License overview

Last updated on Jun 20th, 2024

This article explains the different licenses available on Iconfinder and responds to FAQs about licenses. For a quick overview of Dos and Don'ts with licenses, please see this license overview table.

How to know what license agreement an icon has? 

When you click on an icon in the search results, information about the icon appears. Here you can see the license agreement. You will be able to find the license agreement on the icon page. Click on the license to read full terms.

What does commercial use mean?

Commercial use refers to income-generating use of any kind, whether direct or indirect.

Is there a way to use "Free for personal use" icons for commercial purposes?

Unfortunately, if an icon has been set as free for personal use, you may use it only for that purpose. However, the icon designer (the copyright owner) may give you permission to use the icon in a commercial way. Please write to the icon designer to get to an agreement over the use of the icon you are interested in.

Can I acquire a commercial use license for an icon if I pay for it?

Paying for an icon doesn't change the license agreement for the icon in question. Again, the best way to know if you can do this is by contacting the copyright owner and asking for permission to use the icon for a commercial purpose. Read about How to message an icon designer

Can Iconfinder give you permission to use an icon for purposes different from the ones specified in the license agreement?

The answer is no. Iconfinder cannot by-pass the license agreement that the icon designers have established for their icons. Only the copyright owner can give permission to do this.

Can I modify a “free for commercial use” icon before using it for commercial purposes?

Yes, you can. Please see the license overview at the beginning of the article for more information.

How do I know when I have to credit the icon designer?

If you have to credit the icon designer, it will be specified in the license agreement, often mentioned in the license name. As a summary, licenses that have the word "attribution" in their names (mostly Creative Commons licenses) require crediting the icon designer. For the other license types, this is just optional. In general, it is always nice to specify who created the icons you are using, for courtesy.

How to credit the icon designer?

You can do this by including their name and a link to their website or to their Iconfinder page. Here are some good examples of how to credit the icon designer: Best practices for attribution

For how long can you use the icons downloaded on Iconfinder?

You can use the icons downloaded from Iconfinder indefinitely, as long as you abide by the license terms of each icon.

Can I use an icon for a logo?

Using icons for a logo is never a good idea. By definition, icons are not unique and what you are looking for is something original that is not being used somewhere else. Icons are protected by license agreements that don't allow you to apply copyright on them, as you would do for a logo.
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A solution would be to have someone design an icon especially for you. We have selected our best contributors to do a Custom Icon Design for you. You just need to choose an icon designer whose style you like and submit a design brief. Here you can read about Custom Icon Design and how it works.
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Another solution would be to contact the icon designer of an icon you really like and to ask him/her to make a variation of it and to sell it only to you. The icon then needs to be significantly different, so you make sure you are not going to find it somewhere else. You can send a message to the designer directly on Iconfinder.