Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Material Icons VS Icons8

Compare Material Icons VS Icons8 and see what are their differences

Material Icons logo Material Icons

Google Fonts now supports icons

Icons8 logo Icons8

Free app for Mac & Windows already containing 39,800 icons. Allows to search and import icons…
  • Material Icons Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-05-22
  • Icons8 Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-03

Material Icons features and specs

  • Extensive Collection
    Material Icons offer a comprehensive set of over 2,000 icons, covering a wide range of use cases and design needs.
  • Consistency
    The icons are designed following Google's Material Design guidelines, ensuring visual and functional consistency across different platforms and applications.
  • Scalability
    Being vector-based, these icons can be scaled to any size without losing quality, making them versatile for various screen resolutions.
  • Ease of Integration
    Material Icons are easy to integrate into projects through the use of the Google Fonts API, CSS, or direct downloading and inclusion in codebases.
  • Customizability
    Icons can be customized in terms of color, size, and other styles to fit the specific needs of a project.
  • Free and Open Source
    Material Icons are free to use under the Apache License 2.0, making them accessible for both personal and commercial projects.

Possible disadvantages of Material Icons

  • Steep Learning Curve
    For designers not familiar with Material Design, there may be a learning curve to understanding and effectively implementing the design principles.
  • Design Limitations
    While Material Icons are highly versatile, their design is rooted in Material Design principles, which may not fit every brand or aesthetic.
  • Performance Overhead
    Including a large number of icons through the Google Fonts API can result in additional HTTP requests, potentially affecting page load times.
  • Less Unique
    Given their popularity, Material Icons are widely used, which may lead to a lack of uniqueness in the design of applications using them.
  • Inconsistent Updates
    While Google does update the icon set, updates can be infrequent or may not include all needed icons for newer features or design trends.

Icons8 features and specs

  • Large Collection
    Icons8 offers an extensive array of icons and illustrations, catering to a variety of themes and styles.
  • Customization
    Users can alter the design, color, and size of icons, making it versatile for different project needs.
  • Quality
    Icons8 maintains high design standards, ensuring that the icons are aesthetically pleasing and pixel-perfect.
  • Subscription Plans
    Various payment options are available, including a free tier and affordable premium plans with additional features.
  • Additional Resources
    Besides icons, Icons8 provides other resources like photos, music, and illustrations.
  • Easy Integration
    Icons can be easily integrated into various software tools like Adobe XD, Photoshop, Figma, and more.

Possible disadvantages of Icons8

  • Limited Free Plan
    The free tier has constraints on downloads and access to certain premium icons.
  • Account Requirement
    Users need to create an account to access even the free resources, which can be cumbersome.
  • Watermark
    Free downloaded icons come with a watermark, pushing users towards paid plans for unwatermarked versions.
  • Subscription Cost
    While reasonably priced, the subscription fees might still be a barrier for freelancers or small businesses with tight budgets.
  • Search Functionality
    Some users have reported that the search function could be improved for better accuracy and ease of finding specific icons.
  • License Restrictions
    Even with paid plans, certain license restrictions may apply, limiting the use in commercial projects or redistribution.

Material Icons videos

NOU - Icon Pack Review Material Icons Best Icon Pack

Icons8 videos

Icons8 Review

More videos:

  • Review - ICONS8 is NOT an icon's Planet It’s EVERYTHING's Planet | The A.I. Review Show | Ep 7
  • Review - Icons8 2020: Year in Review. Happy New Year, Creative People!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Material Icons and Icons8)
Design Tools
17 17%
83% 83
Web Icons
14 14%
86% 86
Photos & Graphics
100 100%
0% 0
Vector Icons
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Material Icons and Icons8

Material Icons Reviews

10 Best Fontello Alternatives 2021
Fontello doesn’t have this capability so this makes Material Icons the more superior tool. Also, the Material Icons font catalog supports over 135 languages—a feature most of its rivals including Fontello cannot do.
Top FontAwesome alternatives to use on your websites
If you are familiar with Google Fonts already, then you will be familiar with Google's Material Icons. You can include Material Icons in the exact same way that you would include a Google Font family on your webpage.

Icons8 Reviews

10 Best Fontello Alternatives 2021
Other powerful features that you can enjoy on Icons8 include HTML embedding, icon recoloring, multiple categories, edible icons, single style, fonts generator, and support for different languages. Icons8 is also free to use anytime and from anywhere just like Fontello.

Social recommendations and mentions

Material Icons might be a bit more popular than Icons8. We know about 67 links to it since March 2021 and only 57 links to Icons8. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Material Icons mentions (67)

  • Best Icon Font Libraries for Developers
    By adding Material Design Icons to your project, you can have a clean and professional look that is in line with current design standards. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Best Flutter Icon Libraries in 2025
    It is a collection of icons provided by Google Fonts, available on their website. This set is the go-to for developers who want to maintain consistency with Google’s Material Design principles. With a wide range of icons, this library is perfect for creating a polished, cohesive app interface. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • The Best 100 Free UI/UX Resources for Every Designer & Developer
    Material Icons Fonts.google.com/icons Google’s open-source icon set for Material Design. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • ✨10 Stunning Icon Libraries to Check Out (That Are Free and Open-Source) 🚀
    Website: Material Symbols GitHub Repo: GitHub Repo. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Ask HN: Which SVG icon library are you using and why?
    Https://fonts.google.com/icons My preference for new projects is currently swaying towards Google's Material library as its just so easy and fast to use. Nevertheless Fontawesome has been a staple for me for the last several years! - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
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Icons8 mentions (57)

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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Material Icons and Icons8, you can also consider the following products

Feather Icons - Simply beautiful open source icons

Flaticon - A database of free vector icons.

Font Awesome - Font Awesome makes it easy to add vector icons and social logos to your website. And version 5 is redesigned and built from the ground up!

The Noun Project - Creating, Sharing and Celebrating the World's Visual Language

Heroicons - Beautiful, free SVG icons from the makers of Tailwind CSS.

Bootstrap Icons - Official open source SVG icon library for Bootstrap