head to head · open source
rembg vs nomacs
rembg has 25,301 GitHub stars, 2,467 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped yesterday. nomacs has 3,288 stars, 212 forks, 337 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. rembg leads on adoption by 669% (25,301 vs 3,288 stars). rembg is written in Python under MIT; nomacs is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. rembg has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, nomacs 6%. rembg was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| rembg | nomacs | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 3.3K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.5K | ⑂ 212 |
| 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 nomacs if
- You want the nomacs feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and nomacs 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 nomacs
nomacs Image Lounge 🍸 nomacs is a free, open source image viewer, which supports multiple platforms. You can use it for viewing all common image formats including RAW and psd images. nomacs is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3 and available for Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Mac, Haiku, and OS/2. Downloads Latest stable release Latest beta release Continuous builds (Windows) Continuous builds (Linux,macOS) Get the Source Build nomacs (Windows) We assume you have an IDE (i.e. Visual Studio), python, git, and Qt installed. Get all dependencies: Project folders in 3rd party will not be empty anymore. Now…
read the full nomacs overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Photo & Video Editors projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Photo & Video Editors field.
Frequently asked questions
Is rembg or nomacs more popular?
rembg has 25,301 GitHub stars and nomacs has 3,288. rembg has the larger community by that measure.
Are rembg and nomacs free?
Both are open source. rembg is licensed under MIT and nomacs under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rembg and nomacs?
rembg is written in Python and nomacs 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 nomacs?
Choose rembg if you want the larger community (25,301 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose nomacs if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.