How it works
- Drop a photo, or several.
- Keep the model for hair and fur, or pick a faster one.
- Download the transparent PNG or WebP.
Why use it
- A matting network traces every strand, so hair and fur keep their soft edges.
- Three models, from a 6 MB portrait model to the 83 MB hair model, all cached after the first download.
- Batch processing with a ZIP download.
- No credits, no watermark, no upload.
Removing a photo background: models, edges and new backgrounds
How the cutout is made
Removing a background takes two jobs. First a network decides which pixels belong to the subject, a person, a product or an animal, and which to the background. Then the edge has to be worked out: hair, fur and soft focus are partly transparent, and a hard cut along them looks like a sticker. Every model here is downloaded once from this site and then runs on your device, on the graphics chip when the browser supports WebGPU and otherwise on the processor.
| Model | How it works | Download |
|---|---|---|
| Best for hair and fur | BiRefNet finds the subject, then ViTMatte traces how transparent every strand is | 83 MB |
| Quick | BiRefNet alone, with the edge snapped to the photo | 57 MB |
| Portraits, tiny | MODNet, made for people | 6 MB |
In our tests on a desktop computer with WebGPU, the hair model took about 8 to 9 seconds per photo and Quick about 4; the portrait model took about 2.5 seconds on the processor alone. Phones and computers without a graphics chip take longer.
Choosing a model
- Best for hair and fur for portraits with loose hair, pets, and anything soft or fluffy. It also copes with full body shots and busy backgrounds.
- Quick for products, objects, cars and people with tidy hair, in half the time.
- Portraits, tiny for head and shoulders photos of people on slow connections. Pets and objects often come out with holes.
Edges and colour fringes
A cutout taken from a green lawn keeps a green tinge in the hair, because the edge pixels are a mix of hair and lawn. The hair model removes that spill by estimating the subject's own colour at the edge, so the cutout looks right on a new background. Edge sharpness moves the result from soft, which suits hair and fur, to crisp, which suits products with clean outlines. For the Quick and portrait models, Refine edges with the photo snaps the mask to the edges in the photo.
New backgrounds
- Transparent keeps only the subject, for logos, stickers, design work and product listings on any page colour. Save as PNG or WebP; JPG cannot hold transparency.
- Colour puts the subject on a solid colour, such as white for marketplace product photos.
- Blurred keeps the original background but blurs it, like a portrait mode photo.
Crop to the subject trims the empty space around it. To make a passport style photo or a square profile picture afterwards, use resize image or crop image.
If something goes wrong
- Part of the subject is missing. The model took it for background, which happens with objects the same colour as their surroundings. Try the hair model, or a photo with more contrast.
- Bits of background remain. Raise the edge sharpness, or use a photo where the subject stands clear of the background.
- It is very slow. The model runs on the processor. Use Quick or Portraits, or a browser with WebGPU on a computer with a graphics chip.
Questions and answers
How does it work without a server?
The models are downloaded once and then run on your device through WebAssembly or WebGPU. Your photo is only ever read by your own browser.
Which model should I pick?
Best for hair and fur is the default: it finds the subject, then a matting network works out the transparency of every strand. Quick uses one network and takes about half the time. Portraits is the smallest download and suits people.
Can I use the results commercially?
The tool does not add any restriction of its own. Check the license of the photo itself, which is separate.