remove.bg vs Photoshop — What is the Best Background Remover?

Are you looking to remove a background from an image and don’t know whether you should go for remove.bg vs Photoshop? We’ve got you.

remove.bg is an instant background remover, yet Photoshop’s removal tool is one part of its huge image editing suite. Let’s take a deep dive into their usability, price models, and features, so you can easily find what fits.

Interface and user experience

If you’re not already using Photoshop — you might be wondering if it’s worth using it for a single task like background removal, or if it’s far easier to use a specific application made just for that. Here are the main differences between the two interfaces.

remove.bg

• remove.bg’s interface for an image background remover is simple. All you have to do is drag and drop an image into the tool and wait for the AI to work its magic. You don’t need any tools to manually pick pixels or alter parts of the picture.
• Compatible app for Windows and Mac.

Photoshop

• There’s a lot to unpack in Photoshop, with an array of options and toolbars, ranging from simple edits with the Quick Selection Tool to laser-focused modifications. For example: removing a background freehand involves using a bunch of edging, masking, brush, and eraser tools – sounds complicated, right? We can help break down the different ways to remove background in Photoshop for you. This can be overwhelming to a new user needing a single tool, yet it can be an ideal toolkit with endless creative possibilities.
• Photoshop’s downloadable software is available for Windows and Mac.

Pricing: Subscription vs Pay-as-you-go

To figure out which pricing is right for you, you’ll need to know how often you will be removing backgrounds. Will it be all the time, and you need unlimited access? Then subscription offers are for you.

Need to use it once or twice here and there? Consider the flexible pay-as-you-go options.

remove.bg	Photoshop
Free plan Our free version includes one image of up to 25 megapixels and 50 API previews per month.	Free plan There’s no free plan with Photoshop, you can, however, trial it for free for seven days.
Subscriptions Monthly paid subscription models start from €9 for 40 credits.  One credit lets you remove the background from one high-resolution image.	Subscriptions Photoshop works on a subscription model of $20.99 per month.
Pay-as-you-go Our pay-as-you-go options start at €1.99 for 1 credit.  The good news: the more credits you buy, the more money you save — which you can use up within two years.	Pay-as-you-go There is no pay-as-you-go model for Photoshop.

Image background remover tool feature: using remove. bg in Photoshop

We just talked about remove.bg vs Photoshop overall — but what you came here for was the background removal tool. 

So, which one is better? Well… it all depends on how quickly and accurately you need it to work and what your current workflow is. One of the snazziest features of remove.bg is that you can actually use it within Photoshop without ever leaving it.

remove.bg

Photoshop

remove.bg background is automatic, instant, and easy-peasy.  Simply select a photo from your device, upload it to the platform, and watch as the background is removed in seconds, ready for you to download right away. Its more accurate AI to locate the foreground image makes it one of the best background remover apps out there. remove.bg’s sole purpose is to remove the background of an image, and it does so with perfection. There’s a remove.bg plugin for Photoshop, which means you can remove image backgrounds in the advanced software suite with just one click.

Photoshop is designed for those who want to professionally edit an image, and removing an image’s background is just one step of the process using some of the dozens of editing tools — to get your end result.  Unlike remove.bg, Photoshop doesn’t just have a drag and drop where your image background is gone in an instant. Instead, you’ll have to work with Layers – individual elements of your image like foreground objects, background details, colors, and textures. You then use select and mask tools to locate, separate, and edit them. It’s a little more complex, but possible — we even put together a full breakdown of how to remove a background image in Photoshop.

remove.bg vs Photoshop — which is more precise? 

You can remove the background of an image in both, no question. But when it comes to precision, remove.bg is by far the winner. The AI is better at detecting the foreground and the background and giving you accurate results. This means if you use the Photoshop tool you might have to still spend some time using manual tools to do the final corrections.

So, the good news is that there doesn’t have to be a single choice when it comes to remove.bg vs Photoshop — they are compatible together. The remove.bg plugin is a handy sidekick, making your workflow super easy and lending a helping hand with an editing task that can get tricky. Our remove.bg plugin makes this one less thing to fret about.

Which is the best background remover app for you: remove.bg or Photoshop?

Ultimately, when it comes to choosing software for this specific task, it all comes down to your needs and how often you need to use it. Here’s what we’d recommend, depending on your situation:

You might be thinking:

• I don’t know much about photo editing (nor do I want to) I’m just making a cool birthday card for a friend.

Use remove.bg only.

• I want to remove the background of an image and plan on using another tool (not Photoshop) to create a social media post.

Use remove.bg only.

• I’m a professional photographer and just want to quickly try removing a background with remove.bg.

Use remove.bg, download the file and upload it to photoshop. Like the result? Download the remove.bg plugin.

• I’m a professional photographer, regularly use Photoshop, and have plenty of projects that need background removal — I’m planning on using remove.bg long term.

Download the remove.bg plugin and use it in Photoshop.