Remove the background from a photo and download the cut-out as a transparent AVIF in one step. It takes AVIF files as they are, along with JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, HEIF and HIF, and writes the subject on a full alpha channel in the format that usually produces the smallest transparent file. Three images with no signup, 25 a month with a free account, processed in memory and never saved to disk.
Drop the file in as it is: an .avif, or a JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC, HEIF or HIF. Up to 3 per batch with no signup or a free account, 25 on Seller and Pro.
The background is removed from each image and the subject is written out as an AVIF with a full alpha channel. There are no settings: one output, a transparent AVIF.
Download the cut-outs. Nothing was converted to PNG along the way, so there is no second step.
AVIF often arrives by accident. More sites serve it, saving an image from the browser then gives you an .avif, and plenty of software still will not open one. Windows 11 needs a Microsoft Store extension for AVIF previews in some setups, and many background removers either refuse the file or hand back a PNG. This page reads the .avif directly and returns an .avif. If what you actually need is a JPG copy, AVIF to JPG does that, and What is an AVIF file? explains where they come from.
AVIF stores transparency as a second, grayscale AV1 image inside the same file (AVIF specification), so the transparency is compressed with the same tools as the picture itself. On cut-outs with large transparent or soft-edged areas, that usually makes AVIF the smallest transparent option, smaller than WebP and far smaller than PNG. The gain depends on the image, so read it as usually, not always. The trade is reach: AVIF works in every current major browser, but older apps and some image libraries still show a transparent AVIF on black.
On the web, serve it inside a <picture> element with a WebP or PNG fallback, and every current browser picks the smallest file it can display (browser support). Outside the browser, support is thinner: some viewers and thumbnail generators do not read the alpha channel, and marketplaces generally re-encode uploads as JPEG, which flattens any transparency. For a listing, use the WebP background remover or ask Magic Flow in the web app to "remove the background and put it on a white background". If a cut-out turns black or white somewhere, Do WebP and AVIF support transparency? covers the causes.
The built-in tools work on one image at a time and none of them writes a transparent AVIF: Paint's Remove background on Windows 11 saves the cut-out as PNG, Preview's Remove Background on a Mac converts the image to PNG, and lifting a subject in iPhone Photos gives you a copied cut-out. Turning any of those into an AVIF is a separate conversion. This page does it in one step, for a batch, and accepts the AVIF those tools may not open.
| Format | Transparency | File size | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| AVIF | Yes | Usually the smallest | Modern sites with a fallback |
| WebP | Yes | Small | The widest support for a transparent file on the web |
| PNG | Yes | Large | Print, archive masters, older editors |
| JPEG | No | Small | Not for cut-outs: the background is flattened |
Background removal is included on every plan, Free and the Day Pass too. Seller and Pro accounts process up to 25 files per batch at up to 75MB each, and a Day Pass gives you 100 uploads in 24 hours for $2 with no account. From an AI agent, use the hosted or local MCP server; from code, the REST API:
curl -X POST "https://api.mochify.app/v1/squish?removeBackground=true&type=avif" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $MOCHIFY_KEY" \
--data-binary @product.avif \
-o product-cutout.avifFiles travel over HTTPS to api.mochify.app, are processed in memory and discarded. Full parameter reference in the API documentation.
Also available