Need to make a digital cut-out, and quickly? We’re sharing the best five free online image editors that make removing image backgrounds a breeze.
Graphic designers and photo pros can definitely benefit from spending money on photo editing tools, but most freelancers, small businesses, and casual creatives can get by with one of the surprisingly effective free online tools below. These easy-to-use tools are great for touching up images, building basic ads, and making collages. One of the more common needs for anyone undertaking those tasks is the ability to remove the background in an image. Here are five of our favorite free online image editing platforms, each perfect for creating transparent image backgrounds.
1. GIMP
Highly regarded as one of the top free image editors, GIMP offers an extensive selection of image editing tools. Compatible with Mac iOS, Windows, and Linux, it includes all the standards users expect from image editing software: layers, masks, levels, curves, customizable brushes, gradients, noise reduction, and more. This thing is seriously robust. Plus, since GIMP is open source, all kinds of new tools and plugins pop up all the time. Here’s a quick tutorial on how to use it for background removal below.
GIMP is similar to Photoshop in its powerful tools menu. For some, that might be overkill. Removing the background can be both time consuming and quick finicky. If you’re looking for a quicker and more intuitive tool, continue reading.
2. Shutterstock Editor
Shutterstock Editor is a great online resource for editing images. It puts millions of stock photos, vectors, and illustrations within a click’s reach, and offers instant access to layer workflows, filters, templates, typefaces, emojis, and commonly used canvas sizes used by popular social outlets, blog platforms, and presentation software.
The latest upgrade to Editor: the new Image Background Remover.
This easy-to-use tool identifies objects based on contrast and leaves you with an image on a transparent background that can be used on a new canvas or design.
The beauty of Editor’s new background remover tool is how easy it is to use. No lassos or selection tools that require a steady hand and lots of clicking. Instead, the app does the work for you by guessing what you want removed. Using this template, you can refine the selection further with simple brushstrokes to add or remove content from your selection.
Take a look at it in action below, and then go give it a try yourself.
3. Fotor
Boasting more than 300 million users, Fotor is revered for its stellar performance and easy-to-use interface that offers users quick, painless ways to touch up photos, create YouTube thumbnails, and remove backgrounds. While not as tool-dense as GIMP, Fotor is still a good free tool for folks who don’t need the bells and whistles of premium photo editing platforms. Here’s how to remove backgrounds in Fotor, straight from the company itself.
4. Pixlr X
Browser-based photo editor Pixlr has been a popular alternative to Photoshop for a while, thanks to the one-click functionality, layer support, and (unlike Fotor) a wide selection of brushes and drawing tools. Additionally, Pixlr’s lasso and magic wand tools offer a fast, hassle-free way to cut images out from backgrounds. Take a look at the steps on the Pixlr blog, or check out the how-to clip below.
5. Befunky
Befunky is a fantastic free photo editor for people who don’t really need the deepest parts of the editing toolkit. While it may lack some of the features found in the previously mentioned programs, Befunky more than makes up for its functionality gaps with intuitive UI, design-centric tools, and performance. If you’re looking for something simple and sleek for your social media story needs, Befunky is a solid choice. Best of all, they just upgraded their background removal tools.
