6 best object removal tools for clean photos

Cutting out unwanted people, logos, or clutter from photos is now something you can do in a few seconds with AI object removal. 

This guide compares the best object removal tools for photos (from quick, free photo object removal apps to ecommerce-grade services) and helps you pick the right one for your use case.

Quick comparison: best photo object removal tools at a glance

Before we dive into each tool in detail, here’s a brief overview of where they shine for object removal in photos:

• Claid: best for ecommerce. AI object removal integrated into a full product-photo suite (background removal, AI Photoshoot and AI Fashion Models, outpainting, and other tools), ideal for consistent product images at scale.
• Photoroom: best for mobile marketplace sellers. A phone-first object removal and background editor with templates for Amazon, eBay, and social listings.
• Cleanup.pictures: best free-in-browser option. Super simple web-based AI object removal, perfect for quick social or one-off fixes (with a resolution cap on the free plan).
• YouCam: best for casual edits and selfies. Combines photo retouching and object removal with lots of beauty filters and effects for everyday phone photos.
• TouchRetouch: best mobile retouch toolkit. Focused on cleanup (object, line, mesh, blemish and background distractions) favored by serious mobile photographers.
• Adobe Photoshop: best for pro-level control. Industry-standard remove tools, content-aware fill and generative AI for complex, pixel-perfect object removal work.

1. Claid, best for product photos

Claid is an AI product photography suite designed specifically for online sellers and marketplaces. Its core features are centered around content generation: creating product images, on-model shots, and videos.

For object removal, you need to choose the Erase Brush and paint over unwanted objects (props, other products, people). The tool will fill the area with realistic background and lighting, reconstructing the scene and preserving the main product.

The tool also lets you control the smoothness of AI inpainting: by choosing the Feathering percentage, you can specify if changes should stay strictly within the selected area or not. 

Key features

• Generative eraser for price tags, stands, random props, backdrop wrinkles, and dirt
• Multiple AI Photoshoot modes for consistent angles and framing
• AI outpainting for expanding images to fit desired dimensions
• Automated workflows via APIs
• Specialized upscalers (for people, products, text) to keep labels and textures sharp after edits
• Shadow generator to restore natural shadows after heavy retouching

Best for

• Ecommerce brands and marketplaces cleaning up large volumes of product photos
• Teams wanting a single platform for object removal + AI backgrounds
• Anyone who wants object removal baked into a repeatable workflow

Pricing

• Web app and APIs use a credit-based model
• 50 credits are available for free, while paid subscriptions start at $9 per month

Pros

• Purpose-built for ecommerce product photography, not general casual edits
• Fast, brush-based AI object removal that blends with the original background
• API makes it easy to bake object removal and enhancement into backend workflows
• Free trial lets you test real ecommerce scenarios before committing

Cons

• Overkill if you only edit the occasional selfie or travel photo
• Web-first experience with no mobile app for casual edits

2. Photoroom, best mobile object remover app

Photoroom is a hugely popular AI product photo editor, especially among resellers and small brands. Its AI retouch and object removal tools let you paint over people, text, or foreign objects and clean them from your image in seconds. 

Alongside object removal, Photoroom is built to push out marketplace-ready images: backgrounds, shadows, and templates for Amazon, Shopify, eBay, Depop, etc.

Key features

• AI object removal tool that erases distractions in product scenes
• Strong background removal and background generation tailored for ecommerce
• Ready-made templates for marketplaces and social ads
• Team and brand kit features to keep visuals consistent

Best for

• Small brands on Amazon, Etsy, eBay, and similar marketplaces
• Social sellers who want a photo object removal app plus layouts and templates
• Non-designers who need good-looking product images quickly

Pricing

• Free plan includes basic object removal and background tools, but there are export limitations and watermarks
• Paid subscriptions start at $4.99 per month

Pros

• One of the most polished object removal apps on iPhone and Android
• Feature set tuned for product photos and social selling,
• Templates make images feel “designed” without hiring a designer

Cons

• Not aimed at non-product photography, so travel or event photos fit less well
• Full power is behind a subscription
• Less pixel-level control than Photoshop or a dedicated pro retouch workflow

3. Cleanup.pictures, best free browser-based object removal

Cleanup.pictures is a simple web-based AI image object removal tool. It focuses on one job: it lets you remove objects, people, text, or defects from photos using AI inpainting. 

You upload, brush over the problem area, and get the result. It’s ideal for quick and easy fixes on a laptop.

