What is Photoroom?
Photoroom (Y Combinator Summer 2020) is a photo editor for people who sell things online. It removes backgrounds, places products in AI-generated scenes with matching shadows, puts clothes on AI models, and resizes images for each marketplace, on phone, web or through an API. Paid apps start with Pro at $12.99 a month or $89.99 a year.
The API charges $0.02 per image for background removal and $0.10 for full AI editing, and Photoroom says it processes more than 3 million images a day for customers including Klarna, Wix and Decathlon. In February 2024 it raised a $43M Series B at a $500M valuation, when it reported 30 million active users and 150 million downloads.
How much does Photoroom cost?
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Personal, non-commercial use |
| Pro | $12.99/month ($89.99/year) | 8,000 AI credits, 1,000 exports up to 2K |
| Max | $34.99/month ($250/year) | 25,000 AI credits, 3,000 exports, video generator, Shopify |
| Ultra | $99/month ($990/year) | 75,000 AI credits, 10,000 exports, 4K |
| API | $0.02 or $0.10 per image | Background removal or full image editing |
| Enterprise | Custom | Annual, 200K images minimum |
App: Free (personal use); Pro $12.99/month or $89.99/year (8,000 AI credits, 1,000 exports); Max $34.99/month or $250/year (25,000 credits, 3,000 exports); Ultra $99/month or $990/year (75,000 credits, 10,000 exports, 4K). API: $0.02/image background removal, $0.10/image editing. Enterprise from 200K images a year.
Is Photoroom worth it?
Selling online means photographing every item on a clean background, and doing it again for every marketplace that wants a different size.
Photoroom does that job on your phone. It cuts the product out, drops it onto white or into a generated scene with a believable shadow, and exports the sizes eBay, Etsy or Shopify want. Clothing sellers can put garments on AI models or a ghost mannequin. Background removal and retouching do not use credits, within fair-use limits, so the everyday work is effectively unlimited on any paid plan.
For developers the API is the bigger story. Background removal costs $0.02 an image and accepts the same parameters as remove.bg, so switching is a change of address and key. Photoroom's own latency test put it at about 450 milliseconds against roughly 600 for remove.bg; treat that as the vendor's own figure. Each paid app plan also includes API credit worth the plan's price.
The catch: the free app is for personal use only, so a business has to pay from day one. Exports top out at 2K resolution until Ultra at $99 a month, and the yearly discount varies a lot by plan, from about 42% on Pro to about 17% on Ultra. API plans come in fixed monthly blocks that do not roll over, and Photoroom's API page does not say how long it keeps your images or whether it trains on them.
Our take: for a reseller or small brand, Pro at $89.99 a year, about $7.50 a month, is the obvious first purchase; Canva is the better buy only if most of your time goes on social posts rather than catalogue shots.
Where it earns its place
A vintage clothing reseller listing 300 items a month on Depop and eBay
Get every listing photo on a clean background in marketplace sizes
Pro at $89.99 a year gives 1,000 exports a month and unlimited background removal; AI fashion models come out of the 8,000 monthly credits.
An engineer at a second-hand marketplace
Clean up every seller upload automatically
Call the Remove Background API on upload: 50,000 images a month at $0.02 is $1,000. Switching from remove.bg means changing the endpoint and key, since the parameters match.
A 10-person apparel brand's e-commerce manager
Produce on-model and lifestyle shots without studio days
Max at $34.99 a month adds the video generator and Shopify integration with 25,000 credits; 4K output for print or hero banners needs Ultra at $99.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Install the iOS or Android app or open the web app, snap or upload a product, and export; API keys come from the developer dashboard with 10 free production calls and 1,000 watermarked sandbox calls a month.
- Integrations
- Shopify (Max and up), a plain HTTP API with an x-api-key header, an MCP connector for Claude, and remove.bg-compatible parameters.
- Data and privacy
- SOC 2 Type 2 and GDPR compliant with SSO available; the API page does not state image retention or training use.
- Cost at scale
- 50,000 background removals a month cost $1,000 on the API; the same volume with full AI editing at $0.10 is $5,000. Above 200,000 images a year, Enterprise pricing applies.
- Limits
- Image Editing API accepts files up to 30MB and 5,000px; background removal up to 50MB and 6,000px. Rate limits are not published.
What's good
- Background removal and retouch do not use credits on paid plans
- API at $0.02 an image, compatible with remove.bg parameters
- Up to 50 seats on every paid plan
- SOC 2 Type 2 and GDPR compliance
- Batch editing and marketplace-sized exports
What's not
- Free plan is personal, non-commercial use only
- Exports capped at 2K below Ultra
- API image blocks do not roll over
- Image retention and training terms not stated on the API page
- Free trial only on yearly Pro and Max
Best for
Online sellers, marketplaces and e-commerce teams who need clean, consistent product photos at volume.
Photoroom alternatives
Photoroom: common questions
- Is Photoroom worth it?
- Photoroom is the quickest way from a phone snap to a sellable product photo, and its API is cheap enough to clean up every upload on a marketplace. We rate it 4.3 out of 5.
- How much does Photoroom cost?
- App: Free (personal use); Pro $12.99/month or $89.99/year (8,000 AI credits, 1,000 exports); Max $34.99/month or $250/year (25,000 credits, 3,000 exports); Ultra $99/month or $990/year (75,000 credits, 10,000 exports, 4K). API: $0.02/image background removal, $0.10/image editing. Enterprise from 200K images a year.
- What are the downsides of Photoroom?
- Free plan is personal, non-commercial use only; exports capped at 2K below Ultra; aPI image blocks do not roll over; image retention and training terms not stated on the API page; free trial only on yearly Pro and Max.
- Who is Photoroom best for?
- Online sellers, marketplaces and e-commerce teams who need clean, consistent product photos at volume.
- How much does Photoroom cost for a team or in production?
- 50,000 background removals a month cost $1,000 on the API; the same volume with full AI editing at $0.10 is $5,000. Above 200,000 images a year, Enterprise pricing applies.
- Is Photoroom safe for company data?
- SOC 2 Type 2 and GDPR compliant with SSO available; the API page does not state image retention or training use.
- What are the best Photoroom alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are Canva, Adobe Firefly and Recraft.
Answers checked Oct 26, 2026.
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