remove.bg Zapier Integration Alternative: Keep Your Zaps Running After 1 December 2026
A lot of quiet automation runs on the remove.bg Zapier app: new product photo in Drive, background removed, file back in a folder. remove.bg's own site now says the standalone website — and with it the API the Zapier app calls — will no longer be available from 1 December 2026, when the product moves into Canva's Leonardo.Ai, and that unused credits expire the same day. Those Zaps will start erroring. The replacement is a Webhooks by Zapier step that calls the bgclear API with the same field names; this post maps the old action's fields to the new step and rebuilds the three Zaps people actually run.
In this guide
What the remove.bg Zapier app did, and what stops
The app exposed one action — remove the background from an image URL, with options for size, output format and background colour — and returned a URL to the processed image for the next step. It authenticated with your remove.bg API key. Because it is a thin wrapper over api.remove.bg, it cannot outlive the API: after 1 December 2026 the action fails, and any credits still on the remove.bg account are gone. Leonardo.Ai is the official successor, but it is a different product with its own integration; if all a Zap needs is "URL in, cutout URL out", a compatible API and a generic webhook step is the smaller change.
The replacement step: Webhooks by Zapier → Custom Request
Add an action, choose "Webhooks by Zapier", event "Custom Request", and fill it in exactly like this:
Method: POST
URL: https://www.bgclear.ai/api/v1/remove
Data Pass-Through: no
Data (raw): {"image_url": "{{image_url_from_trigger}}", "size": "auto", "format": "png", "bg_color": "transparent"}
Unflatten: no
Headers:
Authorization Bearer bgc_live_YOUR_KEY
Accept application/json
Content-Type application/json
Idempotency-Key {{file_id_from_trigger}}The Idempotency-Key is optional but worth it: Zapier replays steps when you edit or retry a Zap, and the key makes a replayed request return the cached result instead of spending a second credit (24-hour window). Test the step — Zapier parses the JSON response, so the following steps see url, width, height, credits_charged and credits_remaining as mapped fields. The url is a hosted PNG valid for 24 hours; every downstream app that accepts a file URL (Drive, Dropbox, Airtable, Shopify, WordPress) can download it directly. Get a key on the API dashboard; the first key includes 10 free full-resolution credits and size=preview runs are free for testing the Zap.
Field mapping from the old action
remove.bg action "Image URL" → image_url in the JSON data.
"Size" (auto / preview / full / hd / 4k) → size: auto stays auto; preview stays preview (free, ≤800 px); full, hd and 4k become full (native resolution, one credit).
"Format" (png / jpg / zip) → format: png, jpg or webp; there is no zip — use png or webp for transparency.
"Background colour" → bg_color as hex, e.g. ffffff; omit or send transparent for a transparent result.
"Type" (person / product / car) → drop it; the model detects the subject.
Output "Image URL" → url from the response. Output "Credits charged" → credits_charged.
The full parameter list, including crop and the async jobs endpoint for images over 4 megapixels, is on the remove.bg API alternative page.
Three Zaps, rebuilt
Google Drive → cutout → Google Drive. Trigger: Google Drive "New File in Folder". Step 2: Webhooks Custom Request as above with image_url set to the trigger's "Web Content Link" (the file must be shared as "anyone with the link"; Zapier's "File" field will not work here because the API fetches by URL). Step 3: Google Drive "Upload File" with File = url from step 2 and a name of your choice.
Shopify new product → white background → update product. Trigger: Shopify "New Product". Step 2: Custom Request with image_url = the product's first image src, bg_color = ffffff, format = jpg. Step 3: Shopify "Update Product" with the image set from url. The Shopify guide covers the same flow for whole catalogues.
Airtable new record → cutout → attachment. Trigger: Airtable "New Record in View" (a view filtered to records with a photo and no cutout). Step 2: Custom Request with image_url = the attachment's URL. Step 3: Airtable "Update Record" writing url into the attachment field — Airtable downloads and stores it. For the script-based version inside Airtable itself, see the Airtable automation guide.
Add a Filter step before the webhook ("only continue if the file is an image") and a second Filter after it ("only continue if credits_remaining is above 20", with an email to yourself otherwise) — that is the whole operational safety net.
What it costs compared with the remove.bg app
As listed on the respective pricing pages in September 2026: remove.bg's subscription is 40 credits a month (about $0.18 per image; shown in India as ₹599) and pay-as-you-go starts near $0.79 per image, with all credits expiring on 1 December 2026. bgclear credits are $9 for 100 ($0.09 per image), $39 for 500 ($0.078) and $129 for 2,000 (about $0.065), with no subscription; they never expire, previews are free, and failed requests are never charged (pricing). Zapier task usage is identical — one task per webhook step — so the only bill that changes is the per-image one. The same webhook works in Make and n8n; the n8n, Zapier and Make guide has the settings for those.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a bgclear app in the Zapier directory?
Not yet. Webhooks by Zapier gives you every parameter today with no waiting; if a listed app would help your team, tell us.
Will my existing remove.bg Zaps keep working until December?
Per remove.bg's notice they run until the standalone site closes on 1 December 2026 at 9:00 CET. Rebuild before then so you can test with real files while both still work.
Can the webhook step send a file instead of a URL?
Zapier's Custom Request has no multipart file support, so use a URL — a shared Drive link, a Dropbox direct link, or any public image URL. n8n and Make can send files directly.
What does each run cost?
One credit for a full-resolution image (from $0.065 to $0.09 depending on pack); preview-size runs are free. No monthly fee.