remove.bg confirmed it: the standalone website closes for good on December 1, 2026 at 9:00am CET. Background removal is moving into Canva (which has owned remove.bg since 2021), and API access is shifting to Leonardo.ai, also part of Canva. If you've built a workflow around remove.bg — for product photos, headshots, thumbnails, or the odd video — you now need a plan before the site goes dark.

This isn't a "remove.bg is bad, switch to us" post. remove.bg was genuinely good at one thing: fast, accurate image cutouts. The real gap it's leaving behind is narrower than people think — most of the tools people reach for next are also image-only, which doesn't help if any part of your workflow touches video. Below is what's actually changing, what you need to do before the deadline, and seven alternatives worth considering depending on whether you need photos, video, or both.

What's Actually Happening to remove.bg?

remove.bg isn't disappearing as a technology — it's being absorbed. According to remove.bg's own shutdown notice, the standalone site and app go offline on December 1, 2026, its background-removal engine becomes a feature inside Canva's design platform, and the API-only offering for developers moves to Leonardo.ai, which uses the same underlying background-removal technology plus additional features like upscaling and scene generation. The Photoshop plugin, desktop apps, and other third-party integrations are discontinued outright, with no direct replacement outside of Canva's own ecosystem.

The stated reason is consolidation: Canva doesn't want to maintain two separate background-removal products when one is already built into its main platform. That's a reasonable business decision for Canva, but it does mean remove.bg users are being pushed into a full design tool whether they want one or not — unless they choose a standalone alternative instead.

What Happens to My remove.bg Subscription, Credits, and API Access Before December 1?

This is the part most people skim past and then get caught out by. Here's the practical checklist based on remove.bg's own FAQ:

Pay-as-you-go credits expire on the shutdown date. Unused credits don't roll over or convert to Canva credits — use them before December 1, 2026, or lose them.
Monthly subscriptions keep running normally until the shutdown, then cancel automatically. Any renewal charge on or after November 1, 2026 is free, and you can cancel earlier yourself at remove.bg/dashboard if you don't want to wait.
Annual subscriptions also run until the shutdown date and then end. If you have unused time left on your plan past that date, remove.bg issues a pro-rata refund to your original payment method automatically — no request needed.
Account data, invoices, and credit usage reports become inaccessible after the shutdown. Export anything you need from your Account page now.
API users on the self-service plan need a migration plan before December 1, 2026, since requests stop being accepted after that date. Enterprise API contracts are unaffected and continue as normal — this only applies to self-service/API-key usage.

None of this is urgent today, but it's a hard deadline, not a soft one — mark December 1, 2026 on a calendar if you rely on remove.bg for anything recurring.

The Best remove.bg Alternatives for Images and Video in 2026

Here are seven tools worth evaluating, roughly ordered by who they fit best. None of these are a perfect one-to-one replacement — pick based on whether your workflow is photo-only, video-only, or both.

1. Canva Background Remover — the official successor

If you already design inside Canva — social posts, thumbnails, product mockups — this is the path of least resistance. Canva's Background Remover uses the same underlying technology as remove.bg and is built into the editor, so you remove a background and keep designing in the same tab without exporting anywhere. Canva also offers bulk background removal for processing several images at once. The tradeoff: it's a feature inside a much bigger design app, not a focused tool, and heavier video work isn't Canva's core strength the way it is for a dedicated video editor.

Best for: People already living in Canva who want one less app to manage.

2. BGRemover.video — background removal for photos and video in one tool

BGRemover.video is a dedicated background remover built to handle both images and video in the same workflow, which is the specific gap this remove.bg transition leaves open — remove.bg's video support stayed in beta for its whole lifespan, and most of the alternatives on this list, including Canva's core tool, are still primarily photo-first.

For photos, it works the same way remove.bg did: upload, get an automatic cutout, export as a transparent PNG. For video, it applies the same AI segmentation frame-by-frame to remove or replace a video background without a green screen — useful for talking-head clips, product demos, and social ads. The free tier currently supports videos up to 200MB, 5 minutes long, and 4K resolution, with no watermark on exports, alongside a bulk background remover for processing a folder of images at once. No design-tool detour, no Canva account required.

Best for: Anyone whose remove.bg usage touched video at all, or who wants a standalone tool instead of a full design suite. See the full BGRemover.video vs Remove.bg comparison for a feature-by-feature breakdown.

3. PhotoRoom — best for product and e-commerce photos

PhotoRoom is squarely aimed at product photography, with a mobile app and e-commerce-specific templates for marketplace listings. Its background removal quality is strong for the exact use case remove.bg was popular for: clean product shots on white or branded backgrounds. Video support is limited, so treat this as an images-first pick.

Best for: Sellers and small e-commerce teams who need consistent product cutouts, not video.

