head to head · open source
rembg vs PhotoEditor
rembg has 24,796 GitHub stars, 2,423 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. PhotoEditor has 4,509 stars, 1,049 forks, 57 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. rembg leads on adoption by 450% (24,796 vs 4,509 stars). rembg is written in Python under MIT; PhotoEditor is written in Kotlin under MIT. rembg has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, PhotoEditor 23%. PhotoEditor 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 | PhotoEditor | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 4.5K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-09-08 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| 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 PhotoEditor if
- You want the PhotoEditor feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and PhotoEditor 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 PhotoEditor
PhotoEditor is an open source Kotlin library for Android that adds paint, text, filter, emoji, and sticker editing directly inside an app's own image workflow, and it is aimed at Android developers who need story style or social editing features without building that stack themselves.
read the full PhotoEditor overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is rembg or PhotoEditor more popular?
rembg has 24,796 GitHub stars and PhotoEditor has 4,509. rembg has the larger community by that measure.
Are rembg and PhotoEditor free?
Both are open source. rembg is licensed under MIT and PhotoEditor under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rembg and PhotoEditor?
rembg is written in Python and PhotoEditor in Kotlin. 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 PhotoEditor?
Choose rembg if you want the larger community (24,796 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose PhotoEditor if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.