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Switching from remove.bg: what to do for each kind of user

Koutuxia is a free background remover that runs in your browser. It handles single images and batches by hand and has no API. This page sorts out where each kind of remove.bg user can go after the shutdown, with sources for everything about other services.

remove.bg's standalone site closes on 1 December 2026 at 9:00 a.m. CET. Where you should go depends on how you use it now: the odd single image, batches, API calls from code, or a plugin in Photoshop or Figma. Each case gets its own section, built only from facts we could source, and a migration checklist closes the page.

The odd single image: Koutuxia's free local cutout, or Canva

This group had the shortest routine: open remove.bg, drop the image, download. Many never had an account.

Koutuxia's free cutout is as short. Drop a JPG, PNG or WEBP of up to 10 MB, the model runs in your browser, and you download a transparent PNG. There is no account and no image limit, and the image is not uploaded to our server. The first visit downloads the model; later visits use the cache. The no-upload point applies to the free local path only; Pro, the cloud tier, uploads images.

Canva is where remove.bg officially points you. You remove the background inside a Canva design and download the PNG, and you need to be signed in. For the free-plan allowance, check Canva's own pages. If the cutout was going into a Canva layout anyway, this is the smoother route.

Batches: Koutuxia batch ZIP, or Canva bulk removal

Koutuxia's batch mode takes up to 50 images per batch, with up to 200 MB of source files. The browser processes them one after another and packs the results into one ZIP, transparent PNG by default; you can change the format under Advanced export. On a phone, split large photos into two batches. For more than 50 images, run several batches.

For hard images such as clear packaging or hair, turn on Maximum quality. It also runs locally, with a larger model, and is several times slower. If a net, fence or wire comes out grey, tick "Solidify mesh, fences, wire" as well; leave it off for photos with water, glass or smoke, where it can draw dark solid lines.

On the Canva side, remove.bg's FAQ says Canva supports bulk background removal in both the web app and the Canva desktop app, and that is also its suggested replacement for the remove.bg desktop app. For larger or automated volumes, remove.bg points to Leonardo.Ai's API.

API users: Koutuxia has no API, so start with what changes on Leonardo.Ai

Koutuxia has no API and no plan to offer one before 1 December, so we cannot cover this case. remove.bg's self-service API stops accepting requests on 1 December 2026; enterprise API contracts are unaffected. The official successor is Leonardo.Ai, also part of Canva, and its migration guide recommends the Sync API, where a single request returns the result with no polling.

Most changes sit in the request and the response. The endpoint moves from api.remove.bg/v1.0/removebg to cloud.leonardo.ai/api/rest/v2/generationssync, and authentication moves from an X-Api-Key header to Authorization: Bearer. Requests are JSON only and must name the model with "model": "remove-bg". The source image goes into parameters.guidances.image_reference as a URL, base64 data or an uploaded image ID, and options such as size and type keep their values but move under parameters. Responses are always JSON: by default you get results[0].url, and with "base64": true you decode results[0].dataB64 instead.

A few things catch people out. Leonardo saves results to your Leonardo library by default; to match remove.bg's no-storage behaviour, set "ephemeral": true, which gives a result URL that lasts 30 minutes. Output formats are png, jpg and webp only, so pipelines that used format=zip or auto need changes. Base64 input must stay under about 7.5 MB; send larger images as a URL or upload them first. Cost moves from the X-Credits-Charged header to a cost object in the response body, and the migration guide gives the price as USD 0.1047 per image.

If you would rather not stay inside Canva's group of products, other background-removal APIs exist, such as Photoroom and Slazzer. Both publish API documentation and pricing pages, linked in the sources below. Prices and allowances change, so we do not copy numbers here; check them before you integrate.

Photoshop and Figma plugin users

remove.bg's FAQ says the Photoshop plugin will not be available after 1 December 2026, and the other integrations and plugins will be discontinued the same day. remove.bg's integrations page also lists a Figma plugin and Zapier / Make automations. Our reading of the FAQ is that these stop on the same date; remove.bg does not name them one by one, so plan around 1 December.

For Photoshop users, remove.bg suggests Affinity, also part of Canva. Affinity itself is free and has remove.bg's background-removal technology built in, but that feature runs on Canva AI and needs a Canva Pro subscription. For other plugins, remove.bg suggests looking in Canva's app marketplace.

