font-awesome vs ionicons vs material-icons vs feather-icons vs heroicons vs line-awesome vs boxicons
Icon Libraries for Web Development Comparison
1 Year
font-awesomeioniconsmaterial-iconsfeather-iconsheroiconsline-awesomeboxiconsSimilar Packages:
What's Icon Libraries for Web Development?

Icon libraries are collections of scalable vector icons that can be easily integrated into web applications. They provide developers with a wide range of icons that can be customized in terms of size, color, and style, enhancing the visual appeal and usability of web interfaces. These libraries help streamline the design process by offering pre-designed icons that adhere to design principles and improve user experience.

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)
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)
Feature Comparison: font-awesome vs ionicons vs material-icons vs feather-icons vs heroicons vs line-awesome vs boxicons

Design Style

  • font-awesome:

    Font Awesome offers a diverse range of icon styles, including solid, regular, and light versions. This variety allows for flexibility in design, catering to different visual preferences and project requirements.

  • ionicons:

    Ionicons provide both outline and filled icons, allowing for greater versatility in design. Their style is modern and suitable for both web and mobile applications, ensuring a cohesive look across platforms.

  • material-icons:

    Material Icons adhere to Google's Material Design guidelines, ensuring consistency and usability across applications. Their design is functional and straightforward, making them suitable for a variety of web and mobile projects.

  • feather-icons:

    Feather Icons are characterized by their minimalist and clean design, focusing on simplicity and clarity. They are perfect for applications that prioritize a light and airy aesthetic.

  • heroicons:

    Heroicons are hand-crafted icons that emphasize aesthetics and usability. They come in both outline and solid styles, making them versatile for different design contexts, especially in Tailwind CSS projects.

  • line-awesome:

    Line Awesome focuses on line icons, providing a clean and modern aesthetic. This style is particularly effective for minimalist designs and applications that require a lightweight icon solution.

  • boxicons:

    Boxicons feature a modern and flat design style, making them suitable for contemporary web applications. They are designed to be simple yet visually appealing, fitting well with various UI designs.

Customization

  • font-awesome:

    Font Awesome provides extensive customization options, including the ability to animate icons and change their size and color. This makes it a powerful choice for projects that require dynamic icon usage.

  • ionicons:

    Ionicons are customizable through CSS, offering options to change colors and sizes. This adaptability makes them suitable for various design contexts, including both web and mobile applications.

  • material-icons:

    Material Icons can be customized using CSS, enabling developers to change their size and color to fit the application's design. This customization is essential for maintaining consistency with Material Design principles.

  • feather-icons:

    Feather Icons can be easily styled with CSS, enabling developers to adjust colors and sizes to fit their application's design. Their simplicity allows for quick customization without extensive overhead.

  • heroicons:

    Heroicons can be customized through CSS, allowing developers to adjust their appearance to match the overall design of the application. Their clean design ensures that customizations remain visually appealing.

  • line-awesome:

    Line Awesome icons can be easily styled with CSS, allowing for quick adjustments to size and color. This makes them a flexible choice for projects that require a modern and clean aesthetic.

  • boxicons:

    Boxicons are highly customizable, allowing developers to easily change colors, sizes, and styles using CSS. This flexibility makes them suitable for various design needs without compromising on performance.

Performance

  • font-awesome:

    Font Awesome can be heavier than other icon libraries due to its extensive collection of icons. However, developers can optimize performance by selectively importing only the icons they need, reducing the overall footprint.

  • ionicons:

    Ionicons are optimized for performance, providing a balance between quality and load times. Their SVG format ensures that icons remain sharp and clear on all screen sizes, enhancing user experience.

  • material-icons:

    Material Icons are optimized for performance and designed to load quickly, ensuring a smooth user experience. Their SVG format allows for high-quality rendering across various devices.

  • feather-icons:

    Feather Icons are designed to be lightweight and performant, ensuring quick load times. Their SVG format allows for easy scaling without pixelation, making them suitable for high-resolution displays.

  • heroicons:

    Heroicons are lightweight and designed for performance, ensuring that they load quickly and do not hinder application responsiveness. Their SVG format allows for high-quality scaling across devices.

