Most online passport photo tools have at least one of three problems: they charge ₹600 per photo, they upload your biometric face photo to a remote server, or they use the US 2×2 inch spec instead of India's actual 35×45 mm requirement. If you're applying for a passport, OCI card, or a government exam form, none of those is acceptable. Here are seven tools compared on the criteria that matter — cost, privacy, and whether they actually know the India spec.
Transparency: We built easyPhoto, so we're not neutral. Every feature claim below is based on publicly verifiable information — pricing sourced directly from each tool's website, upload behaviour from their terms of service. Where a competitor does something better, we say so.
What the India passport photo spec actually requires
The Passport Seva portal (passportindia.gov.in) specifies a 35×45 mm JPG with a plain white background, the face taking up 70–80% of the frame, and the file under 1 MB. This is not the same as the US 2×2 inch (51×51 mm) spec — a mistake several tools make for their "India" preset. For exam portals the rules are stricter: SSC requires 20–50 KB at 275×354 px, IBPS requires 20–50 KB at 200×230 px, UPSC requires 20–300 KB at a minimum of 350×350 px — all set by each board's own notification.
This is a quick summary; for the complete, regularly-verified Passport Seva rules — print vs digital sizes, OCI and NRI differences, and the exact pixel and KB limits — see our Indian passport photo size & rules guide, the canonical reference we keep updated.
| Tool | Cost | Server upload? | India 35×45 mm | Exam tools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| easyPhoto | Free | No — on-device | ✓ Seva spec | ✓ 40+ portals |
| PassportSizePhoto.in | Free | No (per their site) | ✓ India-focused | Partial |
| IDPhoto4You | Free | Yes — 6 hr retention | ✓ 35×45 mm in dropdown | None |
| Visafoto | ₹600 / photo | Yes — server-processed | ✓ India page | None |
| AI passport photo apps | $5–$17 / photo | Yes — cloud AI | Often wrong spec | None |
| PhotoGov | Free (limited) + paid from $5.90 | Yes — server + email required | ⚠ Generic India page shows US spec | None |
| Cutout.pro | 5 free credits, then ₹246.50+/mo | Yes — AWS server | India listed (spec unconfirmed) | None |
Pricing verified June 2026. Sources: each tool's own website and terms.
easyPhoto — free, on-device, built around Indian documents
This is our product — read the section above for the independent comparison.
easyPhoto makes passport photos (India 35×45 mm, US 2×2 in, UK, Canada, Schengen and 20+ other countries), resizes exam photos to the exact KB and pixel limits of 40+ Indian exam portals (SSC, IBPS, UPSC, SBI, RRB, NTA and more), and handles PDF compression, signature resize, and format conversion. Nothing is uploaded — every operation runs in your browser using WebAssembly. The specs come from each board's official notification, verified against the source.
The reason we built it specifically for India is that no Western tool covers exam photo requirements. A SSC CGL applicant needs a 275×354 px JPG between 20 KB and 50 KB — a spec that doesn't exist anywhere in Visafoto's or iLoveIMG's interface. The tool is free with no account required.
PassportSizePhoto.in — free, WebAssembly, India-first
PassportSizePhoto.in is a free, India-native passport photo tool built on WebAssembly with a verifiable "zero-data-transfer" privacy model — processing runs entirely in the browser and photos are never sent to a server. The India spec is implemented at the pixel level: 630×810 px, 10–250 KB, matching the Passport Seva portal's exact upload constraints. The tool claims DPDPA (India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act) compliance alongside GDPR, and a Hindi-language version is available.
The feature set goes beyond a basic crop: a print layout selector lets you output 1, 4, 6, or 8 photos per 4R sheet for physical printing; background colour options include white, off-white, light blue, and light grey; and a guided three-step flow walks through upload, settings, and download clearly. The workflow steps are visually structured on their how-to-use page — upload with drag-and-drop or camera, choose document type and layout, then download a print-ready sheet.
The gap: it is a passport and ID photo tool. SSC and UPSC are mentioned by name in their content, but there are no portal-specific KB ceilings or pixel dimensions for individual exam forms. For a passport photo only, it is a strong free choice. For exam portal photos, use a dedicated exam resizer.
IDPhoto4You — free, but your photo goes to a server
IDPhoto4You is free with no account required, and it supports India's 35×45 mm spec in its 73-country dropdown. For a straightforward passport photo it works. The important caveat: their own terms state that uploaded photos are stored on their servers during processing and automatically deleted within six hours. For a face photo intended for a government document, that's a privacy trade-off worth knowing about before you upload.
There's also no KB-target output control and no exam portal presets. The tool generates a cropped, background-removed photo — but you can't tell it "give me this under 50 KB at 275×354 px." A general resize step is still needed after.