If you only need the occasional transparent image inside a design, you can also drop it into Koutuxia, download the PNG and place it back in Photoshop or Figma. It adds a manual step, but you need no plugin and no account. Zapier or Make automations have no manual equivalent; they need a service with an API.

Migration at a glance

How you use remove.bgWhere to goWhat changesCost pointers
Occasional single imagesKoutuxia free local cutout; CanvaKoutuxia: nothing. Canva: sign in and work inside a designKoutuxia free local path has no image limit; Canva free-plan allowance: see Canva's pages
BatchesKoutuxia batch (50 images, 200 MB per batch); Canva bulk removalSplit jobs over 50 images; Canva needs a loginAs above
Self-service APILeonardo.Ai; other background-removal APIsEndpoint, auth, JSON request and response, storage settingLeonardo's guide: USD 0.1047 per image; others on their pricing pages
Enterprise APIYour existing contractNothingPer contract
Photoshop pluginAffinity; or Koutuxia by handNew app, or one manual stepAffinity is free; its background removal needs Canva Pro
Figma plugin, Zapier / MakeCanva app marketplace; a service with an APIRebuild the workflowDepends on the service

remove.bg, Leonardo.Ai and Canva details checked on 28 September 2026; Koutuxia batch limits taken from the current code.

Migration checklist

1 · Export invoices and the credit usage report

Sign in to remove.bg and download both from the Account page. After 9:00 a.m. CET on 1 December the site and accounts are gone, and so are these files.

2 · Sort out renewals and credits

Monthly plans end on their own on 1 December, and a final renewal on or after 1 November is free; to stop sooner, cancel at remove.bg/dashboard. Annual plans need no action; remove.bg refunds unused time pro rata. Credits expire with no refund, so use them first.

3 · Test the new tool on real images

Pick 10 to 20 typical images from past work, including a few with hair, clear packaging and busy backgrounds, and run them through the new tool. Check edges and export size. API users should get the new request format working in staging and confirm the ephemeral, format and cost fields behave as expected.

4 · List every plugin and automation

Write down every place that calls remove.bg: Photoshop and Figma plugins, Zapier / Make flows, API keys in scripts and config. Give each one a replacement and an owner.

5 · Update your process docs

Replace remove.bg links and screenshots in SOPs, onboarding notes and expense guides, and record who owns the new tool's account and what it costs.

6 · Leave some slack

Do not wait for the last day. After 9:00 a.m. CET on 1 December the old API stops accepting requests, and there is nothing to roll back to.

Who this page is for

FAQ

Does Koutuxia have an API?

No, and there is no plan to offer one before 1 December. Koutuxia's free cutout runs in the browser and suits single images and batches done by hand. For calls from code, look at Leonardo.Ai or another service with a public API.

Is Leonardo.Ai a drop-in replacement for the remove.bg API?

No. The flow is the same, one request and one result, but the endpoint, authentication, request body and response format all change, and format=zip and auto are not supported. The migration guide shows before-and-after code for cURL, Python and Node.js. (Source: Leonardo.Ai migration guide)

Does Leonardo keep my images?

By default, yes: results go into your Leonardo library. Set "ephemeral": true in the request to keep them out of the library; the result URL then lasts 30 minutes. (Source: Leonardo.Ai migration guide)

Is there a limit on Koutuxia batches?

Up to 50 images and 200 MB of source files per batch, and it will ask you to use fewer images if the PNG output would pass 200 MB. Split larger jobs. Everything runs locally with no upload.

Do I need an account to switch to Koutuxia?

Not for the free local cutout. You only need an account to buy and use the Pro cloud features.

Is Koutuxia's quality the same as remove.bg's?

We cannot claim that. The free tier computes its mask from a 1024-pixel input by default and exports at the source size, and our paired comparison with paid remove.bg has only one image. Compare on your own images.

Do enterprise API customers need to migrate?

No. remove.bg's FAQ says enterprise API customers are not affected and contracts continue as normal; contact remove.bg's enterprise team with questions. (Source: remove.bg FAQ)

Sources

Got a batch? Try it here first

Up to 50 images per batch, processed locally and packed into one ZIP.

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