Imagga vs Background Remover: 2026 Comparison

Quick Verdict: Imagga is an API-only image recognition service trusted by 60,000+ developers and enterprises like Unsplash and Cloudinary—it has no web interface, making it purely for developers building products. Beyond background removal, it offers tagging, categorization, face recognition, OCR, and content moderation APIs in a single platform. Background Remover is designed for humans who want to remove backgrounds directly in their browser at $5/mo. Choose Imagga if you're a developer integrating background removal into your app and need multiple image AI APIs. Choose Background Remover if you want a ready-to-use web tool with no coding required.

---

Our Ratings

Metric	Imagga	Background Remover
Overall	⭐ 3.8/5	⭐ 4.6/5
Edge Quality	⭐ 3.8/5	⭐ 4.5/5
Speed	⭐ 4.2/5	⭐ 4.5/5
Value	⭐ 3.5/5	⭐ 4.9/5
Ease of Use	⭐ 3/5	⭐ 4.8/5

Quick Comparison

Feature	Imagga	Background Remover
Starting Price	$79/mo	$5/mo
Free Tier	No	Yes
API Access	70,000/mo	N/A
Mobile App	—	—

Technical Specifications

Specification	Imagga	Background Remover
Max File Size	Not specified	10MB
Input Formats	JPG, PNG, WebP (via URL/upload)	JPG, PNG, WEBP
Output Format	PNG (transparent or custom color)	PNG
No Account Needed	—	✅ Yes

Note: Imagga is an API-only service. There is no web interface for manual background removal. The Background Removal API is only available on Indie ($79/mo) and higher plans.

---

About Imagga

Imagga Technologies Ltd. is a pioneering image recognition company headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria. Founded in 2011, they specialize in computer vision APIs for businesses, serving over 60,000 startups and developers and 200+ enterprise customers across 82 countries. Trusted by companies like Swisscom, Unsplash, Cloudinary, and Plex.

Key Features

• API-first architecture - RESTful API designed for developer integration
• Multiple AI capabilities - Beyond background removal: tagging, categorization, face recognition, OCR, content moderation, color extraction
• Custom AI models - Enterprise clients can train domain-specific models
• On-premise deployment - Available for Enterprise customers with data sensitivity requirements
• Background color control - Set transparent or any custom background color via API parameters

---

Pricing Comparison (Updated February 2026)

Imagga Pricing

Plan	Price	API Requests	Background Removal
Free	Free	100/mo	❌ Not included
Indie	$79/mo	70,000/mo	✅ Included
Pro	$349/mo	300,000/mo	✅ Included
Enterprise	Custom	1,000,000+/mo	✅ + Custom models

Note: Background Removal API is only available on Indie and higher plans. Free plan includes basic solutions only (Tagging, Categorization, Cropping, Color).

Background Remover Pricing

Plan	Price	Credits	Per Image
Starter	$5/mo	50	$0.10
Pro	$20/mo	300	$0.067
Ultra	$50/mo	1000	$0.05

💡 Key Insight: Background Remover offers better value with plans starting at $5/mo for 50 images. Compare pricing carefully based on your monthly volume needs.

---

Choose Imagga If:

• ✅ You're building a SaaS product requiring multiple image AI features: Imagga's unified API provides background removal, tagging, categorization, face detection, OCR, and content moderation—all from one vendor with consistent SDKs and documentation.
• ✅ You need high-throughput image processing (70,000+ images/month): The Indie plan at $79/mo gives you 70,000 API requests, scaling to 300,000 at Pro ($349/mo) and 1M+ at Enterprise with custom pricing.
• ✅ You're an enterprise requiring on-premise deployment: Imagga offers on-premise solutions for companies with strict data residency requirements or air-gapped environments that cannot send images to third-party clouds.
• ✅ You want to train custom AI models on your domain-specific images: Enterprise customers can create specialized models trained on their own image datasets for higher accuracy on specific product types or use cases.
• ✅ You're integrating with Cloudinary, Unsplash, or similar platforms: Imagga is already trusted by major image platforms—their API design and reliability meet enterprise standards for production workloads.

Choose Background Remover If:

• ✅ You're a marketer, designer, or non-technical user who needs background removal now: No API keys, no coding, no technical setup—just upload images in your browser and download results in seconds.
• ✅ You want to remove backgrounds without writing code or managing integrations: Background Remover works like any web app: click, upload, download. Zero developer resources needed.
• ✅ You need instant visual feedback while editing: See exactly what your background removal looks like in real-time before downloading, with the ability to adjust results visually.
• ✅ You process 50-300 images monthly and want the lowest entry cost: At $5/mo for 50 images, you're up and running immediately—versus Imagga's $79/mo minimum for background removal access.
• ✅ You prefer focused tools over complex API platforms: Background Remover does one thing exceptionally well. No SDKs, no API documentation to read, no integration time—just results.

---

Pros & Cons

Imagga

Pros:

• Developer-focused API
• Generous free tier
• Multiple image APIs
• Enterprise-grade

Cons:

• API only (no UI)
• Complex for non-developers
• Expensive at scale
• Technical setup required

Background Remover

Pros:

• Best price-per-image value ($0.05-$0.10)
• Clean, modern interface
• Fast processing (5 seconds)
• Reliable batch processing
• Straightforward pricing

Cons:

• No mobile app yet
• No API access
• Desktop-focused workflow

---

FAQ

Is Imagga free?

Imagga offers 1000 free API calls monthly. Paid plans start at $79/mo.

Is Imagga for developers only?

Primarily yes. Imagga is an API service best suited for developers.

---

Related Comparisons

• Remove.bg vs Background Remover
• PhotoRoom vs Background Remover
• Canva vs Background Remover
• Adobe Express vs Background Remover
• Erase.bg vs Background Remover

---

Try Background Remover Today

Ready for quality background removal with great value?

Start removing backgrounds now →

Starter plan: 50 images for just $5/month. No commitment, cancel anytime.