Favicon Fetcher — get any site's icon as a data URI

Favicon Fetcher downloads any website's favicon and returns it as a base64 data URI plus a hosted file, with content type and pixel size, at $0.001 per icon on the Apify Free plan.

• Price: $0.001 per icon fetched on the Free plan, less on paid plans. A site whose icon cannot be fetched is not charged.
• Example input: { "url": "https://github.com", "size": 64 }
• Output fields: ok, url, iconUrl, dataUri, fileUrl, contentType, bytes, width, height

Fetch a website's favicon and get it back as a ready-to-embed base64 data: URI plus a hosted PNG/ICO file URL — with the content-type and real pixel dimensions (read from the image bytes). Discovers the best icon from <link> tags, the web manifest, and the /favicon.ico fallback. Single URL or bulk. $0.001 per icon. Failed fetches are recorded free.

What you get

• dataUri — the favicon inline as data:image/…;base64,…, ready to drop into HTML/CSS.
• fileUrl — the icon stored and served as a file.
• contentType, bytes, and width/height (from PNG/ICO/GIF headers).
• Picks the best icon near a preferred size, with /favicon.ico fallback.
• Fail-soft: an unreachable site returns {ok:false, error} and is never charged.

Input

{ "url": "https://github.com", "urls": ["https://stripe.com"], "size": 64, "maxUrls": 25 }

Output (real run, 2026-08-07)

{
  "ok": true,
  "url": "https://github.com",
  "iconUrl": "https://github.githubassets.com/favicons/favicon.svg",
  "dataUri": "data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2Zy…",
  "fileUrl": "https://api.apify.com/v2/key-value-stores/…/records/favicon-github.com-….svg",
  "contentType": "image/svg+xml",
  "bytes": 1543, "width": null, "height": null
}

Pricing — $0.001 per icon

$0.001 per icon fetched on the Apify Free plan, billed as the icon-fetched event. Paid Apify plans pay less ($0.00093 Bronze, $0.00087 Silver, $0.0008 Gold, $0.00073 Platinum, $0.00067 Diamond). No start fee. Failed fetches are recorded free. A full 100-site run costs $0.10 on the Free plan.

Limits (honest ones)

• Returns one best icon per site (data URI + file), not a full catalog of every declared icon — for that, see the related actor below.
• Pixel dimensions are read from PNG/ICO/GIF headers; SVG/JPEG/WebP report null dimensions (scalable/undeclared).
• maxUrls capped at 100 per run.

FAQ

• Do I get the actual image? Yes — as a base64 data URI and as a hosted file URL.
• Which formats? PNG, ICO, SVG, GIF, JPEG, WebP — whatever the site serves.
• How is the best icon chosen? Nearest to your preferred size, weighting manifest/apple-touch icons, with /favicon.ico fallback.
• What about a dead site? You get an {ok:false, error} record, uncharged.
• How many sites per run? Up to 100 (maxUrls, default 25). Pass one url, a urls list, or both.

Related actors

• Favicon Extractor (EliAI/webpage-favicon-extractor) — lists every icon a site declares (link tags, manifest, sizes/types) without downloading bytes. This actor fetches one as embeddable bytes; that one catalogs them all.

Use from code or AI agents

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/EliAI~favicon-to-data-uri/runs?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' -d '{"url":"https://github.com"}'

Callable as an agent tool through the Apify MCP server (mcp.apify.com).

Who uses it

• Developers embedding site icons as base64 data URIs in HTML emails or offline apps
• Dashboard builders showing a favicon next to each monitored site without hotlinking
• Link-preview services storing a hosted icon file and its real pixel size
• Browser extension developers caching icons for a bookmark list
• CRM and directory builders adding a company icon from its domain