Key features

• Brush-based AI inpainting for removing objects, people, text and defects 
• Simple drag-and-drop upload; works on desktop and mobile web
• HD exports and higher resolutions on paid plans
• Optional integrations via related services (e.g., Pixelbin) for developers

Best for

• Users who want quick free object removal without creating an account
• People testing AI image object removal before committing to a heavier tool
• Bloggers, marketers, and small teams who need occasional cleanup

Pricing

• Freemium with limits on export quality (only up to 720p)
• Paid plans start at $3 per month

Pros

• Very low friction: visit site, erase objects, leave
• Strong quality on simple and medium-complexity scenes
• Works across platforms and devices

Cons

• Free tier is restricted, so it’s not ideal if you need high-res commercial images all the time
• No batch processing or automated workflows
• Can struggle with extremely busy backgrounds or large removed regions

4. YouCam, best casual object removal app

YouCam is a mainstream photo editor that has a strong AI object removal feature focused on lifestyle photos and portraits. The mobile app (YouCam Perfect) and the online editor both let you brush over unwanted people, clutter and text, then rebuild the background automatically.

It sits in a middle ground between casual filters and more serious retouching, and it’s friendly for non-technical users.

Key features

• Simple AI object remover: tap or brush to erase foreign objects, people, and clutter 
• Beauty and retouch tools (skin smoothing, body reshaping, filters, etc.)
• Background remover, blur, and extension aimed at selfies and casual photography

Best for

• Phone-first users who want a photo object removal app with extras
• Social media managers who need to clean photos before posting
• Users who want one tool for photo retouch, object removal, and basic design

Pricing

• Free tier with daily usage limits and some locked features (in the web editor, you get 5 free AI credits)
• Paid subscriptions start at $9.99 per month
• You can also pay for a certain number of credits

Pros

• Very accessible to beginners
• Good balance of power and simplicity for everyday photo object removal
• Free tier is enough for light use

Cons

• Free tiers have limits and in-app upsells that some users find annoying
• Not designed for large product catalogs or strict brand guidelines
• Less control for tricky scenes

5. TouchRetouch

TouchRetouch is a mobile photo retouching app that’s centered on removing unwanted stuff from photos. It’s built almost entirely around removing unwanted objects, lines, blemishes and distractions rather than being a full all-in-one editor.

The app combines classic tools (object remover, clone stamp) with newer AI features, background removal and 360° photo editing, letting you clean up everything from random people in the background to power lines and fences.

Key features

• Brush, lasso and eraser tools to mark unwanted objects
• One-tap blemish remover for wrinkles, pimples, and skin imperfections while keeping results natural
• Dedicated modes for power lines and fencing/mesh, automatically detecting and erasing them from photos. 
• Clone nearby areas to fix artifacts, shadows, or glare with fine control

Best for

• Enthusiast photographers using iPhone or Android
• Travel and street photography where cables, signs and strangers keep creeping into frame
• Anyone who prefers a focused photo retouch and object removal workflow over big multi-purpose apps

Pricing

• All tools are available for free but only one photo export per day
• Mobile paid subscriptions start at $3.33 per month

Pros

• One of the most refined mobile object removal experiences, focused specifically on clean-up rather than general editing 
• Excellent at removing lines, meshes, and small objects where many simple apps struggle 
• Works on iOS, Android, and Mac, with consistent tools across devices

Cons

• Not ideal if you also need text, layout, or graphics tools
• No ecommerce automation, templates, or AI backgrounds at scale
• No built-in catalog or batch processing; not ideal for ecommerce teams

6. Adobe Photoshop, best for pro-level object removal

Adobe Photoshop is still the industry standard for object removal from photos when you need precise control. Modern versions combine classic Content-Aware Fill with the new Remove Tool and generative AI features like Generative Fill and Expand. These make AI object removal much faster than older manual retouching workflows. 

Photoshop also has mobile versions, including a free app for phones with an optional premium tier, which means you can get Photoshop-style object removal on iPhone as well. 

Key features

• Removal  tool for high-quality object removal on complex scenes 
• Generative expand for AI-powered background reconstruction
• Full layer, mask and adjustment stack for detailed retouching
• Desktop, web and mobile versions with shared workflows

Best for

• Professional photographers, retouchers, and designers who need complete control
• Complex jobs where AI alone doesn’t cut it (composite work, tricky reflections)
• Teams that already use Creative Cloud and want object removal integrated into a broader design stack

Pricing

• Subscription through Adobe Creative Cloud
• Photoshop-only plan costs $22.99/month and has a 7-day free trial
• New smartphone Photoshop app has a free tier and a $7.99/month premium option

