Feather vs Tabler Icons
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A free set of simple, consistent line icons you can drop into websites and apps.
Open source · MIT
Over 6,000 free MIT-licensed SVG icons for web projects, in many formats and frameworks.
The short answer
Choose Feather if you need…
- Web developers who want a clean set of line icons without designing their own
- Designers who want matching icons in a Figma component library
- Developers building a page with plain HTML who can paste a single script tag
- Teams that want icons as SVG strings they can style with CSS
Choose Tabler Icons if you need…
- Web developers who need a consistent set of icons for buttons, menus, and dashboards
- React, Vue, Svelte, or Astro developers who want ready-made icon components
- Projects that need many icon options without paying for a license
- Teams that want to swap icon stroke width or color with plain CSS
Side-by-side
| Feather | Tabler Icons | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | App |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 26k | 22.5k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| Last code update | 20 months ago | 8 days ago |
What each one is
Feather
Feather is a collection of open-source icons, each drawn on a 24x24 grid with a focus on simplicity and consistency. Because every icon is an SVG file, you can use them anywhere SVGs work on the web. The project also offers an npm package with JavaScript helpers for inserting icons into pages or generating SVG markup in Node.
Tabler Icons
Tabler Icons is a large collection of simple line-style icons (with a smaller filled set) that you can add to websites and apps. The README says each icon is drawn on a 24x24 grid with a 2px stroke, and the set is released under the MIT license, so it is free to use. It is distributed as official packages for plain SVG, sprites, webfonts, and components for React, Vue, Svelte, and other frameworks.
Best for
Feather
- Web developers who want a clean set of line icons without designing their own
- Designers who want matching icons in a Figma component library
- Developers building a page with plain HTML who can paste a single script tag
- Teams that want icons as SVG strings they can style with CSS
Tabler Icons
- Web developers who need a consistent set of icons for buttons, menus, and dashboards
- React, Vue, Svelte, or Astro developers who want ready-made icon components
- Projects that need many icon options without paying for a license
- Teams that want to swap icon stroke width or color with plain CSS
Strengths
Feather
- Simple, consistent 24x24 design that the README describes as a deliberate goal
- Flexible: works as plain SVG, a JavaScript library, or a sprite sheet
- MIT license and available via npm and CDN
Tabler Icons
- Large set of over 6,000 icons (the README lists 6257 total, 5203 outline, 1054 filled)
- MIT license and free to use, as stated in the README
- Many packages cover common frameworks and formats, with one shared version number
Not ideal for
Feather
- People who need a large icon set with filled or multi-style variants, since the README describes only this one line-style collection
- Anyone expecting a visual icon editor; the README covers usage, not design tools beyond the Figma library
Tabler Icons
- People who need a unique brand icon style, since this is a general-purpose set (the README does not discuss customization beyond CSS and props)
- Projects that need icons in a non-web format only; the README covers SVG, PNG, PDF, and EPS, but its usage examples focus on web use
Trade-offs
Feather
- The README is truncated, so the full icon count and list of features are not confirmed here
- Multi-word icon names need bracket notation in JavaScript, which is a small usability trade-off
- The README marks feather.toSvg() as deprecated, so newer code should use the icon-level API
Tabler Icons
- The README is a summary; the full documentation is hosted on tabler.io, so some details are not covered here
- Icon names and sets change with releases, so pinning a version may be needed for stability
Getting started
Feather
Install the npm package
npm install feather-icons --saveTabler Icons
Install the SVG package with npm
npm install @tabler/iconsInstall with yarn
yarn add @tabler/iconsFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Feather and Tabler Icons?
Feather: A free set of simple, consistent line icons you can drop into websites and apps. Tabler Icons: Over 6,000 free MIT-licensed SVG icons for web projects, in many formats and frameworks. Feather suits web developers who want a clean set of line icons without designing their own, while Tabler Icons suits web developers who need a consistent set of icons for buttons, menus, and dashboards.
Are Feather and Tabler Icons free?
Feather: Free and open source. Tabler Icons: Free and open source.
Is Feather or Tabler Icons more popular?
Feather has more GitHub stars (26k) than Tabler Icons (22.5k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Feather and Tabler Icons?
Other options people compare them with include Heroicons, devicon.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.