Make an image background transparent

A transparent background means the pixels around your subject carry no colour at all, so the image can sit on any page, slide or product mock-up without a box around it. JPEG cannot store transparency; PNG can. cutoutpic detects the subject, removes everything else and gives you a PNG with an alpha channel — on your own device.

Remove a background nowFree, no account, nothing uploaded.

How to make a background transparent

  1. Drop a JPEG, PNG or WebP file onto the canvas, or paste it.

  2. Wait for the cutout. The checkerboard behind the result is the transparent area — anything you see over it will stay.

  3. Download the PNG. Keep it as PNG: saving it as JPEG would flatten the transparency to white.

Transparent PNG vs. white background

They look identical on a white page and behave completely differently anywhere else. A transparent PNG adapts to whatever is behind it — a coloured banner, a dark slide, a photo. A white background is baked in and shows as a white rectangle on anything that is not white.

Most marketplaces want pure white for the main listing image and transparent for everything else. If you need white, place the PNG over a white layer in any editor; going the other way — white to transparent — means removing the background again.

Checking the edges

  • Zoom in along hair, fur and thin straps — these are where a mask is most likely to include a sliver of the old background.
  • View the PNG over a dark colour as well as light: a pale fringe is invisible on white and obvious on black.
  • Semi-transparent pixels at the edge are normal and desirable — they are what makes the cutout blend instead of looking pasted on.

Limits

  • Input: JPEG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB.
  • The free preview is capped at 1280 px on the longer side.
  • The tool removes the background — it does not yet recolour it, blur it or replace it with another picture.

Questions about this use

Why does my transparent PNG show a white background when I open it?

Some viewers paint white behind transparent areas, and some apps — chat, email previews — flatten PNGs. Open the file in an editor and look for the checkerboard, or place it on a coloured background to be sure.

Can I make a JPG transparent?

You can use a JPG as input, but the output must be PNG or another format with an alpha channel. JPEG has no transparency, which is why the download is always PNG.

Can I make only one colour transparent, like a white box?

This tool separates subject from background with a segmentation model, not by picking a colour. For a flat white box around a logo or sticker it usually works well; for colour-key removal of a specific shade you would want a colour-based tool.