PNG to SVG, at true scale

A vector file that knows how big it is.

Most PNG-to-SVG converters were built for logos and clipart. For that job they are fine: trace the coloured regions, fill them, done. Send the same output to a cutting machine and two assumptions fall apart. Filled regions mean nothing to a cutter, which follows outlines, and a logo has no physical size, so nothing in the file says how big the result should be.

This converts for the machine. Every path is stroke-only with no fill. Strokes are thinned to a single centerline, so a drawn line is cut once rather than outlined twice. Circles stay real circle elements and arcs stay arc commands instead of being flattened into hundreds of segments, and the file carries a physical width and height in millimetres beside its viewBox, so it opens at the size you set.

Who this is for

  • Anyone whose SVG keeps opening at the wrong size

    The usual symptom of a converter that never knew the physical dimensions in the first place.

  • Laser and vinyl cutter users

    Stroke-only, single-line paths are what these machines actually want.

  • People converting scans and screenshots of drawings

    Raster linework that needs to become cuttable vectors without doubling every line.

Try it on your own image

Preview unlimited conversions for free, no account needed, and retune until the result is right. You only pay when you download.

Drop a file here or click to browse

Photo: PNG, JPG, WebP, up to 10 MB and 52 megapixels

Drawing: PDF, TIFF, up to 50 MB

Free previews, no sign-up

How to do it

  1. 1

    Upload the PNG

    Up to 10 MB. JPEG and WebP work identically. Clean, high-contrast linework converts best; heavy JPEG artefacts trace as noise.

  2. 2

    Choose a mode

    Outline only for photographs and solid shapes. AI redraw for messy, low-contrast or hand-drawn source material, where it redraws cleanly before tracing.

  3. 3

    Set the real dimensions

    Drag across a dimension you know and type it. This is what separates a cutting file from a picture of one.

  4. 4

    Download the SVG

    It opens at true size in LightBurn, Inkscape, Illustrator, Affinity Designer and Cricut Design Space.

Which format to take

SVG for cutting and vector editing. If the same geometry also needs to go into CAD or CNC, take the DXF, every conversion produces both and one credit covers the job.

Open the converter

What to check before you rely on it

  • Not a colour tracer. This produces cutting outlines, so it will not reproduce a multi-colour illustration as filled shapes. Logo mode does that, and there is a page for it.
  • No kerf compensation. Apply it in your cutting software, where it can follow the material.
  • Scale comes from the dimension you type; nothing in a PNG reveals real size on its own.
  • Heavily compressed or very low-resolution PNGs trace their artefacts along with their content.
  • Photographic texture and gradients are not meaningful as cut paths and will be reduced to outlines.

Common questions

Why does my SVG from other converters open at the wrong size?
Because nothing in a PNG says how big it is, and most converters emit a viewBox with no physical units. The result scales to whatever the receiving application assumes. This writes an explicit width and height in millimetres, so the size is stated rather than guessed.
Can it trace a colour image into filled shapes?
Not in this mode. This produces stroke-only cutting paths rather than filled regions, because that is what a machine follows. Logo mode does trace flat artwork into filled colour shapes, so use that if you want the colours kept.
Does it keep circles as circles?
Yes. Circles are written as SVG circle elements and arcs as arc commands, not flattened into straight segments. That keeps files small and curves smooth on the machine.

Read next

A vector file that knows how big it is.

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