Open-Weight Model vs API Model#

22 examples. Quantitative metrics (MGE, MAE, Connectivity) require ground-truth alpha mattes. Visual comparison is below; metric scores are shown as ? until ground truth is added.

Original photo: alexander dummer ncyGJJ0TSLM
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: alexander dummer ncyGJJ0TSLM
API Model alpha matte: alexander dummer ncyGJJ0TSLM
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Alexander Dummer on Unsplash

Original photo: andreas rasmussen wdhQcnLlXbU
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: andreas rasmussen wdhQcnLlXbU
API Model alpha matte: andreas rasmussen wdhQcnLlXbU
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Andreas Rasmussen on Unsplash

Original photo: conor samuel T8p7Ak4HjF4
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: conor samuel T8p7Ak4HjF4
API Model alpha matte: conor samuel T8p7Ak4HjF4
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Conor Samuel on Unsplash

Original photo: daniel lincoln iK8t56RS4g8
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: daniel lincoln iK8t56RS4g8
API Model alpha matte: daniel lincoln iK8t56RS4g8
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Daniel Lincoln on Unsplash

Original photo: dibakar roy n4JwyvrWqj8
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: dibakar roy n4JwyvrWqj8
API Model alpha matte: dibakar roy n4JwyvrWqj8
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Dibakar Roy on Unsplash

Original photo: hulki okan tabak OvYzpw5x0zQ
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: hulki okan tabak OvYzpw5x0zQ
API Model alpha matte: hulki okan tabak OvYzpw5x0zQ
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Hulki Okan Tabak on Unsplash

Original photo: ilja tulit Rdy1AqzqcMU
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: ilja tulit Rdy1AqzqcMU
API Model alpha matte: ilja tulit Rdy1AqzqcMU
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Ilja Tulit on Unsplash

Original photo: ivan dostal z6ZPLcDTKOY
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: ivan dostal z6ZPLcDTKOY
API Model alpha matte: ivan dostal z6ZPLcDTKOY
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Ivan Dostal on Unsplash

Original photo: jonny clow CCr lCoNL5U
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: jonny clow CCr lCoNL5U
API Model alpha matte: jonny clow CCr lCoNL5U
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Jonny Clow on Unsplash

Original photo: mahmoud gad DcRNYqiRRJU
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: mahmoud gad DcRNYqiRRJU
API Model alpha matte: mahmoud gad DcRNYqiRRJU
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Mahmoud Gad on Unsplash

Original photo: niko tsviliov qW8WugAYC7g
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: niko tsviliov qW8WugAYC7g
API Model alpha matte: niko tsviliov qW8WugAYC7g
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Niko Tsviliov on Unsplash

Original photo: 81miqELvCbL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: 81miqELvCbL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_
API Model alpha matte: 81miqELvCbL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
Original photo: alvan nee rpkBHHu2TyE
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: alvan nee rpkBHHu2TyE
API Model alpha matte: alvan nee rpkBHHu2TyE
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Alvan Nee on Unsplash

Original photo: andrew wang sKQlpr stE4
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: andrew wang sKQlpr stE4
API Model alpha matte: andrew wang sKQlpr stE4
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Andrew Wang on Unsplash

Original photo: carlo sierra Q9oW6Xb8VtM
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: carlo sierra Q9oW6Xb8VtM
API Model alpha matte: carlo sierra Q9oW6Xb8VtM
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Carlo Sierra on Unsplash

Original photo: elisabeth arnold FRHGHpK_9D8
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: elisabeth arnold FRHGHpK_9D8
API Model alpha matte: elisabeth arnold FRHGHpK_9D8
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Elisabeth Arnold on Unsplash

Original photo: lars bo nielsen V9r37JFKQuo
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: lars bo nielsen V9r37JFKQuo
API Model alpha matte: lars bo nielsen V9r37JFKQuo
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Lars Bo Nielsen on Unsplash

Original photo: mayer tawfik nUC4Xyhq bc
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: mayer tawfik nUC4Xyhq bc
API Model alpha matte: mayer tawfik nUC4Xyhq bc
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Mayer Tawfik on Unsplash

Original photo: norbert braun ldGoVkxopwI
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: norbert braun ldGoVkxopwI
API Model alpha matte: norbert braun ldGoVkxopwI
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Norbert Braun on Unsplash

Original photo: pieter Qa8Y_W4PORw
Not Available
Open-Weight Model alpha matte: pieter Qa8Y_W4PORw
API Model alpha matte: pieter Qa8Y_W4PORw
Original
Ground Truth
Open-Weight Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?
API Model
MGE
?
MAE
?
Conn.
?

Photo by Pieter on Unsplash

Methodology

  • Alpha mattes are grayscale masks encoding per-pixel foreground probability. They capture fine edge detail (hair, fur, semi-transparent regions) that binary masks discard.
  • Metrics are computed by comparing predicted mattes against a ground-truth reference: MGE measures edge sharpness, MAE measures pixel-level accuracy, and Connectivity penalises fragmented foreground regions. All three are lower-is-better.
  • Scores are shown as ? when no ground-truth matte is available for that image. See the alpha matting evaluation benchmark for details on the evaluation methodology.

Photo Credits

Source images are courtesy of the photographers below via Unsplash.

Technical Specifications#

FeatureOpen-Weight ModelAPI Model (Cloud)
StatusActive (Open Source)Active (Cloud API)
AvailabilityApache 2.0API only
Pixel AccuracyExcellentBest Overall
Edge QualityExcellentSuperior
HardwareCPU / GPUAWS Inferentia (dedicated AI chip)
PrivacyImages never leave your computerServer-side processing (deleted after use)
Free CreditsUnlimited (run locally)50 credits on signup
Recommended UsePrivacy-sensitive, local processingHighest quality requirements, production API

Installation#

The Open-Weight Model runs locally; the cloud API is accessed via REST.

Open-Weight Model

Run instantly with Docker

docker run -p 80:80 withoutbg/app:latest
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Python

Install via pip

pip install withoutbg
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Cloud API

API Request

Process images via the cloud API

api
curl -X POST https://api.withoutbg.com/v1/remove-background \ -H 'Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' \ -F 'image=@input.jpg' \ -o output.png
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See the full API documentation for integration details.

Get Started with 50 Free Credits

Sign up and receive 50 free credits to test the cloud API. No credit card required.