation is licensed under the CC BY 3.0 License:
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
  • Attribution is no longer required as of Font Awesome 3.0, but much appreciated:
    • Font Awesome by Dave Gandy - http://fontawesome.io
  • Full details: http://fontawesome.io/license/

Changelog

Contributing

Please read through our contributing guidelines. Included are directions for opening issues, coding standards, and notes on development.

Versioning

Font Awesome will be maintained under the Semantic Versioning guidelines as much as possible. Releases will be numbered with the following format:

<major>.<minor>.<patch>

And constructed with the following guidelines:

  • Breaking backward compatibility bumps the major (and resets the minor and patch)
  • New additions, including new icons, without breaking backward compatibility bumps the minor (and resets the patch)
  • Bug fixes, changes to brand logos, and misc changes bumps the patch

For more information on SemVer, please visit http://semver.org.

Author

  • Email: dave@fontawesome.io
  • Twitter: http://twitter.com/davegandy
  • GitHub: https://github.com/davegandy

Component

To include as a component, just run

$ component install FortAwesome/Font-Awesome

Or add

"FortAwesome/Font-Awesome": "*"

to the dependencies in your component.json.

Hacking on Font Awesome

Before you can build the project, you must first have the following installed:

From the root of the repository, install the tools used to develop.

$ bundle install
$ npm install

Build the project and documentation:

$ bundle exec jekyll build

Or serve it on a local server on http://localhost:7998/Font-Awesome/:

$ bundle exec jekyll -w serve