API & SDK Documentation for Video Background Removal with AI

Model Comparison

VideoBGRemover offers four AI models to fit different use cases:

videobgremover-original

Highest quality segmentation with detailed edge detection. Best for complex scenes.

Quality: Highest
Speed: Standard
Text Prompts: ✅ Supported
Pricing: 60 credits/min (1.0 credits/sec)

videobgremover-light

Fast and efficient processing optimized for speed. Great for simple backgrounds.

Quality: High
Speed: 2x faster ⚡
Pricing: 45 credits/min (0.75 credits/sec) - 25% cheaper

videobgremover-pro

Advanced background removal for complex objects. Enables text prompting for precise segmentation.

Quality: Highest
Speed: Slowest
Text Prompts: ✅ Supported
Pricing: 180 credits/min (3.0 credits/sec)

videobgremover-human

Fast matting algorithm optimized for portraits and facing people.

Quality: High
Speed: Fastest ⚡⚡
Best For: Human subjects
Pricing: 45 credits/min (0.75 credits/sec) - 25% cheaper

Quick Comparison

Feature	Original	Light	Pro	Human
Model	videobgremover-original	videobgremover-light	videobgremover-pro	videobgremover-human
Quality	Highest	High	Highest	High
Processing Speed	Standard	2x faster	Slowest	Fastest
Pricing	60 credits/min (1.0/sec)	45 credits/min (0.75/sec)	180 credits/min (3.0/sec)	45 credits/min (0.75/sec)
Text Prompts	✅	❌	✅	❌
Best For	Complex scenes, detailed segmentation	Fast processing, simple backgrounds	Complex objects, text-based segmentation	Human portraits, face cam videos

When to Use Each Model

videobgremover-original (Default)

Use this model when you need:

Highest quality segmentation with precise edge detection
Complex scenes with multiple objects or complex movement
Professional output for client deliverables
Challenging scenarios that require the best possible accuracy

Example use cases:

Professional video production
E-commerce product videos with complex products
Videos with multiple subjects or objects
Content with complex movement or camera motion

Pricing: 60 credits/min (1.0 credits/sec)

videobgremover-light

Use this model when you need:

Fast processing (2x faster than original)
Cost savings (25% cheaper)
Face cam or talking head videos (single person content)
High volume processing where speed matters

Example use cases:

Face cam videos and presentations
UGC (user-generated content) with people talking
Social media content with single subjects
Quick prototypes or drafts

Pricing: 45 credits/min (0.75 credits/sec) - 25% cheaper than original

videobgremover-pro

Use this model when you need:

Text-based prompting to specify exactly what to keep
Complex object segmentation (cars, furniture, animals, etc.)
Precise control over what gets removed
Specific subject isolation using natural language

Example use cases:

Product videos where you want to isolate specific items (“red car”, “wooden chair”)
Animal videos (“golden retriever”, “black cat”)
Complex scenes with multiple objects where you need to keep specific ones
Videos where automatic detection struggles

Text prompt examples:

“person wearing red jacket”
“golden retriever dog”
“car with blue paint”
“wooden table”

Pricing: 180 credits/min (3.0 credits/sec)

Text prompts work with videobgremover-original and videobgremover-pro. Use prompt.mode: "text" with natural language descriptions.

videobgremover-human

Use this model when you need:

Fastest processing speed
Cost savings (25% cheaper, same as Light)
Human-focused videos (portraits, face cam, talking heads)
Real-time performance for high volume processing

Example use cases:

Portrait videos and headshots
Face cam content and webcam recordings
Talking head videos for courses or tutorials
Social media content with people facing the camera
High-volume human-centric processing

Pricing: 45 credits/min (0.75 credits/sec) - 25% cheaper than original

This model is optimized specifically for human subjects. For non-human objects or complex scenes, use videobgremover-original or videobgremover-pro.

Usage Examples

Using Models via API Client (Low-Level)

import { VideoBGRemoverClient } from 'videobgremover'

const client = new VideoBGRemoverClient(process.env.API_KEY!)

// Create job
const job = await client.createJobUrl({ video_url: 'https://example.com/video.mp4' })

// Option 1: Original model (default, highest quality)
await client.startJob(job.id, {
  model: 'videobgremover-original',
  background: { type: 'transparent', transparent_format: 'webm_vp9' }
})

// Option 2: Light model (25% cheaper, 1.5x faster)
await client.startJob(job.id, {
  model: 'videobgremover-light',
  background: { type: 'transparent', transparent_format: 'webm_vp9' }
})

// Option 3: Pro model with text prompt
await client.startJob(job.id, {
  model: 'videobgremover-pro',
  prompt: { mode: 'text', text: 'person wearing red jacket' },
  background: { type: 'transparent', transparent_format: 'webm_vp9' }
})

// Option 4: Human model (50% cheaper, 2x faster, optimized for people)
await client.startJob(job.id, {
  model: 'videobgremover-human',
  background: { type: 'transparent', transparent_format: 'webm_vp9' }
})

// Wait for completion
const result = await client.wait(job.id)

from videobgremover import VideoBGRemoverClient
import os

client = VideoBGRemoverClient(api_key=os.getenv('API_KEY'))

# Create job
job = client.create_job_url({'video_url': 'https://example.com/video.mp4'})

# Option 1: Original model (default, highest quality)
client.start_job(job['id'], {
    'model': 'videobgremover-original',
    'background': {'type': 'transparent', 'transparent_format': 'webm_vp9'}
})

