Background Removal API, Self-Hosted Pro Model, and Open Weights

The Pro Model API for hair, fur, and complex edges, managed in Frankfurt. Pro Model Self-Host with edge refinement and Refine on your own CPU servers, no GPU needed. Or self-host the free Apache-2.0 open-weight model.

Pro Model API

Best quality for hair, fur, and complex edges.

  • Managed infrastructure
  • Highest precision
  • Hardware accelerated
  • Pay-per-image
Get API Key

Includes 50 free credits. No credit card required.

Pro Model Self-Host

Edge-refined model with Refine, on your own servers.

  • €3,600 + VAT, one-off flat fee
  • Runs on CPU, no GPU needed
Learn More

Host it yourself

Open Model · Apache-2.0

  • No API key required
  • Unlimited processing
  • Runs offline
  • Self-hosted on your hardware
Learn More

Open Model quick start: run with Docker using docker run -p 80:80 withoutbg/app:latest, or install via Python with pip install withoutbg. Apache-2.0 license. View source on GitHub at https://github.com/withoutbg/withoutbg

Refine a cutout with two brushes

Paint Keep over parts that were cut away and Remove over parts that should go. A rough stroke is enough; the edges are refined again.

  • One Keep stroke brings back a whole person or object that was cut away.
  • One Remove stroke drops an extra person or object.
  • Strokes stay between runs. Add more and run again until it is right.
  • Each run costs 1 credit, or 1 of the free demo images.
  • Same thing over the Pro Model API: send keep_mask / remove_mask with the returned matte.
Refine editorAPI docs

How to run withoutBG

Pick the managed Pro Model API or self-host the open-weight model on your stack.

Pro Model API

Pro model

Managed REST API · Frankfurt, DE · p95 ≈ 1.95 s

Pro model cloud API background removal

Send an image, get back a PNG with the background removed or an alpha matte. New accounts receive 50 free credits.

  • Frankfurt, DE (EU). TLS encryption in transit.
  • RAM-only processing. Images discarded after the response. No disk writes, caches, or backups.
  • Customer uploads are never used for model training.

OverviewPricingDocs

Get API key

Host it yourself

Apache-2.0

Run inference on your network when uploads to a cloud API are not an option.

withoutBG for Mac: desktop app and local HTTP server

macOS App

  • Native desktop app with drag-and-drop batch processing
  • Optional Local API for GIMP, Blender, and scripts on localhost
  • On-device Apple Silicon inference, works offline after install
Get macOS app
GIMP 3 plugin for local background removal

GIMP Plugin

  • Remove backgrounds from the GIMP 3.0 Tools menu
  • Calls a local withoutBG server on localhost
  • Attaches the alpha matte as an unapplied layer mask
View GIMP docs
withoutBG Docker web UI and API for self-hosted background removal

Docker

  • Web UI: one docker run command, inference on port 80
  • Headless API: same /v1.0/image-without-background schema as cloud
  • Images stay on your network, nothing leaves the container
View Docker docs

Specs and limitations

Specifications, security, training data, and known limitations for the API and open-weight models.

Background removal models

  • Pro Model API: Managed REST API in Frankfurt, DE. p95 ≈ 1.95 s server-side. Stronger on hair, fur, and complex edges.

  • Open Model: Apache-2.0 weights for self-hosted inference via Python, Docker, or macOS. Images stay on your network.

  • Both return PNG cutouts and optional alpha mattes. New API accounts receive 50 free credits.

  • Refine (Pro Model API): Keep / Remove brush strokes fix a result; send keep_mask / remove_mask with the returned matte. 1 credit per run.

Security and privacy

  • Open-weight: Run locally; no API calls required. Full control over image data.

  • API: Frankfurt, DE (EU). TLS in transit. RAM-only processing; images discarded after the response. No disk writes, caches, or backups.

  • No customer training: Uploads are never used to train or fine-tune models. Processing buffers zeroed after response.

  • Logging: Timestamp, endpoint, duration, status, request size, API key hash. No image bytes or perceptual hashes.

