remove.bg charges $9/month for 40 credits — and every photo you upload goes to their servers. Cutaway runs the same class of AI model on your own machine: no credits, no upload, no monthly bill, no resolution cap.
If you've searched for a remove.bg alternative, Cutaway is the pay-once option worth putting at the top of the list: Cutaway is $24, one time, and covers the same core job remove.bg charges $9/mo (40 credits) for.
What makes Cutaway the pick for 2026
- Drag & drop batches — Single images or whole folders — JPG, PNG and WebP.
- Before / after preview — Checkerboard view of the transparent result, per image.
- Flexible output — Transparent PNG, white/black, or any custom background color.
- Batch export — Pick a folder, hit one button, watch the progress bar.
- Full resolution, always — Your 6000×4000 photo stays 6000×4000. remove.bg's free tier caps at 0.25 MP.
Cutaway vs remove.bg, at a glance
| Cutaway | remove.bg | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $24 once | $9/mo (40 credits) — $108/yr |
| Images | Unlimited | 40/month, then buy credits |
| Resolution | Full, always | Full res costs 1 credit per image |
| Privacy | 100% local — nothing uploaded | Every image uploaded to their servers |
| Offline | Yes — models ship in the installer | No |
| Batch processing | Yes, built in | Paid API / desktop app with credits |
| Source code | Open (MIT) | Closed |
$24 pays for itself in under 3 months — then it's free forever.
Common questions
Is it really free on GitHub?
Yes — the full source is MIT at github.com/bensblueprints/bg-remover-mvp. Paying $24 gets you the signed installer, 1-click setup and updates instead of building from source.
Is the quality as good as remove.bg?
It uses the same class of segmentation model (U²-Net family via ONNX). On typical product shots and portraits results are comparable; on very fine edges like wispy hair, remove.bg's newest cloud models can still win. You get unlimited retries for free, though.
Do my photos get uploaded?
Never. Inference runs on your CPU via onnxruntime. Every AI model ships inside the installer, so the app makes zero network calls.
The bottom line
Cutaway won't out-feature remove.bg on every axis — no subscription tool with a bigger team and a bigger roadmap loses on everything. But for the core job, $24 once against $9/mo (40 credits) forever is a trade most people should at least look at. Cutaway is part of OneTimeSuite, a catalog of pay-once apps that replace subscription SaaS.
Try Cutaway — $24, once
Local AI background removal — unlimited images, full resolution, nothing uploaded.