Home · Blog · remove.bg migration guides
remove.bg API Shutdown: Developer Migration Guide
If you have code in production that POSTs images to api.remove.bg, you have a hard deadline: December 1, 2026, 9:00 AM CET. That's when the standalone remove.bg website and its self-serve API shut down for good. This guide covers what changes, where to migrate, and an honest note about where BGone fits — and doesn't.
No signup · No watermark · Your images never leave your device
What exactly is shutting down
From remove.bg's own announcements:
- Standalone website — closes December 1, 2026, 9:00 AM CET. Web users are pointed to Canva.
- Self-serve API (
api.remove.bg) — stops the same day. remove.bg's API page states: "Starting December 1, 2026, background removal moves to Leonardo.Ai" (also owned by Canva). - Enterprise API contracts — not affected, per their FAQ.
- Pay-as-you-go credits — expire on December 1, 2026. They don't transfer anywhere. Use them or lose them.
An honest note about BGone
BGone is a free, in-browser background remover with no public API. If your workflow is automated — a backend job, a Shopify app, a script processing hundreds of images — BGone can't replace api.remove.bg for you.
Where BGone does fit: manual, one-off images. Many teams use an API for the pipeline and a quick manual tool for spot-checks, support tickets, or images that fail the automated pass. For that, BGone is free with no signup.
API options compared
Pricing as publicly listed around September 2026 — verify current pages before you commit, pricing moves:
| API | Price / image (typical) | Free tier | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leonardo.Ai (official destination) | ~$0.105 | 150 daily fast tokens (consumer plans) | remove.bg's stated migration path; publishes a parameter mapping table |
| PhotoRoom | ~$0.02 | Trial | Strong for ecommerce imagery |
| Clipdrop | ~$0.07–0.09 | Limited trial | Simple POST API, extra editing tools |
| PixelAPI | $0.009 | 500 credits, no card | Budget option |
| bgclear.ai | ~$0.065–0.09 (credit packs) | Free previews | Credits never expire |
| useknockout | $0.02 PAYG, down to $0.003 at volume | 30 images/month, no card | Self-hostable (MIT), open source |
| Replicate | ~$0.005–0.01 | Varies | Billed per processing second; many models |
remove.bg's own pay-as-you-go sat around $0.10–0.23/image depending on volume — so most alternatives are cheaper. Don't pick on price alone: run 20 of your representative images through each candidate's free tier and compare edges on your hardest cases (hair, glass, overlapping objects).
Migration checklist
- Inventory every caller. Find all code, cron jobs, and no-code workflows (n8n, Zapier, Shopify apps) hitting
api.remove.bg. Note which parameters each uses. - Pick the new vendor and get a key. Store it next to your old key (e.g.
NEW_PROVIDER_API_KEY) — don't overwrite the old one until cutover. - Map the parameters. Leonardo.Ai publishes a mapping table from remove.bg parameters. For other vendors, map the essentials: input (file vs URL), output size, format (PNG with alpha), and any crop/roi options you relied on.
- Test on your images. Run at least 20 representative images, including your hardest edge cases. Compare against remove.bg output before December.
- Handle failures and idempotency. Add retries, and don't get charged twice for the same image — use idempotency keys if the new API supports them.
- Cut over before the deadline. Ship the switch at least a week before December 1 — don't discover a mapping bug on shutdown day.
- Burn down remove.bg credits. Any unused PAYG credits expire December 1, 2026. Schedule usage or write them off.
A minimal migration pattern
Most background-removal APIs follow the same shape — POST an image, get a transparent PNG back. Your new code will look roughly like this (check your chosen provider's docs for exact endpoints and headers):
curl -X POST https://PROVIDER_API_ENDPOINT \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_NEW_API_KEY" \ -F "image=@product.jpg" \ --output cutout.png
The work isn't the HTTP call — it's the parameter mapping, error handling, and re-testing your edge cases.
Frequently asked questions
Does the remove.bg API really stop on December 1, 2026?
Yes for self-serve access. The API page itself announces the move to Leonardo.Ai starting that date. Enterprise contracts are stated to continue.
Can I just change the domain and keep my code?
No. The new vendor has different auth, pricing, parameters, and limits. Treat it as a new integration.
Is there a free API replacement?
Several vendors offer free tiers, but all automated, high-volume use is paid somewhere. Truly free, unlimited API access doesn't exist — someone pays for the GPUs.
Does BGone have an API?
No. BGone is a manual, in-browser tool — free with no signup. It complements an API workflow for spot-checks and one-offs but can't replace automated calls.
What happens to my remove.bg API credits?
Pay-as-you-go credits expire December 1, 2026. Use them before then.