Format Showdown

ICO VS TIFF

The ultimate comparison guide. Understanding the technical differences between Icon File and Tagged Image File Format.

ICO

ico

Standard format used for computer icons and favicons.

Pros

  • Contains multiple resolutions
  • Standard for Windows/Web icons

Cons

  • Limited use case
  • Inefficient for general images

TIFF

tiff

High-quality format used in professional photography and publishing.

Pros

  • Lossless compression
  • Layers support
  • CMYK support for print

Cons

  • Very large files
  • Not supported by web browsers

When ICO wins

Stay with ICO when you need favicons or desktop icons. Its strengths center on contains multiple resolutions and a feature set native to Microsoft.

When TIFF wins

Choose TIFF when your workflow prioritizes professional printing or scanning. It delivers lossless compression plus modern compression perks.

Technical Specifications

FeatureICOTIFF
MIME Typeimage/x-iconimage/tiff
DeveloperMicrosoftAdobe
Release Year19851986
Best ForFavicons, Desktop iconsProfessional printing, Scanning, Archiving

Need to switch?

Convert ICO to TIFF Convert TIFF to ICO
Opportunity map

Where ICO still wins

Keep ICO when you need contains multiple resolutions and workflows depend on favicons / desktop icons. Link those teams directly to the converter above so they can ship TIFF deliverables without leaving their browser.

  • • Reference the .ico glossary from this page.
  • • Embed the conversion CTA in docs, wikis, and onboarding runbooks.
  • • Use TIFF for professional printing while archiving originals as ICO.
Internal linking plan

Keep crawlers in the conversion hub

Link this comparison to the relevant tool, glossary, and documentation pages so every crawl discovers a monetizable route.

ICO to TIFF converterTIFF to ICO converterUse case libraryImplementation docs