Background Change vs Ghost Mannequin Effect
Which you need, what each costs, and when a project wants both — background change compared with ghost mannequin effect.
Last revised
Both sit under Background Remove, and clients regularly ask which of the two they actually want. The short answer is below; the rest of this page is how to tell, what each costs, and the cases where a project needs both.
The quick verdict
In short More often than the question implies — the same job frequently touches both, and one team covers them, so moving between them is a conversation rather than a second supplier. If you are not sure which your files need, that is what the free trial is for. The process is the same either way: whichever you pick, the work runs through the same stages and is checked against the same bar. Background Remove sets that out.
Side by side
| Background Change | Ghost Mannequin Effect | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | From $0.39 per image | From $0.99 per garment |
| Typical turnaround | — | 12–24 hours |
| Services underneath | — | 10 |
| You get back | — | Composited garment on white or transparent; Layered master; Marketplace-spec export |
Choose Background Change if
- Budget is the binding constraint: this starts at $0.39 per image against $0.99 per garment for ghost mannequin effect
Choose Ghost Mannequin Effect if
- You need composited garment on white or transparent, which background change does not produce
- You need layered master, which background change does not produce
- Budget is the binding constraint: this starts at $0.99 per garment against $0.39 per image for background change
- The job is specifically 2D ghost mannequin effects, which sits under this one
- The job is specifically 3d/360 packshot ghost mannequin effects, which sits under this one
- The job is specifically 3D ghost mannequin effects, which sits under this one
What each one is
- Background Change Replacing a photo's background with a new scene, color or studio backdrop, with the lighting and shadows adjusted so the subject looks like it belongs there.
- Ghost Mannequin Effect Inside necks, cuffs and hems composited from separate exposures so a garment shows fit and construction without a model or a visible form.
Questions we get on this specific choice
Is one of them cheaper?
Background Change starts at $0.39 per image and ghost mannequin effect at $0.99 per garment. Complexity and volume move both, and the cheaper unit is not always the cheaper job.
Which is faster?
Much the same, and volume moves the number far more than the choice between these two does.
Can you tell me which one my files need?
Yes, free. Send two or three real files — that judgment is part of the trial rather than something quoted separately.
Can I switch after we start?
Yes. If the files say the other one is the right answer, we re-quote before doing the work rather than after.
Where to go from here
- Background Change — what it is, in full, with its own pricing
- Ghost Mannequin Effect — the same for the alternative
- Background Remove pricing — both rates side by side with the US market ranges
- Try it free — 2 images, edited to your brief, and we will tell you which of the two your files need
- Get a quote if the scope is already clear
- Every rate we publish, on one page
