remove.bg is closing: a free alternative that does not upload your photos

remove.bg is closing on 1 December 2026

remove.bg's site shows this notice (checked 12 October 2026): "remove.bg's background removal is moving to Canva. The standalone website will no longer be available from 1 December 2026 at 9:00am CET."

Its API page (checked 12 October 2026) says: "Starting December 1, 2026, background removal moves to Leonardo.Ai, also part of Canva." Its terms and conditions (checked 12 October 2026) say: "All credits (including pay-as-you-go (PAYG) credits, monthly rollover credits and any other type of credits) may be used until December 1 2026 only. Any unused credits will expire on that date and are non-refundable."

For what happens to subscriptions, refunds and accounts, read the notice on remove.bg itself (remove.bg/faq); we have not summarised it here.

Why people look for an alternative

remove.bg's pricing page (checked 12 October 2026) says its preview images "are always free". Its site text labels the free preview "up to 0.25 megapixels" and the Download HD option "up to 50 megapixels".

remove.bg is also a web service that processes photos on its servers. Its stated retention practices are covered in Is remove.bg safe?.

What changes with a browser-based tool

Stayput's background remover runs the cutout model (ISNet) directly in the browser using onnxruntime-web, and it is free, with no account; your photos are not uploaded. The result is the same size as your photo (a 12 megapixel photo gives a 12 megapixel cut-out), limited by what your device can hold in memory, with no watermark and no credits. The first photo downloads the cut-out model and the WebAssembly runtime that runs it (about 42 MB in all); the first run needs a connection, and after that the model is cached. After your first run you can turn off Wi-Fi and it keeps working.

Make background transparent and white background apply the same cutout for a transparent PNG or a plain white backdrop, and blur background keeps the subject sharp while blurring everything behind it. For a step-by-step walkthrough, see how to remove the background from a photo.

Where remove.bg and Stayput differ

Stayput has no API, no desktop app and no Photoshop plug-in. If you used remove.bg through its API, that moves to Leonardo.Ai per remove.bg's API page (checked 12 October 2026).

We use one general-purpose model (ISNet, 8-bit weights). We have not run a side-by-side comparison with remove.bg, so we cannot say which cuts fine hair or low-contrast subjects better. Fine hair and fur are kept as soft edges; if part of the subject goes missing or background stays, try the "Keep around the edges" setting.

Each photo takes a few seconds depending on your device, and the first run waits for the one-time download of about 42 MB.

You can drop several photos and download them in one zip.

Before 1 December

Per remove.bg's terms (checked 12 October 2026), unused credits expire on 1 December 2026 and are non-refundable, so use them or finish your cut-outs before then.

Questions