Both remove objects from photos. One uploads your images to a server. One doesn't.
Cleanup.pictures is the most popular AI photo cleanup tool online, and for good reason. It's fast, well-designed, and the object removal is genuinely good — especially for complex objects against busy backgrounds. It uses a fine-tuned version of the LaMa inpainting model, same underlying technology as Clean Image, but with server-side processing that can handle larger images and more complex edits.
The free tier lets you edit images up to 720p resolution. For anything higher, you need the Pro plan at $6 per month (billed annually) or $12 month-to-month. Pro unlocks unlimited resolution, batch processing, and an API for developers.
Clean Image takes the opposite approach: everything runs in your browser. The 88MB model downloads once to your device, then all processing happens locally via ONNX Runtime Web. There is no free tier, no Pro tier, no resolution limits — because there's no server to meter.
You edit a photo at full resolution at 2am? Same as editing at 2pm. The AI runs on your hardware, not ours. That means no account, no signup, no credit card, no daily limits. And critically: your photos never leave your device. Nobody sees what you edit or even that you edited anything.
| Feature | Clean Image | Cleanup.pictures |
|---|---|---|
| Processing | 100% on-device (browser) | Server-side (upload required) |
| Free tier | Unlimited, full resolution | 720p max, limited edits |
| Paid plan | None — always free | $6/mo (annual) or $12/mo |
| Account required | No | Yes (for Pro) |
| Resolution limit | None — your hardware is the limit | Free: 720p. Pro: unlimited |
| Batch processing | One image at a time | Pro only |
| API access | None | Pro only |
| AI model | OpenCV LaMa 88MB | Fine-tuned LaMa (proprietary) |
Clean Image: $0. Cleanup.pictures Pro: $72 (annual) or $144 (monthly). For most people doing occasional photo edits, Clean Image is the obvious choice — you open it, edit, close it, no friction. If you're editing hundreds of photos daily and need batch processing and an API, Cleanup.pictures Pro earns its price.
But for privacy-sensitive work — personal photos, documents, anything you wouldn't want on someone else's server — Clean Image is the only option that guarantees zero exposure. Cleanup.pictures states they delete images after processing, but there's no way to verify that. With Clean Image, there's nothing to delete because nothing was ever uploaded.