How to Reduce SVG File Size (SVGO + Practical Tips)

SVG is supposed to be lightweight… but it often isn’t.

A “simple icon” becomes 300KB+. A logo export contains editor junk. A hero illustration renders slowly on mobile.

The fix is a safe optimization workflow:

1. remove bloat

2. run SVGO with the right precision

3. verify the output looks identical

This guide shows exactly how.

You may also like:

• /blog/5-ways-ai-generated-svgs-will-supercharge-your-website-performance

• /blog/top-10-benefits-uses-of-svg-images

Why size matters (more than you think)

Big SVGs hurt you in multiple places:

• Slower page loads (especially on mobile)

• Worse Core Web Vitals (LCP can suffer)

• More CPU time to render complex paths

• Bigger HTML if you inline SVGs

• Slower animations when paths are heavy

If your SVG is used across pages (icons, logos, UI elements), optimizing once can help the whole site.

Common bloat (what makes SVG explode)

These are the top causes:

• Too many points in paths (over-detailed tracing)

• Unnecessary groups/transforms (nested <g> chaos)

• Repeated inline styles (style="fill:#..." everywhere)

• Hidden shapes and clipped leftovers

• Editor metadata (comments, namespaces, tool tags)

• Unoptimized decimals (0.123456789 everywhere)

• Duplicate shapes (copied layers or outlines)

Most SVGs can drop 30%–80% in size with zero visual change.

SVGO workflow (the safe way)

SVGO is the most common SVG optimizer. The key is: don’t blindly run aggressive defaults on production assets without checking.

Recommended workflow

1. Save a “source.svg” (your editable original)

2. Run SVGO → output “optimized.svg”

3. Compare visuals:

   • browser preview

   • light/dark background

   • scaled up/down

4. If anything breaks, adjust SVGO config and rerun

Precision settings (the #1 lever)

Most SVG bloat is just numeric precision.

SVGO can shorten decimals safely, but if you push too far you’ll see:

• wobbly curves

• misaligned shapes

• tiny gaps

Practical precision guidance

• Icons / UI shapes: lower precision is fine

• Logos: medium precision (preserve curves)

• Illustrations: medium-high (depends on complexity)

A safe starting point is “medium” precision, then tighten if visuals hold.

Remove metadata (easy wins)

Many SVG exports contain:

• editor generator tags

• hidden metadata blocks

• unused definitions

Removing these often saves a surprising amount—especially for files exported from design tools.

Also, make sure you’re not shipping:

• unused gradients

• unused clip paths

• unused symbols

Combine paths safely (without breaking edits)

Path merging can reduce file size, but it’s easy to break things.

Safe merges:

• adjacent shapes with the same fill

• repeated shapes that can become a single path

• unnecessary outlines (double paths)

Be careful with:

• shapes using masks/clips

• objects with different opacity

• strokes (merging can alter stroke joins)

Rule: merge only after you’re done editing, then keep the source file separately.

Before/after examples (realistic expectations)

Here’s what “good” looks like:

• Logo SVG exported from a tool: 120KB
  After cleanup + SVGO: 20–40KB

• Traced icon SVG: 400KB
  After simplifying nodes + SVGO: 40–120KB

• Complex illustration SVG: 900KB
  After SVGO + removing junk: 500–700KB (still heavy, but improved)

If your “icon” is still 600KB after SVGO, it’s almost always too many path nodes. You need simplification at the source.

Practical SVGO setup (copy/paste)

If you use SVGO via CLI, a config helps you avoid breaking SVGs.

// svgo.config.js
module.exports = {
  multipass: true,
  plugins: [
    {
      name: 'preset-default',
      params: {
        overrides: {
          // Keep viewBox for responsive scaling
          removeViewBox: false,

          // IDs can be needed for CSS/JS hooks
          cleanupIds: false,
        },
      },
    },

    // Control numeric precision
    {
      name: 'convertPathData',
      params: { floatPrecision: 3 },
    },
    {
      name: 'convertTransform',
      params: { floatPrecision: 3 },
    },
  ],
};

Then run:

svgo --config=svgo.config.js source.svg -o optimized.svg

If your SVG is a tiny icon and still looks perfect, try floatPrecision: 2.
If curves get weird, bump to 4.

Export checklist (publish-ready SVG)

Use this checklist before you ship:

• Keep viewBox (required for responsive sizing)

• Remove editor metadata / hidden elements

• Reduce excessive decimals (SVGO precision)

• Remove unused defs (gradients/clips/symbols)

• Convert repeated inline styles to classes (optional but great)

• Verify on light + dark background

• Test at very small (24px) and very large (2000px)

• If inline SVG, ensure no unnecessary whitespace

Bonus: the “SVGverseAI → SVGO” pipeline (fast)

If you generate SVGs via SVGverseAI:

1. Download the SVG

2. Do quick cleanup in the SVG editor (remove stray shapes)

3. Run SVGO with safe settings

4. Publish with confidence (small + clean + scalable)