A Cloudinary API alternative.

Cloudinary does background removal as one transformation among many, so if your images already live there it's one URL parameter, delivered by its CDN. Each removal counts as 75 transformations, which makes it expensive if removal is all you need. Verbier costs less per image at both volumes below and returns the result straight away instead of storing it.

Feature	Verbier	Cloudinary
Free allowance
Free allowance	50 images a month at full size, no watermark, no card	Free plan: 25 credits a month, shared with storage and delivery source
Per image, about 1,000 a month
Per image, about 1,000 a month	$0.009 (Starter: $9 for 1,000 a month)	$0.099 on Plus ($99 a month; room for about 2,900 removals if nothing else uses credits) source
Per image, about 10,000 a month
Per image, about 10,000 a month	$0.0049 (Pro: $49 for 10,000 a month)	$0.055 on Advanced Extra ($549 a month; room for about 17,500 removals) source
Largest result
Largest result	2,048 px on the long side by default, up to 8,192 px (about 45 MP) with max_side; 2× upscale for small photos	Scaled to fit 6,144 × 6,144 px for removal source
Many images per call
Many images per call	Up to 32 images per call	One per URL; the first request can return 423 while it works source
Output
Output	Transparent WebP or PNG, or flat on a colour or photo	Any format Cloudinary delivers, set in the URL source
Beyond the cut-out
Beyond the cut-out	Drop, contact and cast shadows, speck cleanup, 2× upscale, trim, backgrounds with colour matching	Fine edges, drop shadows, backgrounds, AI backgrounds (230 transformations), upscaling, CDN delivery source
Your images
Your images	Not kept. Only counts and timings are logged	Stored in your account until you delete them; in the US unless you're on Enterprise source

Cloudinary figures from Cloudinary's own pages, checked on 23 September 2026. Prices change; follow the source links for today's.

Choose Cloudinary if

Your images already live in Cloudinary
You want removal, resizing and CDN delivery in one URL
You want hosting and delivery from the same bill

Choose Verbier if

Background removal is what you need, at a lower price per image
You want the result back in the response, not stored
You want up to 32 images in one call, or results over 6,144 px
You want shadows that sit the subject on the floor, or lighting matched to a new background

Trying Verbier

Send one request per image, with the photo as a URL or base64 and your key from the dashboard as a Bearer token. The first 50 images each month are free.

curl -X POST "https://api.verbier.dev/v1/cutout?raw=1" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VERBIER_KEY" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"image_url": "https://example.com/photo.jpg"}' -o cutout.webp

Questions

Is Cloudinary's background removal add-on going away?

Cloudinary's docs say the AI Background Removal add-on is being retired and accounts created after 1 February 2026 can't subscribe to it. Removal is now the e_background_removal transformation, which counts as 75 transformations per image.

Is Verbier cheaper than Cloudinary for background removal?

For removal alone, yes, at about 1,000 and about 10,000 images a month (prices checked 23 September 2026). Cloudinary's plans also pay for hosting, other transformations and CDN delivery, which Verbier doesn't do; if you use those, compare the whole bill.

How do I switch from Cloudinary to Verbier?

Point your code at POST /v1/cutout with your Verbier key as a Bearer token, and send the photo as image_url or image_b64 in JSON. Add ?raw=1 to get the image file back, or leave it off for JSON with the image base64-encoded. Shadows, backgrounds and cropping are options in the same request, and the first 50 images a month are free.

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