# Option 2: Light model (25% cheaper, 1.5x faster)
client.start_job(job['id'], {
    'model': 'videobgremover-light',
    'background': {'type': 'transparent', 'transparent_format': 'webm_vp9'}
})

# Option 3: Pro model with text prompt
client.start_job(job['id'], {
    'model': 'videobgremover-pro',
    'prompt': {'mode': 'text', 'text': 'person wearing red jacket'},
    'background': {'type': 'transparent', 'transparent_format': 'webm_vp9'}
})

# Option 4: Human model (50% cheaper, 2x faster, optimized for people)
client.start_job(job['id'], {
    'model': 'videobgremover-human',
    'background': {'type': 'transparent', 'transparent_format': 'webm_vp9'}
})

# Wait for completion
result = client.wait(job['id'])

Using Models via cURL

# Create job
JOB=$(curl -s -X POST https://api.videobgremover.com/v1/jobs \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@video.mp4")

JOB_ID=$(echo $JOB | jq -r '.id')

# Option 1: Light model (25% cheaper, 1.5x faster)
curl -X POST https://api.videobgremover.com/v1/jobs/$JOB_ID/start \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "videobgremover-light",
    "background": {"type": "transparent", "transparent_format": "webm_vp9"}
  }'

# Option 2: Pro model with text prompt
curl -X POST https://api.videobgremover.com/v1/jobs/$JOB_ID/start \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "videobgremover-pro",
    "prompt": {"mode": "text", "text": "golden retriever dog"},
    "background": {"type": "transparent", "transparent_format": "webm_vp9"}
  }'

# Option 3: Human model (50% cheaper, 2x faster)
curl -X POST https://api.videobgremover.com/v1/jobs/$JOB_ID/start \
  -H "X-Api-Key: $API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "videobgremover-human",
    "background": {"type": "transparent", "transparent_format": "webm_vp9"}
  }'

Pricing Examples

30-second video

Model	Calculation	Credits	Savings
Original	`30 × 1.0`	30 credits	-
Light	`30 × 0.75`	23 credits	7 credits (23% cheaper)
Pro	`30 × 3.0`	90 credits	-
Human	`30 × 0.75`	23 credits	7 credits (23% cheaper)

2-minute video

Model	Calculation	Credits	Savings
Original	`120 × 1.0`	120 credits	-
Light	`120 × 0.75`	90 credits	30 credits (25% cheaper)
Pro	`120 × 3.0`	360 credits	-
Human	`120 × 0.75`	90 credits	30 credits (25% cheaper)

5-minute video

Model	Calculation	Credits	Savings
Original	`300 × 1.0`	300 credits	-
Light	`300 × 0.75`	225 credits	75 credits (25% cheaper)
Pro	`300 × 3.0`	900 credits	-
Human	`300 × 0.75`	225 credits	75 credits (25% cheaper)

FPS-Based Pricing: High frame rate videos consume additional credits. Videos at 31-60 FPS use 2x credits, 61-120 FPS use 3x credits, and >120 FPS use 4x credits (standard ≤30 FPS videos use 1x). This multiplier applies to all models.

Default Behavior

If you don’t specify a model:

✅ API: Defaults to videobgremover-original
✅ SDK: Defaults to videobgremover-original
✅ Web UI: Uses videobgremover-original

Model Selection Tips

Choosing the right model:

Human subjects? → Use videobgremover-human (fastest speed)
Need text prompts? → Use videobgremover-original (best quality) or videobgremover-pro (complex objects)
Complex scenes? → Use videobgremover-original (highest quality)
Fast & cheap? → Use videobgremover-light (2x faster than original) or videobgremover-human (fastest)

Model selection cannot be changed after job starts. Choose your model when calling startJob().

Pro tip: Start with videobgremover-light or videobgremover-human for prototyping, then switch to videobgremover-original for final output. Use text prompts with videobgremover-original for best quality when targeting specific objects.

Next Steps

📖 Background Removal Guide

Complete guide to background removal

🎨 Output Formats

Choose WebM, ProRes, PNG sequence, etc.

💳 Pricing

Credit packages and billing

Getting Started

Guides

API Reference

SDK Reference

Examples & Integrations

Background Removal Models

Model Comparison

videobgremover-original

videobgremover-light

videobgremover-pro

videobgremover-human

Quick Comparison

When to Use Each Model

videobgremover-original (Default)

videobgremover-light

videobgremover-pro

videobgremover-human

Usage Examples

Using Models via API Client (Low-Level)

Using Models via cURL

Pricing Examples

30-second video

2-minute video

5-minute video

Default Behavior

Model Selection Tips

Next Steps

📖 Background Removal Guide

🎨 Output Formats

💳 Pricing

​Model Comparison

videobgremover-original

videobgremover-light

videobgremover-pro

videobgremover-human

​Quick Comparison

​When to Use Each Model

​videobgremover-original (Default)

​videobgremover-light

​videobgremover-pro

​videobgremover-human

​Usage Examples

​Using Models via API Client (Low-Level)

​Using Models via cURL

​Pricing Examples

​30-second video

​2-minute video

​5-minute video

​Default Behavior

​Model Selection Tips

​Next Steps

📖 Background Removal Guide

🎨 Output Formats

💳 Pricing

Model Comparison

Quick Comparison

When to Use Each Model

videobgremover-original (Default)

videobgremover-light

videobgremover-pro

videobgremover-human

Usage Examples

Using Models via API Client (Low-Level)

Using Models via cURL

Pricing Examples

30-second video

2-minute video

5-minute video

Default Behavior

Model Selection Tips

Next Steps