  • Analytics: No cookies on the web UI. Ahrefs (privacy-friendly). In-house CAPTCHA for abuse prevention.

Training data

  • Public photos: Unsplash/Pexels under permissive licenses; we created alpha mattes. withoutBG100 dataset

  • Licensed sets: Purchased image sets with explicit derivative rights.

  • Synthetic renders: Randomized lighting/camera with ground-truth mattes from the render pipeline.

  • Studio captures: Hair, translucency, shadows. Dataset guide

  • Scale: ~60K image/matte pairs after QA (2025-10-01), expanding.

Limitations

  • API input cap: Maximum 20 MB per image (JPEG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, HEIC, TIFF, BMP, GIF). The browser demo takes JPEG, PNG, WebP and AVIF, since your browser decodes the image first.

  • Open-weight latency: Depends on your CPU/GPU and image resolution. No fixed SLA.

  • Subjective boundaries: When foreground vs. background is ambiguous, multiple valid cutouts exist. Future release will bias toward nearest-camera subjects.

FAQ

Common questions about Pro Model API, open-weight model, pricing, and privacy.

Is it really free?

Open Model: Apache-2.0. Commercial use, modification, and redistribution permitted at no cost. Pro Model API: freemium, 50 free credits on signup, then pay-as-you-go.

  • Open-weight: self-host with Python, Docker, or the macOS app. No API key, no outbound data.
  • Pro Model API: credit packs for occasional use or optional monthly subscription. Cancel any time. See pricing.
  • No subscription lock-in on either option.

Pro Model API or open-weight model?

Both share the same API schema. Pick by deployment needs, not by integration work.

  • Pro Model API: managed REST API in Frankfurt, DE. Stronger on hair, fur, and complex edges. p95 ≈ 1.95 s server-side.
  • Open-weight (Apache-2.0): runs on your hardware. Images never leave your network. CPU or GPU. No SLA.
  • Start with the API for quick integration; switch to self-hosted at any time using the same /v1.0/image-without-background endpoint.

Can I fix a cutout that missed something?

Yes, with Refine. Paint Keep over parts that were cut away and Remove over parts that should go; a rough stroke is enough.

  • Demo: open a result's pencil in the Pro Model API demo, paint, and run again. Strokes stay between runs.
  • Web app: the refine editor works one image at a time for signed-in users.
  • API: send keep_mask / remove_mask with the matte you got back. See alpha matte docs.
  • Each run costs 1 credit (or 1 free demo image).

How fast is it?

Pro Model API: p95 ≈ 1.95 s server-side in Frankfurt, DE. End-to-end time adds upload, TLS handshake, queue, and download.

  • Open-weight: latency depends on your CPU/GPU and image resolution. No fixed SLA. Typical range on Apple Silicon: 0.3–2 s.
  • API: processing starts as soon as the upload completes. The demo on /pro-model-api shows your real measured latency per call.

Do you store or train on my images?

No. API images are processed in RAM and discarded after the response. Open-weight inference requires no API calls at all when run locally.

  • API storage: no disk writes, thumbnails, caches, or backups. RAM-only; buffer zeroed after response.
  • Region: Frankfurt, Germany (EU). TLS in transit.
  • Logs: metadata only: timestamp, endpoint, duration, status, request size, API key hash. No image bytes or perceptual hashes.
  • Training: customer uploads are never used to train or fine-tune models. See privacy policy.

How do I self-host?

Three lines of Python or one Docker command. Apache-2.0, no API key required.

  • Python: uv add withoutbg (or pip install withoutbg). See Python docs.
  • Docker: docker run -p 80:80 withoutbg/app:latest starts a local web UI. The headless service exposes the same /v1.0/image-without-background API as the cloud. See Docker docs.
  • macOS: native desktop app and headless server for Apple Silicon, with or without internet. See macOS app.
  • Guide: self-hosted background removal.
  • Model weights are hosted on Hugging Face in ONNX format.

Supported by

NVIDIA Inception Program
AWS Activate Program