Choose an interface context below to see its recommended icon size, minimum touch target and the platform guideline behind it.
Icon (to scale)
Touch target (to scale)
These values follow common Apple HIG, Material Design and WCAG guidance. Meeting a size recommendation does not by itself guarantee full digital accessibility compliance.
Why icon and touch target size is regulated
An icon that is too small is hard to read at a glance, and a tap target that is too small is hard to hit accurately, especially for anyone with reduced fine motor control, a larger finger, or a device used one-handed on the move. Apple's Human Interface Guidelines, Google's Material Design and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) each set minimum sizes for exactly this reason: below a certain size, error rates on touchscreens rise sharply, and text or icon labels stop being legible at a normal viewing distance. These are not arbitrary numbers; they come from measured tap accuracy and readability studies used to set platform-wide defaults.
Full reference table: icon size by context
| Context | Icon size | Touch target | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile navigation bar icon | 24 x 24px | 44 x 44pt (iOS) / 48 x 48dp (Android) | iOS / Android |
| Desktop toolbar icon | 16 to 24px (20px typical) | 32 x 32px minimum | Desktop (Windows, macOS, web) |
| Favicon | 16, 32 and 48px (multi-resolution) | Not applicable | Browser |
| Floating action button (FAB) | 24 x 24dp icon | 56 x 56dp button | Android / Material Design |
| Icon in a list or menu item | 24 x 24px | 48 x 48dp row height | iOS / Android / web |
| iOS system app icon | 1024 x 1024px (App Store) / 180 x 180px (home screen, 60pt at 3x) | Full icon area | iOS |
| Android / Material app icon | 512 x 512px (Play Store) / 108 x 108dp adaptive icon (72dp safe zone) | Full icon area | Android |
| Generic touch target minimum | Not applicable | 44 x 44px CSS (WCAG 2.2 AA) / 24 x 24px (WCAG AAA) / 48 x 48dp (Material Design) | Cross-platform, web accessibility |
UK digital accessibility regulation
In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 requires services, including websites and apps, to be accessible to disabled users, and the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 make WCAG 2.2 AA the explicit standard for public sector digital services. Touch target size sits inside WCAG's Success Criterion 2.5.8 (Target Size, Minimum), which sets 24 x 24 CSS pixels as the AA floor, with 44 x 44 CSS pixels recommended as better practice and used as the reference minimum by many UK public sector design systems, including GOV.UK.
Limits of this reference
Meeting a recommended icon or touch target size is one part of digital accessibility, not the whole of it. Colour contrast, keyboard navigation, screen reader labelling and focus order are separate criteria that a correctly sized icon says nothing about. Treat this tool as a quick sizing reference for design and development, not as proof of accessibility compliance on its own. For layout spacing and grid decisions around these icons, see the Grid System Builder.