Visafoto — the paid option with an accuracy guarantee
Visafoto charges ₹600 per photo (confirmed June 2026) and adds a human expert review of compliance. If the photo fails the official check, they redo it. That guarantee is genuinely valuable for an embassy-grade visa photo where rejection causes a real problem.
For most Indian passport or exam photo use cases — where the official portal simply checks dimensions and file size — that guarantee is overkill. The ₹600 fee makes sense for a Schengen visa with strict biometric requirements, not for a SSC CGL exam registration. It also uploads your photo to a remote server for processing, which is the same privacy trade-off as other server-based tools. There are no exam photo presets.
What about AI passport photo apps?
Several AI tools — Passport Photo Online ($16.95), AIPassportPhoto (~$5), and others — use machine learning to adjust background, lighting, and expression automatically. They generally require server upload and payment before you can download the result. AIPassportPhoto's India page (as of June 2026) lists the spec as 2×2 inches — the US size, not the Indian Passport Seva spec of 35×45 mm. If spec accuracy matters, it is worth verifying what a tool claims before paying.
PhotoGov — check which India page you land on
PhotoGov (photogov.net) serves 1.8 million users across 200 countries and 900+ document types — it is a large, well-established tool. The India 35×45 mm Passport Seva spec exists on their dedicated page (/documents/in-passport-35x45mm-photo/). However, their generic India passport page (/documents/in-passport-photo/) showed 2×2 inches (51×51 mm) — the US specification — with a light grey background rather than the India-mandated white. This is a verifiable content discrepancy on their site (confirmed June 2026). If you use PhotoGov for an Indian passport photo, navigate to the specific 35×45 mm page, not the generic India page.
Other caveats: PhotoGov requires an email address and uploads your photo to their server for processing. The free tier is location-dependent — Indian users may face a paywall; paid options start from approximately $5.90 USD. There is a human expert review add-on available (pricing not publicly listed). No exam portal support of any kind.
Cutout.pro — AI background removal, but credit-gated for passport photos
Cutout.pro gives 5 free credits on sign-up. A passport photo costs 2 credits — you get two complete photos before credits run out. After that, the cheapest plan is ₹246.50/month (confirmed June 2026 from their pricing page). Free previews are watermarked. Photos are uploaded to Amazon Web Services and retained for 24–48 hours. Public reports (Cybernews 2023; Trustpilot references to a BreachForums posting in February 2024) document past data security incidents.
Cutout.pro is genuinely strong at AI background removal for complex subjects — product photography, hair, transparent objects. For a one-off Indian passport photo, that capability is not needed and the credit pricing is poor value. See the dedicated Cutout.pro alternatives post for a full comparison including PassportMaker and PassportSizePhoto.in.
Which should you use?
- Indian passport or OCI card application: easyPhoto or PassportSizePhoto.in — both are free, India-spec-correct, and don't upload your photo.
- SSC, IBPS, UPSC, SBI, RRB, NTA exam form: easyPhoto — the only tool with verified KB and pixel targets per portal.
- Visa for a foreign country with strict embassy standards: Visafoto or Passport Photo Online are worth the cost for the compliance guarantee.
- Privacy is a hard requirement: easyPhoto or PassportSizePhoto.in — both use on-device WebAssembly processing; easyPhoto's model is verifiable via the browser network tab (zero image upload requests sent).
- You found PhotoGov and want to use it: Navigate specifically to their India 35×45 mm page — their generic India passport page shows the US spec. Or use a free on-device tool and skip the server upload entirely.
- You are considering Cutout.pro: It runs out of free credits after two passport photos, then requires a subscription. For one-off document photos, the free on-device tools are better value. Cutout.pro is strong for bulk product photography.
Frequently asked questions
Is the India passport photo size 35×45 mm or 2×2 inches?
35×45 mm, per Passport Seva (passportindia.gov.in). The 2×2 inch (51×51 mm) size is the US specification. Some tools incorrectly use the US size for their India preset — check the dimensions before submitting.
Can I use a phone photo for my Indian passport application?
Yes. Passport Seva accepts digital photos uploaded during the online application. The photo must be a clear, recent JPG with a plain white background, face centred, and no glasses. A phone camera in good light is sufficient. Resize it to 35×45 mm and under 1 MB before uploading.
Do these tools add a watermark to free photos?
easyPhoto, PassportSizePhoto.in, and IDPhoto4You do not add a watermark — downloads are fully free. Cutout.pro's free tier produces watermarked previews; a watermark-free full-resolution download requires credits (confirmed by independent reviews). Visafoto and Passport Photo Online are paid tools — there is no free download tier.