Pros

• Highest level of precision and flexibility for AI object removal and manual retouching
• Works on very difficult images (glass reflections, overlapping objects, etc.)
• Integrates with full Creative Cloud ecosystem for print, web, and motion graphics

Cons

• Subscription only; more expensive than most object removal apps
• Steep learning curve for new users
• Manual work is still required, especially in difficult images

How to choose the right object removal tool for your photos

Instead of just picking the top name from the app store, match the tool to your actual workflow. Here are the major things to consider:

1. Frequency and volume

• If you edit a few photos per week, any decent free photo object removal app such as YouCam or Cleanup.pictures will cover you.
• If you work with dozens or hundreds of images per week, especially product shots, you should think in terms of workflows and automation, not just one-off edits. That is where Claid or a Photoroom stack makes more sense.

2. Single images vs catalog workflows

• Single images, low volume: Cleanup.pictures in the browser, TouchRetouch on mobile, or YouCam for casual edits.
• Catalogs and SKUs: Claid is built for this. On top of object removal, you get background removal, outpainting, and upscaling, and everything can run at scale through an API. 

3. Complexity of your scenes

• Plain studio backgrounds and simple textures: nearly any modern AI object removal will work.
• Busy scenes with foliage, crowds, reflections, or intricate patterns: you want tools with more control and better models, such as Claid, TouchRetouch, or Photoshop.

4. Platform and device

• iPhone and iPad: YouCam, TouchRetouch, and Photoroom all work well.
• Android: YouCam and TouchRetouch, cover most needs.
• Desktop web: Cleanup.pictures, Claid, Photoroom, and YouCam’s online editor give you good coverage without installing anything.

5. Control vs automation

• If you want to art-direct each pixel (creative composites, campaign images), Photoshop plus sometimes a mobile helper like TouchRetouch is the way to go.
• If you care more about speed and consistency than about bespoke retouching, Claid will save more time.

6. Budget

• Free-first stack: Cleanup.pictures or a free tier of YouCam.
• Pay-when-it-pays-off: TouchRetouch one-time purchase; then upgrade to Claid, Adobe when you have real revenue tied to better images.
• Pro stack: Claid for catalog photos, Photoshop for hero images, and a mobile helper app for when you are on the go.

7. Data and compliance

If you process customer images or user-generated content, look at:

• Where the tool stores and processes images
• Whether you can disable training on your data
• How long images are kept on servers

SaaS products aimed at businesses usually document this clearly. Consumer-only apps are not always as transparent, so read the privacy policy before making them part of a commercial workflow.
 

FAQ

What is AI object removal in photos?

AI object removal is a form of inpainting, where a model takes your photo, sees a masked region, and predicts what should be behind that region based on surrounding pixels and learned patterns. Tools like Claid, YouCam, and Cleanup.pictures use this approach for object, text, and defect removal.

What is the difference between healing, clone, and AI object removal?

• Clone copies pixels from one part of the image and pastes them over the object.
• Healing blends copied pixels with the target area to better match texture and lighting.
• AI object removal (inpainting) generates entirely new pixels based on the surrounding context.

For small defects on flat backgrounds, all three can work. For larger or complex removals, AI-based tools usually look more natural.

What is the best overall object removal tool for photos in 2025?

• For ecommerce: Claid.ai is the strongest overall because it pairs high-quality object removal with AI Photoshoot, fashion models, and other tools designed specifically for product images. 
• For mobile marketplace sellers: Photoroom is the best object removal app on iPhone/Android with product-centric templates. 
• For quick free browser edits: Cleanup.pictures is your go-to. 
• For pro retouching: Adobe Photoshop still leads for full-control object removal. 

What’s the best free photo object removal app?

• Cleanup.pictures: unlimited edits at 720p resolution in the free plan, great for social posts. 
• YouCam Perfect: free mobile app with AI object removal for casual use. 
• Photoroom: has a free tier with object removal, but with watermarks/limits. 

Can these tools remove watermarks and logos, and is that legal?

Most AI image object removal tools can erase watermarks or logos in a few strokes. Whether you should is another matter. Removing watermarks from someone else’s image is often against terms of service and may violate copyright law. As a rule, only remove watermarks or logos from content you own or have explicit rights to modify.

Can AI tools replace Photoshop completely?

For many ecommerce workflows, yes:

• Tools like Claid cover the majority of tasks: background removal, object removal, simple lighting fixes, and campaign-style backgrounds, often faster and more automated than Photoshop. 

However, Photoshop still wins when you need:

• Very complex composites
• Pixel-perfect manual control
• Non-standard formats or niche workflows

In practice, many pros use AI object removal tools to do 80% of the work, then pass the tricky 20% to Photoshop.