head to head · open source
rembg vs pho
rembg has 24,847 GitHub stars, 2,421 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. pho has 1,165 stars, 95 forks, 55 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. rembg leads on adoption by 2,033% (24,847 vs 1,165 stars). rembg is written in Python under MIT; pho is written in Dart under GPL-3.0. rembg has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, pho 8%. 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.
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Side by side
| rembg | pho | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Dart |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-08-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 95 |
| 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 pho if
- You want the pho feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You evaluated both and pho fits your workflow better
About rembg
Rembg is an MIT licensed Python tool for removing image backgrounds, usable as a CLI, a Python library, an HTTP server, or a Docker container, and aimed at developers, designers, and automated image pipelines that need background removal without depending on a hosted service.
read the full rembg overview →
About pho
Pho is a serverless photo gallery and synchronization application, written in Dart with Flutter and an embedded Go backend, that lets people browse the photos on their phone and incrementally back them up to network storage they already own, and it is aimed at Android and iOS users who want to replace the built in gallery app.
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Frequently asked questions
Is rembg or pho more popular?
rembg has 24,847 GitHub stars and pho has 1,165. rembg has the larger community by that measure.
Are rembg and pho free?
Both are open source. rembg is licensed under MIT and pho under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rembg and pho?
rembg is written in Python and pho in Dart. 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 pho?
Choose rembg if you want the larger community (24,847 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose pho if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.