Remove Backgrounds from Images with Clean Edges
How do I get a clean transparent cutout from a photo?
Remove an image background and export the subject as a PNG or WebP with transparency. Choose the cutout model and adjust edge smoothing, threshold and refinement when hair or fine edges need attention. Preview against light and dark backgrounds to spot halos. This tool creates a cutout; use Change Background to place the subject on a new scene or color.
How to remove a background
Add your image
Click Upload an image to remove its background or drop a file onto the preview. JPG, PNG, WebP, BMP, HEIC, HEIF and AVIF files up to 200 MB work. Compatible images you uploaded or created in other tools are listed under Files.
Choose the output format
Under Output Format, keep PNG for a lossless cutout with transparency. WebP keeps transparency with lossy colour compression; compare its file size and edge detail. JPG puts the subject on plain white.
Pick a model
Balanced is selected by default and suits most portraits, products and pets. Use Fast for a quick check and Pro for difficult hair and fur.
Remove the background
Click Remove Background. When the cutout appears, drag across the preview to compare it with the original. Switch Preview between Checker, White, Dark and Mint to spot halos; the backdrop is not saved in the file.
Adjust, run again, download
The sliders under Settings are applied on the server, so the preview only changes after you click Remove Background again. When the edge looks right, click Download.
Fast, Balanced or Pro?
The model decides which pixels belong to the subject; the sliders only reshape its edge afterwards. If whole areas are wrong, change the model before you touch the sliders.
Fast
Runs the InSPyReNet model, which analyzes your image at 384 × 384 px. Fine for a clear subject on a plain background, but hair and thin details come out coarse on large photos. Only Edge smoothing and Detection threshold are available.
Balanced (default)
Runs BiRefNet lite at up to 1024 × 1024 px, set with Resolution. Produces cleaner edges on people, products and animals, and needs no account.
Pro
Runs the full BiRefNet model for the most detail on hair, fur and complex outlines. You must be signed in, and each run uses 1 credit, charged only when the cutout is finished.
Settings explained
Fast shows only the first two sliders. Balanced and Pro add Mask refinement, Foreground boundary and Resolution. Fast keeps its own slider values, separate from the other two models.
- Edge smoothing
- 0.5–3.0 px, default 1.0 px for Fast and 1.2 px for Balanced and Pro. Softens the transparency edge by blurring it over roughly that distance. Raise it for jagged, stair-stepped outlines; lower it towards 0.5 px when edges look soft.
- Detection threshold
- 0.10–0.90, default 0.50 for Fast and 0.45 for Balanced and Pro. The model rates each pixel from 0 to 1, and pixels above the threshold stay. A higher value removes more, including uncertain edge pixels; a lower value keeps more of the subject. Soft, semi-transparent edges such as hair keep their gradual transparency.
- Mask refinement
- 0–100 %, default 60 %. Blends the edge with a blurred copy of itself: at 60 % the copy is blurred by 2.0 px, at 100 % by 3.0 px and it replaces the edge entirely.
0% turns it off. Higher values give softer edges; they don't recover lost detail. - Foreground boundary
- −10 to +10 px, default 0 px. Negative values pull the edge of the cutout inward by that many pixels, which removes a thin rim of old background. Positive values push the edge outward by that many pixels, which brings back outlines that were cut too tightly.
- Resolution
- 512px, 768px or 1024px, default 1024 px. The model sees your image scaled to a square of this size, and its result is scaled back to your image. 1024 px keeps the most edge detail. Lower values are faster but coarser, especially on very wide or tall images.
Fixing common cutout problems
Change one setting at a time and run again. Check each result on both the White and Dark backdrops, because a fringe that is invisible on one often shows on the other.
A rim of the old background
Set Foreground boundary to -1 to -3 px. If the rim is faint and patchy, raise Detection threshold to 0.55 or 0.60 instead.
Hair looks cut with scissors
Keep Resolution at 1024px and lower Detection threshold slightly, for example to 0.40, so fine strands stay. Try Pro if strands still break off.
Parts of the subject are missing
Lower Detection threshold, for example to 0.30, and keep Resolution at 1024px. If the outline is cut just slightly too tight, set Foreground boundary to +1 or +2 px. If thin parts such as straps or handles still vanish, try Pro.
Edges look blurry
Set Mask refinement to 0 % and Edge smoothing to 0.5 px. Both add blur on top of the edge the model produced.
A large photo takes a while
Large images need more processing time, and the progress bar shows the queue position while a job waits. If you only need a smaller cutout, scale the photo to the size you actually need with Resize Image first; smaller images finish sooner.
Formats and limits
- Input formats
- JPG, PNG, WebP, BMP, HEIC, HEIF, AVIF. Animated WebP and AVIF files are reduced to their first frame. GIF and TIFF are not accepted.
- Output formats
- PNG or WebP with transparency, or JPG on a white background
- Output size
- Same pixel dimensions as your image
- Maximum file size
- 200 MB per image
- Files per job
- 1. You can upload several images; each run processes the one shown in the preview.
- Processing
- On our servers with the InSPyReNet and BiRefNet models. While a job waits, the progress bar shows its queue position.
- Metadata
- Camera data and GPS location are not copied into the cutout.
- Account
- Not needed for Fast and Balanced. Pro requires sign-in and 1 credit per finished cutout.
- Watermark
- None
- Storage
- Uploads and results are deleted automatically after 48 hours for guests and after 30 days for free accounts. Paid plans can keep files longer.
Frequently asked questions
Can I remove a background without signing in?
Yes. Fast and Balanced work without an account. Only Pro asks you to sign in, because each finished cutout uses 1 credit. As a guest, your uploads and cutouts are deleted after 48 hours.
Can I remove the background from a GIF?
Not directly, because GIF is not an accepted input. Export the frame you need as PNG with Convert Image and upload that file here. The cutout is always a still image.
Why is the PNG cutout larger than my original photo?
JPG uses lossy compression, while PNG saves the cutout pixels losslessly with a transparency channel. The PNG can be larger, depending on the image. WebP offers lossy colour compression with transparency at quality 95; compare the downloaded file and its edge detail. Choose JPG if you want a white background without transparency.
Is my photo sent to an outside AI service?
No. The models run on our own processing machines, and the image is not passed to a third-party AI provider. Your upload and the result are stored for the periods listed under Storage, like files from every other tool.
How do I get a white or colored background instead of transparency?
For white, choose JPG under Output Format: the subject is placed on pure white (#FFFFFF). For other colors, gradients or a new photo behind the subject, use Change Background, which removes and replaces the background in one run.