Photoroom API alternative
Photoroom API alternative:
the same request, a tenth of the price
Photoroom's Remove Background API costs $0.02 per image. Poof does the same job from $0.002 per image, takes the same x-api-key header and image_file upload, and returns the PNG directly.
- 10× cheaper per image. $0.002 on the Ultra plan vs Photoroom's $0.02.
- 100 free credits every month. Photoroom gives 10 free production calls.
- Near-identical request. Change the URL and the key; keep the rest.
Why developers pick Poof over Photoroom
A tenth of the price
Photoroom charges $0.02 per image on its Remove Background API. Poof's Ultra plan works out at $0.002 per image ($99 for 50,000), and the Mega plan at $0.0029 ($29 for 10,000).
A real free tier
Every Poof account gets 100 production credits a month, full resolution, no watermark, no card. Photoroom offers 10 free production calls, then a watermarked sandbox.
Same shape of request
Both APIs take a multipart image_file with an x-api-key header and return the cut-out image as bytes. format, channels, bg_color, size and crop exist on both sides. Most integrations move by changing two strings.
No minimums, EU-based
No annual commitment and no 200K-image minimum to get volume pricing. Poof is an EU company, GDPR compliant, and never uses your images to train models.
Photoroom API vs Poof
| Feature | Photoroom | Poof |
|---|---|---|
| Background removal API | Remove Background API | |
| Price per image (self-serve) | $0.02 | from $0.002 |
| Free production calls | 10 | 100 credits / month |
| Sandbox / test mode | watermarked | playground, no account |
| Volume pricing without annual commitment | 200K images min. | |
| Auth header | x-api-key | x-api-key |
| Upload field | image_file | image_file |
| Upload from an image URL or base64 | — | |
| Output format / size / crop / bg colour options | ||
| AI backgrounds, shadows, virtual try-on | Image Editing API, $0.10 | |
| Python & TypeScript SDKs | ||
| n8n, Zapier, Make, MCP integrations | — | |
| Max input size | 50 MB / 6,000 px | 20 MB / up to 36 MP |
— no comparable figure or feature listed. Photoroom figures from Photoroom API pricing and Photoroom API docs, last checked 2026-09-18. Poof figures from our own pricing and docs.
Migrating from the Photoroom API
Photoroom and Poof both accept a multipart upload with an API-key header and return the processed image in the response body. Point the request at api.poof.bg and swap the key.
curl -X POST https://sdk.photoroom.com/v1/segment \
-H 'x-api-key: PHOTOROOM_KEY' \
-F 'image_file=@product.jpg' \
-F 'format=png' \
-o cutout.pngcurl -X POST https://api.poof.bg/v1/remove \
-H 'x-api-key: POOF_KEY' \
-F 'image_file=@product.jpg' \
-F 'format=png' \
-o cutout.png- format (png, jpg, webp), channels (rgba, alpha), bg_color, size and crop keep the same names on Poof.
- Poof also accepts image_url and image_file_b64 if you would rather not upload a file.
- Processing time, image dimensions and matte confidence come back in response headers (X-Processing-Time-Ms, X-Image-Width, X-Matte-Confidence).
- Photoroom's despill parameter and the Image Editing API features (AI backgrounds, shadows, try-on) have no Poof equivalent.
Full parameter reference in the API docs, or see the background removal API overview.
Price comparison
Photoroom at its published $0.02 per image (Remove Background API) against the Poof plan that covers the volume. All figures are per month.
| Images / month | Photoroom | Poof |
|---|---|---|
| 2,000 | $40 | $9 (Pro) |
| 10,000 | $200 | $29 (Mega) |
| 50,000 | $1,000 | $99 (Ultra) |
| 200,000 | $4,000 | $299 (Giga) |
Every Poof plan includes full-resolution output and commercial use; from $0.002 per image on the Ultra plan. View full pricing
When Photoroom is the better choice
Poof does one thing. If you need these, Photoroom may fit better.
You need generated backgrounds, shadows or try-on
Photoroom's Image Editing API ($0.10/image) adds AI backgrounds, AI shadows, expand, ghost mannequin and virtual try-on. Poof only removes backgrounds.
You are already on a Photoroom enterprise contract
Enterprise plans come with Visual QA and an uptime guarantee negotiated for your volume. If that is in place, the per-image saving may not justify a migration project.
You want the Photoroom editor for non-technical staff
Photoroom is first an editing app. Poof's Studio covers upload, remove, download and history, but it is not a full design tool.
You need HEIC input
Photoroom accepts HEIC uploads. Poof takes PNG, JPEG and WebP; convert HEIC first.
Photoroom alternative FAQ
How much does the Photoroom API cost?
Photoroom's published pricing is $0.02 per image for the Remove Background API and $0.10 per image for the Image Editing API, with an Enterprise plan that requires an annual commitment and a 200,000-image minimum. Photoroom gives 10 free production calls on the Remove Background API. Figures checked 18 September 2026 on photoroom.com/api/pricing.
How does Poof's pricing compare to Photoroom's API?
Poof's Ultra plan is $99 for 50,000 images, which is $0.002 per image, ten times less than Photoroom's $0.02. At 10,000 images a month Photoroom is $200 and Poof's Mega plan is $29. Every Poof account also gets 100 free credits a month with no card required.
Is the Poof API compatible with Photoroom's Remove Background API?
The requests are very close. Both use an x-api-key header, a multipart image_file field and return the image bytes directly. The format, channels, bg_color, size and crop parameters keep the same names. Photoroom's despill option and its Image Editing API features are not available on Poof.
See the Poof API referenceDoes Poof offer a free tier like Photoroom's sandbox?
Yes, and it is not watermarked. Every account gets 100 production credits a month at full resolution. You can also drop an image into the playground without creating an account.
Is the cut-out quality comparable?
The fairest answer is to test with your own images: the playground is free and needs no account. Poof returns a matte-confidence score in a response header so you can flag uncertain results automatically, similar to Photoroom's uncertainty scoring.
Open the playgroundDoes Poof use my images for anything else?
No. Images are only processed to fulfil your request and are never used to train models. Poof is an EU company and GDPR compliant; the privacy policy describes how images are handled. Commercial use is allowed on every plan, with no attribution required.
Try Poof next to Photoroom
100 free credits every month, no credit card required. Run your own images through both and compare.