An Inkscape Trace Bitmap alternative, right in your browser

Updated on 10 October 2026

Homotope is an alternative to Inkscape’s Trace Bitmap that traces your images in the browser, with nothing to install, into colours that meet without overlapping, with a DXF per colour and a check before cutting.

Blurry JPEG illustration: a fox sitting at dusk, banded sky, pine trees and mushrooms, some forty colours. — 1,200 × 860 px blurry JPEG and the SVG produced by the engine, Illustration preset, “Number of colours” set to 20, untouched: each colour of the drawing becomes a clean flat area: one per thread, screen or vinyl.

The same illustration traced to SVG, each area a single colour. — 1,200 × 860 px blurry JPEG and the SVG produced by the engine, Illustration preset, “Number of colours” set to 20, untouched: each colour of the drawing becomes a clean flat area: one per thread, screen or vinyl.

×6 detail: the fox’s eye and the facets of its muzzle: clean flat colours. Drag the slider to compare; hover over the image or hold your finger on it to move the magnifier.

Try it with your image Open this example in the workshop

What Homotope does

Homotope does not install: the workshop opens in the browser, on a computer, tablet or phone, and the engine runs inside the page, on your own machine. No version to keep up with and no extension to add. The image stays with you unless you save it to your account or ask for server processing. SVG and PNG are free with no account, except transparent background and recolouring, which are Pro; production exports are two a month with an account, unlimited with Pro.

Seven presets: Logo, Illustration, Pixel art, “Line art”, “Single stroke” (single-pass centreline trace), “Black and white” (threshold) and “Photo / Poster”.
SVG, PDF, EPS and DXF exports (R12, one layer per colour), plus upscaled PNG.
Shapes that meet without gaps or overlaps in “cut” mode.
Fixed palette (your colours, none invented) and colour separations, one layer or one file per colour.
A cut-readiness check of the DXF, for cutting plotters, lasers and pen plotters.
REST API and MCP server with an API key, for scripts and AI agents.

How they differ

To our knowledge, as of 10 October 2026, Inkscape is free and open-source desktop software, to install; its Trace Bitmap feature is built on Potrace, which traces in a single colour. (source: official Inkscape tracing tutorial) To our knowledge, as of 10 October 2026, for colour, its “Multiple scans” mode creates a separate object for each scan, and these objects are stacked on top of one another. (source: Inkscape manual, tracing an image)

Homotope splits the image into colour regions that share their borders: in “cut” mode, each shape meets its neighbours without gaps or overlaps, and the DXF comes out with one layer per colour, ready for one vinyl colour, one ink or one laser power setting. The “Single stroke” preset traces the axis of each line in a single pass (centreline). Nothing to install: the workshop opens in the browser.

When Inkscape fits better

Inkscape is a full vector editor, free and open source: drawing, editing nodes, setting text, working offline on an existing file. Homotope only traces and prepares production. The two work together: trace in Homotope, export SVG, then touch up the file in Inkscape.

A photograph with fine gradients traces poorly in either tool: Homotope cuts it into flat areas that meet, fine for a poster, not for a faithful print.

Frequently asked questions

Does Homotope upload my image to a server?

No, by default everything is computed in your browser. The image only reaches the server if you save it to your account or ask for server processing.

Is Homotope free?

Yes, tracing in the browser and SVG and PNG exports are free, with no account and no limit, except transparent background and recolouring, which are Pro. Production exports (DXF, EPS, PDF, separations): 2 free per month with an account, unlimited with Pro. Server processing, for very large images, is paid beyond 2 free trial jobs a month with an account; through the API it is always paid.

Do the colours overlap in the SVG?

Not in “cut” mode: each colour is a shape that meets its neighbours without gaps or overlaps, the right format for vinyl, screen printing or cutting. “Stacked” mode layers the shapes, for a lighter file.

Does Homotope do centreline tracing?

Yes, with the “Single stroke” preset: it traces the axis of each line in a single pass, for engraving, embroidery or pen plotters. Downloading it counts as a production export.

Sources for statements about other tools, checked on 10 October 2026: https://inkscape.org/doc/tutorials/tracing/tutorial-tracing.html · https://inkscape-manuals.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tracing-an-image.html

More guides

Try it with your image