A free remove.bg alternative that keeps your photos on your device
Updated 27 October 2026
remove.bg has announced that its standalone website will close on 1 December 2026. If you used it for quick cutouts, here's an honest look at what peel does the same way, what it does differently, and what it doesn't do.
peel isn't affiliated with remove.bg, Canva or their owners. We use the name only to describe the service we're comparing with.
remove.bg is closing: what changes
- The remove.bg website stops on 1 December 2026 (9:00 CET, according to the announcement).
- Background removal moves into Canva, which has owned remove.bg since 2021. You'll need a Canva account to use it there.
- The developer API moves to Leonardo.
- If you have unused credits or a subscription, check remove.bg's own notice for what happens to them.
If you just want to drop in a photo and get a transparent PNG back, without moving to a design suite or creating an account, peel works the way the remove.bg upload page did.
The short version
peel does one thing: it removes the background from one image at a time, for free, on your own device. There's no upload, no account, no credits and no watermark. If you need an API, batch processing or design-tool integrations, a dedicated service will suit you better.
Comparison
| peel | Typical cloud background removers | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the image is processed | In your browser, on your device | On the provider's servers |
| Image uploaded | No | Yes |
| Account needed | No | Often, for full-resolution downloads |
| Price | Free (paid for by ads) | Free previews, then paid credits or a subscription |
| Output resolution | Same as your original (up to about 24 MP) | Depends on the plan |
| Manual touch-up | Erase / Restore brush | Usually available |
| Output | PNG (transparent) or JPG with a background colour | PNG, JPG, often more |
| Batch processing and API | No | Often available |
| First use | One-time model download (44 to 115 MB) | Nothing to download |
| Speed | A few seconds with WebGPU, up to a minute without | Usually a few seconds |
When peel is a good fit
- You want to keep the photo private: an ID photo, a family picture, an unreleased product.
- You need a few cutouts at full resolution without signing up.
- You want to fix the edges yourself before downloading.
When something else is better
- You process hundreds of images, or need an API for your shop or app.
- You're on an older phone without WebGPU and need perfect hair quickly.
How to switch from remove.bg
There's nothing to set up and nothing to migrate:
- Open the background remover.
- Drop, paste or choose your image.
- Check the result with the before/after slider, and touch it up with the brush if needed.
- Download a transparent PNG, or a JPG on the background colour you want.
The first image takes longer while the AI model downloads to your browser. After that it's faster, and it stays on your device.