  • line-awesome:

    Line Awesome is lightweight and optimized for performance, making it suitable for applications that require fast load times. Its SVG format allows for easy scaling without compromising quality.

  • boxicons:

    Boxicons are lightweight and optimized for performance, ensuring that they do not significantly impact page load times. Their SVG format allows for scalability without loss of quality, making them ideal for responsive designs.

Community and Support

  • font-awesome:

    Font Awesome boasts a large community and extensive documentation, providing ample resources for developers. Its popularity ensures that developers can find support and solutions to common issues easily.

  • ionicons:

    Ionicons has a supportive community and offers comprehensive documentation, making it easy for developers to utilize the icons effectively. Its integration with Ionic Framework enhances its usability for mobile applications.

  • material-icons:

    Material Icons is widely used and supported by Google, ensuring a robust community and extensive documentation. Developers can find numerous resources and examples to help with implementation.

  • feather-icons:

    Feather Icons has a supportive community and offers clear documentation, making it easy for developers to implement and customize icons. Its minimalist design approach has garnered a dedicated user base.

  • heroicons:

    Heroicons is part of the Tailwind CSS ecosystem, benefiting from a strong community and excellent documentation. Developers can find numerous resources and examples to help integrate Heroicons into their projects.

  • line-awesome:

    Line Awesome has a growing community and provides decent documentation, making it accessible for developers. Its focus on line icons has attracted users looking for a modern aesthetic.

  • boxicons:

    Boxicons has a growing community and provides good documentation, making it easier for developers to find support and resources. Its simplicity and ease of use contribute to its popularity among developers.

Integration

  • font-awesome:

    Font Awesome offers multiple integration options, including CDN and npm packages, making it versatile for different project setups. Its extensive icon library ensures that developers have access to a wide range of icons.

  • ionicons:

    Ionicons can be integrated into web and mobile applications with ease, providing a consistent look across platforms. Their versatility makes them suitable for various development environments.

  • material-icons:

    Material Icons can be easily integrated into web applications, especially those following Material Design principles. Their compatibility with various frameworks ensures a smooth setup process.

  • feather-icons:

    Feather Icons are simple to integrate into web applications, requiring just a few lines of code. Their lightweight nature ensures that they fit seamlessly into various projects.

  • heroicons:

    Heroicons can be easily integrated into projects, especially those using Tailwind CSS. Their design complements Tailwind's utility-first approach, making them a natural choice for developers in that ecosystem.

  • line-awesome:

    Line Awesome is easy to integrate into projects, requiring minimal setup. Its focus on line icons allows for quick implementation without extensive configuration.

  • boxicons:

    Boxicons can be easily integrated into any web project, requiring minimal setup. Their straightforward usage makes them a great choice for developers looking for quick implementation.

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

    Opt for Font Awesome if you require a comprehensive icon library with a vast selection of icons and additional features like icon animations and accessibility support. It is ideal for larger projects that need a wide variety of icons and styles.

  • ionicons:

    Choose Ionicons if you need a versatile icon set that includes both outline and filled icons, suitable for mobile and web applications. It is particularly useful for projects that require a consistent look across different platforms.

  • material-icons:

    Use Material Icons if you are developing applications that follow Material Design principles. This library provides a wide range of icons that are optimized for use in web and mobile applications, ensuring consistency with Google's design guidelines.

  • feather-icons:

    Select Feather Icons if you prefer a minimalist design with a focus on simplicity and clarity. Feather Icons are great for projects that aim for a sleek and modern look, especially when using a limited color palette.

  • heroicons:

    Use Heroicons if you are looking for a set of beautifully designed, hand-crafted icons that fit well with Tailwind CSS. They are perfect for projects that prioritize aesthetics and require a cohesive design language.

  • line-awesome:

    Select Line Awesome if you want a lightweight alternative to Font Awesome that focuses on line icons. It is ideal for projects that need a clean and modern design without the bulk of a larger library.

  • boxicons:

    Choose Boxicons if you need a simple, customizable icon set that is lightweight and easy to use. It is particularly suitable for projects that require a modern and clean aesthetic without the overhead of a larger library.

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