is there an app that changes the background of a photo?

Which one suits you depends on what the photo is for, and each choice gives something up.

If you want it free without a watermark

Pixelcut is an AI photo editor whose background remover replaces the background with a colour or an AI-generated scene. Its $0 plan includes limited background removal and free export without a watermark. The app has a batch editor for up to 100 photos at once, though the pricing page lists batch editing under Pro. It runs on iOS, Android and the web.

The cost is the word limited. Unlimited background removal comes with Pro, which also adds HD exports, 600 AI credits a month and a commercial licence, so free exports are not HD. Pro is US$8 a month billed yearly, or US$10 billed monthly.

If you sell products online

Photoroom is an AI photo editor built mainly for product photos. It removes and replaces backgrounds, batch edits product photos and sizes images for Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, Vinted and Instagram. Its AI Backgrounds can swap in a studio setup, a lifestyle scene or a custom backdrop.

What you give up is clarity on the free side. Photoroom's own FAQ says you can get started for free, but the pricing page does not spell out the free plan's limits, and its background remover page says upgrading adds high-resolution exports. Pro is US$7.50 a month billed yearly and gives 8,000 AI credits and 1,000 exports a month, and AI Backgrounds use those credits, so a custom scene uses up part of your allowance even on a paid plan.

If you just need a quick cut-out on the web before December

remove.bg is a background remover on the web and in apps for Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. You upload an image on the website, remove the background, then refine it or add a new one, and it can generate a new backdrop without a prompt. Preview images on the website are free for as long as it stays open.

The bigger catch is timing. remove.bg's own banner says its background removal is moving to Canva and the standalone website will no longer be available from 1 December 2026 at 9:00am CET. Its FAQ adds that the Photoshop plugin and its other integrations and plugins are discontinued the same day, points desktop app users to Canva, and says unused pay as you go credits expire then, so buy only what you will use before December. Until then, free previews are not full resolution, and full-resolution cutouts take 1 credit each. Pay as you go starts at €3 for 3 credits, shown to us in euros because our request was located in Finland, so the UK price may differ. A subscription's credits do not carry over month to month, and remove.bg says subscriptions end automatically on 1 December 2026, with a pro-rata refund for unused annual time.

If the photo is going into a design

Canva is a design and photo editing app with a background eraser, templates, filters and collage tools in one place, so you can cut out the subject and put it straight into a design, post or collage without moving between apps. remove.bg's own FAQ names Canva's Background Remover as its replacement and says it uses the same technology. It runs on iOS, Mac and the web.

The gap in our checking is that we could not confirm whether the background eraser is free or Pro only, because Canva's website blocked us. The app is free to download with in-app purchases, and the UK App Store lists Canva Pro at £12.99 a month or £99.99 a year.

When paying is worth it

Pay when you need many full-quality images. Pixelcut Pro is US$8 a month billed yearly, or US$10 monthly, for unlimited background removal, and Photoroom Pro is US$7.50 a month billed yearly. For an occasional photo, Pixelcut's free plan or remove.bg's free previews may be enough, as long as you can accept limited removals or preview resolution. If you only need a handful of full-resolution cutouts before December, remove.bg's pay as you go credits avoid a subscription, but any you have not used expire on 1 December 2026.

Prices are the messy part. Several are shown in US dollars or euros on the vendors' own sites, while the UK App Store shows pounds, so the figure you see depends on where you look. Canva Pro, for example, is £12.99 a month or £99.99 a year there.

remove.bg says that if you run out of credits, you cannot remove more backgrounds until your next billing cycle, apart from free previews. There are no overage charges, but you are locked out until it resets.

Photoroom's UK App Store listing shows in-app purchases from £4.99 to £249.99 with periods not stated. That is a wide spread, so check the plan and the billing period before you subscribe.