What changes on 1 December 2026
remove.bg has announced that its standalone website will no longer be available from 1 December 2026 at 9:00 AM CET, as its background removal moves into Canva. Its API documentation states that, from the same date, API background removal moves to Leonardo.Ai, which is also part of Canva, and links to a migration guide.
If you call https://api.remove.bg/v1.0/removebg from a script, plugin, or backend service, plan the switch before that date. Moving to Leonardo.Ai means adopting its API. Cutout Lab takes a different approach: it accepts the same endpoint path, header, and parameters, so most integrations only need a new base URL and key.
The one-line migration
Replace the API origin https://api.remove.bg with https://api.cutoutlabs.com and put your Cutout Lab key in the same X-Api-Key header. The path stays /v1.0/removebg, the request body stays multipart/form-data, form-encoded, or JSON, and the response is still the image itself or, with Accept: application/json, a data.result_b64 field.
For example, curl -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_KEY" -F "image_file=@photo.jpg" -F "size=auto" -o no-bg.png https://api.cutoutlabs.com/v1.0/removebg returns a transparent PNG.
- Request a free API key above with your email address and open the sign-in link.
- Change the API origin in your configuration or HTTP client to https://api.cutoutlabs.com.
- Swap in your Cutout Lab key, run your usual test images, and compare the results before switching production traffic.
| Part of the request | remove.bg | Cutout Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Endpoint | https://api.remove.bg/v1.0/removebg | https://api.cutoutlabs.com/v1.0/removebg |
| Authentication | X-Api-Key header | X-Api-Key header with your Cutout Lab key |
| Image source | image_file, image_file_b64, or image_url | Same fields, up to 12 MB and 12 megapixels |
| Output options | size, format, channels, crop, crop_margin, scale, position, roi, bg_color, bg_image_url, bg_image_file | Same options and defaults, including size=preview when size is omitted |
| Response headers | X-Width, X-Height, X-Foreground-*, X-Credits-Charged | Same headers, plus X-Quota-Limit, X-Quota-Remaining, and X-Quota-Reset |
| Account balance | GET /v1.0/account | Same endpoint and response shape; free_calls shows calls left today |
Free during launch
The API is free during launch, with no card required. Each key can process 50 images per day, with up to 10 requests per minute. The daily count resets at 00:00 UTC, and every response shows your remaining calls in the X-Quota-Remaining header. X-Credits-Charged is always 0.
Sign in with the same email to open your dashboard, where you can see today's usage, the last 30 days, and replace or revoke your key. Limits and pricing may change after the launch period.
Differences to test before switching
Cutout Lab uses its own segmentation models, so masks will not match remove.bg pixel for pixel. Test the images that matter most to you, especially hair, fur, glass, and products on pale backgrounds.
| Feature | Cutout Lab behavior |
|---|---|
| Shadows (shadow_type, add_shadow) | Not supported yet; requests return HTTP 400 with code unsupported_option |
| Foreground type detection | type is accepted but not detected automatically; an explicit type is echoed in X-Type |
| semitransparency | Accepted for compatibility; car-window semitransparency is not applied |
| Resolution | Input up to 12 MB and 12 megapixels; 50MP output is not available |
| Rate limits | 10 requests per minute and 50 images per day per key during launch |
| POST /improve and OAuth | Not available |
Independence
Cutout Lab is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by remove.bg, Kaleido AI, Leonardo.Ai, or Canva. Their names are used only to describe the December 2026 changes and API compatibility.