Ionicons 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, MIT-licensed set of 1,300 icons for web and mobile apps, built for Ionic.
Open source · MIT
Over 6,000 free MIT-licensed SVG icons for web projects, in many formats and frameworks.
The short answer
Choose Ionicons if you need…
- Developers building apps with Ionic Framework, where icons are already packaged
- Web developers who want a free icon set without installing a package
- Projects that need separate iOS and Material Design icon styles
- Teams that want MIT-licensed icons usable in commercial work
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
| Ionicons | Tabler Icons | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | App |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 18.2k | 22.5k |
| Setup difficulty | Beginner | Beginner |
| How you get it | Use it in the browser (or self-host) | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last code update | 3 months ago | 8 days ago |
What each one is
Ionicons
Ionicons is an open-source icon set with about 1,300 icons, made for web, iOS, Android, and desktop apps. It was built for Ionic Framework, so most icons come in Material Design and iOS versions. You use it by placing an ion-icon element in your page and setting its name, and the icon's SVG is loaded on demand.
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
Ionicons
- Developers building apps with Ionic Framework, where icons are already packaged
- Web developers who want a free icon set without installing a package
- Projects that need separate iOS and Material Design icon styles
- Teams that want MIT-licensed icons usable in commercial work
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
Ionicons
- Free and MIT-licensed, including for commercial use according to the README
- Each icon has filled, outline, and sharp variants in most cases
- Icons are loaded only when visible, which the README says keeps requests down
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
Ionicons
- People who need a very specific brand or illustration style not covered by the set, since the README only describes this one icon pack
- Projects that need icons to load instantly offline, because the component fetches each SVG when it becomes visible
- Anyone who needs brand logos cleared for endorsement, since the README notes brand icons are trademarks of their owners
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
Ionicons
- The README is short on details about the full icon list and browser support
- Logo icons lack outline and sharp variants
- Using it outside Ionic requires loading scripts from a CDN, which adds an external dependency
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
Ionicons
Load Ionicons without Ionic Framework (CDN script, module version)
<script type="module" src="https://esm.sh/ionicons@latest/loader"></script>Load Ionicons without Ionic Framework (CDN script, nomodule fallback)
<script nomodule src="https://esm.sh/ionicons@latest/loader"></script>Tabler Icons
Install the SVG package with npm
npm install @tabler/iconsInstall with yarn
yarn add @tabler/iconsFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Ionicons and Tabler Icons?
Ionicons: A free, MIT-licensed set of 1,300 icons for web and mobile apps, built for Ionic. Tabler Icons: Over 6,000 free MIT-licensed SVG icons for web projects, in many formats and frameworks. Ionicons suits developers building apps with ionic framework, where icons are already packaged, while Tabler Icons suits web developers who need a consistent set of icons for buttons, menus, and dashboards.
Are Ionicons and Tabler Icons free?
Ionicons: Free and open source. Tabler Icons: Free and open source.
Is Ionicons or Tabler Icons more popular?
Tabler Icons has more GitHub stars (22.5k) than Ionicons (18.2k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Ionicons and Tabler Icons?
Other options people compare them with include Ionic, Wired Elements, Heroicons.
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.