The Noun Project

Overview

The Noun Project is a creative asset service built around a searchable catalog of icons and stock photos. It is best suited to designers who want assets in the apps they already use and developers seeking API access. Its breadth is useful, but free use brings attribution and licensing trade-offs.

Key features

The catalog spans nearly 10 million human-made icons in multiple styles, a scale that helps when a project needs more than a compact, fixed icon set. PNG and SVG downloads cover common design and production needs; the Mac app also exports PDF.

The Figma plugin combines AI-enhanced search with style matching and filters for solid or line icons and line weight. These controls make a large catalog more navigable. Plugins and apps also connect the service to PowerPoint and Word, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign, Google Slides and Docs, and Mac workflows, reducing the need to leave those tools to find assets.

The Icon API provides REST access for software products and is aimed at growth-stage and enterprise clients. Noun Studio supports custom icon edits and generation; its images remain private to the account, and creators earn royalties when their icons are used as references for downloaded generated icons.

Pricing

The free account costs nothing. It includes PNG and SVG downloads, but free-use icons require attribution and do not include the commercial-license benefit attached to paid downloads. That makes it workable for attributed use, but a less suitable choice when commercial licensing and attribution-free use matter.

The Icon API trial costs nothing for a billed 30-day free trial and provides API access to the collection. Pricing after the trial is custom pricing, so teams should establish ongoing cost before building around the API.

Noun Pro costs $39.96 a year, billed annually at $39.96 per year (equivalent to $3.33/month). It adds unlimited PNG and SVG icon downloads, royalty-free commercial licenses, no attribution, plugins and editor access, plus an icon sets and photos add-on. It is the clearest fit for individual creators with recurring commercial needs; the free account gives up the paid licensing benefit and attribution-free use.

Noun Team costs $80.04 a year, billed annually at $80.04 per year (equivalent to $6.67/month). It includes Pro benefits, consolidated billing and priority support; additional seats cost $3.33/mo per seat, with discounts for teams of 10+. This suits groups that need shared administration and support, though seat costs matter as membership grows.

A Noun Studio credit pack costs $8.99, paid once for 900 credits, or about 45 edits or generations. It includes custom icon edits and generation with royalty-free commercial licenses; Pro subscribers save 10% and get free SVG conversion. This is a defined one-time option for occasional custom work rather than a substitute for unlimited downloads.

Platforms

The service supports web, macOS, Windows and API access. The Mac app requires macOS Mojave 10.14.6 or higher and includes 100 starter icons. The PowerPoint and Word add-in requires Microsoft Office 365 for PC, Mac or web. Check those requirements before choosing the desktop or Office workflow.

Who it's for

Designers working across creative and office applications benefit most from the plugins and export choices. Developers can consider the API for product integrations, particularly at growth-stage or enterprise scale. Users needing commercial downloads without attribution should favor Pro or Team; casual users comfortable with attribution can start free.

Pros and cons

Pro: Nearly 10 million icons, stock photos and multiple styles offer substantial breadth for varied creative work.

Pro: Broad plugin coverage and a Figma search toolkit bring asset discovery into common workflows.

Pro: Paid plans include royalty-free commercial licenses, while Team adds consolidated billing and priority support.

Con: Free-use icons require attribution and lack the paid commercial-license benefit, limiting their appeal for commercial projects.

Con: The API trial lasts 30 days, and ongoing API pricing is custom, making long-term budgeting less direct.

Con: The Mac app has a stated minimum operating-system version, and Office add-in users need Microsoft Office 365.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, browse Icon Libraries. Choose Font Awesome instead if its freemium offering and free tier of 2,163 icons, one Kit and 10,000 pageviews better fit the project. Lordicon is another option. Consider Eva Icons for a free, MIT-licensed set of 480+ icons. Hugeicons is an alternative. Material Design Icons suits readers seeking a free, open-source library under Apache 2.0, excluding brand and logo icons. Material Symbols offers a free Apache 2.0 set of over 2,500 glyphs in SVG, PNG and font formats. Iconoir is a free open-source library with optional donations. Tabler Icons is also an alternative.

Verdict

Choose The Noun Project if you need a large, searchable catalog that reaches into design, office and development workflows. Its strongest case is breadth paired with plugins and commercial-use plans; look elsewhere if free commercial use without attribution is essential or if you need predictable post-trial API pricing.