Software Alternatives & Startups

Heroicons VS CSSBackgrounds

Compare Heroicons VS CSSBackgrounds and see what are their differences

Heroicons

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

Rating
5.0 · 1 review
Pricing
Open source
CSSBackgrounds

Free background patterns and gradients made with pure CSS. Pick dots, stripes, grids, checks and more, adjust the colors and size, then copy the CSS or Tailwind classes.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Free

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Heroicons seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 77 times since March 2021.

social mentions
77 vs 0
Web Icons popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 13

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Heroicons
CSSBackgrounds
Website heroicons.com cssbackgrounds.com
Pricing
Open source
Free
Company — 2026
Listed in

About Heroicons and CSSBackgrounds

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

Heroicons
CSSBackgrounds

No description of Heroicons yet.

CSSBackgrounds is a free library of background patterns and gradients made only with CSS. No image files, so they load fast and stay sharp at any size. What's inside 36 CSS patterns: dots, stripes, grids, checkered, geometric and textures 26 CSS gradients: mesh, aurora, conic, rainbow and...

Read more about CSSBackgrounds

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Heroicons 6 features
CSSBackgrounds 0 features
  • Open Source
    Heroicons is an open-source project, which means it is free to use, modify, and distribute without licensing concerns.
  • Comprehensive Collection
    Heroicons offers a broad range of icons that cover many common use cases, providing designers and developers with a versatile set of tools.
  • High Quality
    The icons are meticulously designed, ensuring they are visually appealing and consistent. This enhances the overall aesthetic of any project they are used in.
  • Easy Integration
    Heroicons can be easily integrated into projects via SVG or as a React component, making it user-friendly for different development environments.
  • Regular Updates
    The project is actively maintained with regular updates and new icon additions, ensuring that users have access to the latest design trends and functionality.
  • Variety of Styles
    Heroicons comes in both outline and solid styles, giving users flexibility to choose the best fit for their design needs.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Customization
    While Heroicons provides high-quality icons, the customization options are limited compared to some premium icon libraries that offer extensive customization capabilities.
  • Performance Impact
    Depending on how they are implemented, using a large number of SVGs can have a performance impact on page load times, especially for resource-constrained devices.
  • Dependency on React
    For users who prefer using the icons as React components, there is a dependency on the React library, which might not be ideal for projects using other frameworks.
  • No Enterprise Support
    As an open-source project, Heroicons does not come with enterprise-level support, which may be a concern for larger organizations needing guaranteed assistance.
  • Icon Coverage Gaps
    Although Heroicons covers many common use cases, it might lack specific icons needed for niche industries or specialized applications.

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis

An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.

Heroicons
CSSBackgrounds

Overall verdict

  • Heroicons is a reliable and solid option for developers and designers looking for a modern, clean set of icons. Its free and open-source nature, combined with the quality and consistency of the icons, makes it a popular choice in the industry.

Why this product is good

  • Heroicons is considered a good choice for icons due to its simplicity, scalability, and open-source nature. It offers a variety of well-designed, consistent icons that can integrate easily into web and mobile projects. The icons are available in several styles, including outline and solid versions, which provide flexibility depending on the design needs. Additionally, Heroicons is maintained by the makers of Tailwind CSS, ensuring that the icons are continuously updated and compatible with modern development practices.

Recommended for

    Heroicons is recommended for web developers and designers using frameworks like Tailwind CSS, but it is also suitable for any project requiring consistent and scalable icons. It is particularly useful for those building modern, minimalist interfaces or who prioritize integration with Tailwind CSS.

No analysis of CSSBackgrounds yet.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Heroicons 1 video + Add
CSSBackgrounds 0 videos + Add

The Perfect Icons for Tailwind CSS: Heroicons

No CSSBackgrounds videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Heroicons
CSSBackgrounds
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Heroicons and CSSBackgrounds.

What makes your product unique?

CSSBackgrounds's answer:

Everything is pure CSS. Most background sites hand you an image file; here every pattern and gradient is a few lines of code with nothing to download. You get live controls for colors and size, the choice of CSS, Tailwind, HTML or PNG output, and colors set as CSS variables, so you can retheme a background later (dark mode included) by changing one line.

What's the story behind your product?

CSSBackgrounds's answer:

I've run SVGBackgrounds.com since 2018, and the most common thing people want is a nice background they can drop into a site fast. A lot of that can be done with CSS alone now, so I built a free sister site for it: no images, no account needed, just copy and paste the code.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

CSSBackgrounds's answer:

It's free and brand new, so no big names yet. It's built for indie developers, designers and small agencies.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

CSSBackgrounds's answer:

Web developers and front-end designers building landing pages, hero sections, cards, portfolios and app UIs who want a subtle texture or a bold gradient without hunting for stock images or adding page weight.

User comments

Share your experience with using Heroicons and CSSBackgrounds. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Heroicons 5.0 · 1 review
CSSBackgrounds no reviews yet

We have no reviews of CSSBackgrounds yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Heroicons 77 mentions
CSSBackgrounds 0 mentions

View more

Tracking CSSBackgrounds since Nov 2026.

Alternatives to Heroicons and CSSBackgrounds

When comparing Heroicons and CSSBackgrounds, you can also consider the following products.