head to head · open source
rembg vs chafa
rembg has 25,442 GitHub stars, 2,484 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. chafa has 5,398 stars, 125 forks, 54 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. rembg leads on adoption by 371% (25,442 vs 5,398 stars). rembg is written in Python under MIT; chafa is written in C under LGPL-3.0. rembg has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, chafa 2%. rembg was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (image-processing), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| rembg | chafa | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 5.4K |
| License | MIT | LGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-06 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 125 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick rembg if
- You weight community size — 25K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick chafa if
- You want the chafa feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and chafa fits your workflow better
About rembg
Rembg is a tool to remove image backgrounds. It can be used as a CLI, Python library, HTTP server, or Docker container. Sponsors PhotoRoom Remove Background API Fast and accurate background remover API If this project has helped you, please consider making a donation. Requirements bash pip install "rembg[gpu]" for library pip install "rembg[gpu,cli]" for library + cli bash pip install "rembg[rocm]" for library pip install "rembg[rocm,cli]" for library + cli shell rembg help shell rembg help shell curl s rembg i output.png shell rembg i path/to/input.png path/to/output.png shell rembg i path/to/input.png →…
read the full rembg overview →
About chafa
    About • Gallery • Packages • Development About Chafa is a command line utility that converts image data, including animated GIFs, into graphics formats or ANSI/Unicode character art suitable for display in a terminal. It has broad feature support, allowing it to be used on devices ranging from historical teleprinters to modern terminal emulators and everything in between. The core functionality is provided by a C library with a public, well documented API. Both library and frontend tools are covered by the Lesser GPL license, version 3 or later (LGPLv3+). The official web pages and C API…
read the full chafa overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is rembg or chafa more popular?
rembg has 25,442 GitHub stars and chafa has 5,398. rembg has the larger community by that measure.
Are rembg and chafa free?
Both are open source. rembg is licensed under MIT and chafa under LGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rembg and chafa?
rembg is written in Python and chafa in C. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, rembg or chafa?
Choose rembg if you want the larger community (25,442 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose chafa if its feature set, stack or LGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.