Every designer eventually hits the same wall: you need one more icon, one more illustration, or a quick background removal, and you don't want to open five different tools to get it. I went through Icons8's homepage and its full pricing page to see exactly what's included at each tier before recommending it.
What Is Icons8?
Icons8 is a design asset and AI-tools platform bundling icons, illustrations, stock photos, 3D models, and royalty-free music alongside a growing set of AI tools: an AI Human Generator, Face Generator, Face Swapper, Smart Upscaler, Background Remover, Illustration Generator, and the newer GenYOU AI photo generator. It also ships its own free design app, Lunacy, for Mac and Windows, with Figma import support, plus browser plugins and a full developer API.
Key Tools & Features
- GenYOU — a newer AI photo generator that creates photos meant to actually look like you
- Face Swapper — described as "super realistic face swaps to try on new looks"
- Mega Creator — mix premade elements into custom illustrations and photos to build original images
- Smart Upscaler — enlarges photos and enhances resolution using AI
- Background Remover — simplifies photo editing by automatically removing backgrounds
- Lunacy — a free professional design app for Mac and Windows with built-in graphics and AI tools, including Figma import
- Developer tools — Icons8 API, Illustrations API, Photos API, Music API, Smart Upscaler API, Background Remover API, Line Awesome (an outlined Font Awesome-style icon set), and OMG IMG for generating icons via URL
Pricing Plans (as listed on their pricing page)
Pricing is shown monthly, with a yearly option listed as saving 20%:
- Only AI tools — $6.5/month (billed monthly): 10k AI credits (roughly 50 generated icons, all costs depending), access to AI image generators (icons, illustrations, people photos), AI image editors (face swapping, upscaling, background removal), and Mega Creator for AI-generated images only — no hand-drawn graphics included
- Icons included / AI and graphics — $24/month (billed monthly): everything in the AI tools plan plus 100k AI credits (~500 generated icons), 100 icons + MCP access, 25 illustrations, 50 photos, 15 3D models, and Mega Creator with both AI and hand-drawn graphics; extra downloads available at additional cost
- Unlimited — $199/month (billed monthly): everything in AI and graphics plus 1M AI credits (~5,000 generated icons) and unlimited access to all graphics
- Enterprise — Custom pricing: instant access for all company-email users, on-demand design, priority support, a dedicated private manager, plus API/MCP/training-data access for developers
Separate standalone tools are also sold individually: Smart Upscaler ($9/mo), Background Remover ($9/mo), Face Swapper ($19/mo), Illustration Generator ($19/mo), Generated Photos ($19.99/mo), while Hey Photo and Human Generator are listed as free.
AI credit costs per generation, per their FAQ: a generated icon or illustration costs 200 credits, a generated face photo or human photo costs 30 credits, a GenYOU selfie costs 150 credits, a Mega Creator image costs 50 credits, a face swap costs 20 credits, and an image upscale or background removal costs 9 credits each. If you run out of credits, 1,000 extra credits cost $2 and get added to your next bill.
How the Subscription Actually Works
- Unused downloads roll over to the next month as long as your subscription stays active
- You can cancel anytime; your subscription remains active until the end of the current paid period
- Assets already downloaded while subscribed are yours to keep after cancellation, with no attribution required
- Team members can be added to a shared subscription, pooling credits together so the same asset isn't re-downloaded by multiple teammates
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Genuinely broad asset library (icons, illustrations, photos, 3D models, music) combined with a real AI toolset in one subscription
- Entry-level AI-only plan starts at $6.5/month, making it accessible for solo creators who mainly want AI generation
- Free Lunacy design app with Figma import is a real value-add beyond just an asset library
- Downloads roll over month to month rather than expiring immediately, and assets already downloaded stay yours after cancellation
- Team pooling of credits avoids redundant spend on shared files
Cons
- The cheapest plan ($6.5/mo) excludes hand-drawn icon/illustration/photo libraries entirely — only AI-generated content is included
- Credit-based system for AI generation means real usage cost can be harder to predict than a flat "unlimited" plan for AI-heavy workflows
- Running out of credits requires purchasing extra credit packs ($2 per 1,000) rather than a straightforward overage-free experience
- Enterprise pricing isn't published and requires contacting sales
FAQ
How do Icons8 subscriptions work?
A subscription gives you a worldwide, non-exclusive, revocable license to download and use assets under Icons8's Universal License Agreement, with unused downloads rolling over monthly while the subscription is active.
Which plan includes hand-drawn icons?
Icons are included in the "AI and graphics" plan ($24/month); the cheapest "Only AI tools" plan ($6.5/month) covers AI-generated content only, not the hand-drawn icon library.
What happens if I run out of AI credits?
You can buy extra credits — 1,000 additional AI credits cost $2 and are added to your next bill, so downloads aren't blocked.
Can I add team members to my plan?
Yes, team members can be added to an existing subscription at the same price, with all credits pooled together and shared downloads across the team.
Final Verdict
For designers and developers who want one subscription instead of separately paying for icon libraries, stock photos, and AI image tools, Icons8's tiered pricing — from $6.5/month for AI-only access up to $24/month for the full graphics-plus-AI bundle — is straightforward and clearly published. The credit-based AI system takes a little getting used to, but the ability to keep downloaded assets after cancellation and roll over unused downloads makes the subscription model feel low-risk for creatives who need a steady supply of design assets.
Explore Icons8's icons, illustrations, and AI tools →
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