Phosphor and Pikaicons are close relatives: both draw every icon in several matched styles, so a selected state can fill in or a feature can go two-tone without bringing in a second set. The difference is that Phosphor is free and Pikaicons is paid. Pikaicons is the library I draw, so read this with that in mind.
Here's the short answer:
- Pick Phosphor if you want several weights for free, an MIT license, or the thin and light weights for large, airy layouts.
- Pick Pikaicons if you prefer its drawing, need the duo solid and contrast styles, want icons added later at no cost, or want to request icons your product needs.
| Library | Icons | Styles | License or price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phosphor | 9,072 across 6 weights | Thin, light, regular, bold, fill, duotone | MIT |
| Pikaicons | 5,000+ across 5 styles | Stroke, solid, duo stroke, duo solid, contrast | $99 once (Solo) |
How the styles differ
Both libraries count every style of an icon, so their totals aren't counts of designs. Phosphor's 9,072 across 6 weights are about 1,500 designs, each in six weights: thin, light, regular and bold change the stroke, and fill and duotone change the shape. Pikaicons' 5,000+ icons across five styles are a little over 1,200 designs, each drawn in up to five styles on a 24px grid with a 2px stroke.
The weights split differently. Phosphor goes wide on stroke weight, from a hairline to bold, with one duotone. Pikaicons keeps one stroke weight and goes wide on two-tone instead: duo stroke pairs two line layers, one of them soft; duo solid makes the soft layer a filled shape; and contrast puts a full-strength outline over a soft fill of the same shape, which is closest to Phosphor's duotone.
Duotone icons covers when two-tone styles help an interface and how to colour them.
Where Phosphor is the better choice
On price, it's not close: Phosphor is free, MIT licensed, and has more designs than Pikaicons. You can use it commercially, change it and ship it in open-source code or a template, keeping the license notice with it. It has an official Figma plugin, and packages for React, Vue, Flutter, Swift and more.
Its thin and light weights have no Pikaicons equivalent, and they suit large icons in editorial or marketing layouts. If those are what you need, or if a free license is a requirement, Phosphor is the better pick.
Where Pikaicons is the better choice
Phosphor's latest release was on 22 May 2025, so the icons you have are likely the icons you'll get. Pikaicons is one payment from $99, every icon added later is included, and paid plans can request custom icons for their product, drawn to the same rules as the rest.
You also get a Figma file holding the whole library in every style, an app that copies any icon as SVG, React, Vue, Svelte, React Native or Solid with the size and stroke set first, and the pikaicons CLI for adding icons from the terminal. And if you simply like how Pikaicons are drawn, with 60% corner smoothing on every corner, that's a fair reason too: you'll see your home icon on every screen.
The code, side by side
Phosphor exports one component per icon and picks the style with a weight prop:
import { House } from "@phosphor-icons/react";
<House />
<House weight="duotone" size={32} />
The free Pikaicons on npm export one icon per style, passed to one PikaIcon component:
import { PikaIcon } from "@pikaicons/react";
import { HomeIcon, HomeDuoStrokeIcon } from "@pikaicons/core-free";
<PikaIcon icon={HomeIcon} />
<PikaIcon icon={HomeDuoStrokeIcon} size={32} />
Both draw in currentColor, take a size and pass other props such as className through to the <svg>. The npm packages hold the 221 free icons, which are MIT licensed. On a paid plan, npx pikaicons add writes the icons you choose into your project as components, since paid icons never go into a public package.
Frequently asked questions
Are Phosphor icons free for commercial use?
Yes. Phosphor is MIT licensed, which allows commercial use, changes and redistribution as long as the copyright and license notice stay with the icons. No credit is needed in your interface.
How many icons does Phosphor have?
9,072 across 6 weights, which is about 1,500 designs in six weights: thin, light, regular, bold, fill and duotone.
How does Phosphor's duotone compare with Pikaicons' styles?
Phosphor's duotone draws the outline at full strength over a soft fill of the shape, which is what Pikaicons calls contrast. Pikaicons adds two more two-tone styles: duo stroke, where one of two line layers is soft, and duo solid, where the soft layer is a filled shape. In all of them the soft layer is the same colour at lower opacity, so one text colour sets both tones.
Is Pikaicons free?
221 Pikaicons are free under the MIT license, on the free icons page and on npm as @pikaicons/core-free. The full library of 5,000+ icons is a one-time payment from $99, with every icon added later included.