4. Erase.bg — image-first with short video support

Erase.bg (via Pixelbin) covers automatic image background removal plus short video clips up to 30 seconds, with bulk processing and API options for developers. It's a reasonable middle ground if your video needs are limited to quick social clips rather than longer-form content, though the 30-second cap rules it out for anything longer.

Best for: Mixed photo workflows with occasional short-form video, on a credit-based budget.

5. Cutout.pro — a multi-tool AI suite

Cutout.pro bundles background removal with image upscaling, photo enhancement, and basic video editing in one credit-based platform. It's a good fit if you want several AI editing tools under one subscription instead of picking single-purpose apps, though video-specific features are less developed than its image tools.

Best for: People who want background removal plus other AI editing features (upscaling, enhancement) in one place.

6. Slazzer — fast, bulk image processing with an API

Slazzer is built for speed on still images: fast automatic background removal, a strong batch workflow for product catalogs, and a developer API for automating removal at scale. It has no dedicated video workflow at all, so this is purely an image-replacement option, best suited to teams whose remove.bg usage was API-driven catalog work in the first place.

Best for: Developers and catalog teams who used remove.bg's API for bulk image processing and need a straightforward, image-only API alternative before self-service access moves to Leonardo.ai.

7. Kapwing — a full video editor with background removal included

Kapwing is a collaborative online video editor with background removal as one feature inside a larger toolkit — trimming, captions, templates, and team collaboration. It's a heavier tool than a single-purpose background remover, with a watermark on the free tier, but it's worth considering if you need general video editing anyway and would rather not add a separate background-removal step.

Best for: Teams already editing video collaboratively who want background removal folded into that same editor.

Which remove.bg Alternative Actually Handles Video?

Split illustration comparing image-only background removal versus video background removal

This is the question worth pausing on, because it's easy to assume any "remove.bg alternative" list covers video the same way it covers photos — most don't. PhotoRoom, Slazzer, and Cutout.pro are image-first tools with little to no real video workflow. Erase.bg caps video at 30 seconds. Canva's Background Remover is primarily built around static design assets inside the Canva editor.

That leaves two realistic video-capable paths: Kapwing, if you want background removal as one feature inside a full general-purpose video editor, or BGRemover.video, if you want a tool purpose-built around removing and replacing video backgrounds specifically — the same core job remove.bg's video beta was aiming for, minus the beta label. If any part of your remove.bg usage touched a video file, check that your replacement tool actually has a video pipeline before you commit to it, rather than assuming background removal automatically extends to video the way it does to images.

How Do I Migrate My remove.bg Workflow Before the Deadline?

Export your data first. Download invoices and credit usage reports from your remove.bg account page — these disappear after the shutdown, not just the tool itself.
Burn down remaining PAYG credits on real work rather than letting them expire unused.
Sort your use cases into image, video, or both. If it's images only, PhotoRoom, Slazzer, Cutout.pro, or Canva all work. If video is involved anywhere, narrow the list to Kapwing or BGRemover.video.
API users: confirm whether you're on an enterprise contract (unaffected) or self-service (stops December 1, 2026). Self-service users should test Leonardo.ai's API or an alternative provider's API well before the cutoff, not the week of.
Photoshop plugin users: remove.bg is pointing toward Affinity, which has background removal built in via Canva AI — but note that feature specifically requires a Canva Pro subscription, unlike a one-time plugin purchase.
Test your replacement on real files now, not on December 1. Upload a few representative images (and a video clip, if relevant) to your shortlisted tool and compare edge quality against what you're used to, especially around hair, fine detail, or fast motion if it's video.

Pro Tips for a Smooth Switch

Don't wait for the deadline week. Migration always takes longer than expected once invoices, API keys, and stored assets are involved — start now, not in late November.
Check watermark policy on the free tier before you commit. Some alternatives that look free still watermark exports past a certain file count or resolution.
If you only used remove.bg occasionally, a generous free tier (like BGRemover.video's unwatermarked exports) may cover you without needing a paid plan at all.
Keep one backup tool in mind. Given how quickly this space is consolidating, it's worth knowing a second option even after you've picked a primary replacement.

Conclusion

remove.bg's shutdown isn't really the end of background removal — it's a consolidation into Canva and Leonardo.ai, with a hard deadline of December 1, 2026 for anyone who wants to migrate on their own terms instead of losing access to credits and account data. Canva's Background Remover is the obvious default if you're already in that ecosystem. If you're not, or if any part of your workflow involves video rather than just photos, dedicated alternatives like BGRemover.video, PhotoRoom, Erase.bg, or Kapwing are worth testing against your own files before the switch becomes mandatory.

Whatever you pick, the actual work is the same: export your remove.bg data, spend down your credits, and run a real test on your own images and video before December 1, 2026 arrives.

remove.bg Is Shutting Down: 7 Best Alternatives for 2026