- Is this PNG to SVG converter really free?
- Yes. There is no account, no email, no watermark, and no limit on the number of files you download. CutFileVault makes money selling ready-made cut files, so the converter exists to be useful on its own terms.
- Does this actually trace the image, or just wrap the PNG in an SVG file?
- It traces. Most free converters rename the file: they embed your PNG inside an SVG wrapper, so the extension changes and the pixels do not. Cricut Design Space imports that as an image, not as a cuttable shape, and the blade has nothing to follow. This converter runs the image through Potrace and returns real bezier outlines, which is why a node count appears under the preview. Open the file in a text editor if you want to check any converter's output: real vector paths start with <path d="M...">, and a wrapper contains an <image> tag with a base64 blob inside it.
- Will the SVG cut properly on a Cricut?
- Yes, provided the source artwork is a clear shape rather than a photograph. The converter outputs a single-color vector with closed paths, which is exactly what Cricut Design Space, Silhouette Studio, and Glowforge expect. Check the node count shown under the preview: below a few thousand nodes cuts cleanly, and much higher than that will make Design Space sluggish and can cause the blade to chatter on fine detail.
- Will the SVG work on a Glowforge or an xTool laser?
- Yes. Glowforge, xTool Creative Space and LightBurn all import SVG directly, and a single-color trace with closed paths is the cleanest thing you can hand any of them. One thing to know: the file carries shapes, not operations. Your laser software decides whether each path is cut, scored or engraved, so a traced silhouette arrives as one operation and you pick which. If you want the shape engraved as a solid fill rather than outlined, set it to engrave after import.
- Can I convert a photo to SVG?
- You can, but the result is a black-and-white silhouette of the photo, not a full-color vector illustration. This tool traces one color. Photos with a clear subject against a plain background do reasonably well; busy photographs turn into an unusable mess of specks. Raising the despeckle value helps.
- Does the converter keep the colors in my image?
- No. The output is a single-color trace, which is what a cutting machine needs, since a blade cuts one outline at a time. If you need a multi-color layered design, trace each color separately or start from a design built in layers.
- Do you store the images I upload?
- No. Your image is converted in memory during the request and is never written to disk or to our storage. Nothing about the upload is retained after the SVG comes back.
- What image files can I upload, and how large?
- PNG, JPG, WebP, GIF, BMP and AVIF, up to 12 MB each. The converter reads the file's actual bytes rather than trusting its extension, so a TIFF or an iPhone HEIC renamed to .png is refused by name rather than failing silently, and an SVG is pointed at the free SVG file checker instead, since it is already a vector.
- How is this different from Inkscape's Trace Bitmap?
- Inkscape is a full desktop editor you install, and its Trace Bitmap does more: several colours at once, manual thresholds, and editing the paths afterwards. This does one thing. One image in, one single-colour cuttable SVG out, with nothing to install and no account. If you already use Inkscape, keep using it. If you have one PNG and a machine waiting, this is the shorter path.
- Why does my transparent PNG come out as a solid rectangle elsewhere?
- Most tracing tools ignore the alpha channel, so a transparent background is read as solid black and traced as a box. This converter flattens transparency onto the correct backdrop before tracing, which is why a transparent PNG works here without you editing it first.