Transparent PNG Checker

What counts as transparent

Every pixel has an alpha value from 0 (fully see-through) to 255 (fully solid). This tool reads those values and reports how much of your image is transparent. Cut-out artwork for stickers or apparel should have its whole background at alpha 0, with the corners see-through.

Why a PNG can look transparent and not be

This is the trap. Almost every design tool draws a grey-and-white checkerboard behind your canvas to represent emptiness. That checkerboard is part of the editor, not part of your file — so a design that looks perfectly cut out on screen can still export with a solid background. Three ways it happens:

• A background layer left switched on. The commonest cause. It may be pure white, so it reads as “nothing” on a white interface right up until it prints as a white rectangle.
• The file has an alpha channel, but nothing uses it. A PNG can be saved with transparency support and still be 100% opaque. That is why this tool reports the percentage of transparent pixels rather than a yes/no: 0% transparent means the channel is there and empty.
• It went through JPG at some point. JPG has no alpha channel at all, so any round-trip through it — a resize, an email, an export preset — permanently flattens transparency onto a solid colour. Saving the result back to PNG does not bring it back.

Where transparency is required — and where it breaks things

Transparency is not simply “better”. Some platforms demand it and others reject it, which is why the same file can be right for one listing and wrong for the next. Specs verified against each provider’s own documentation, 13 August 2026:

• Redbubble stickers — transparency is required. In Redbubble’s own words: to get your sticker cut to the shape you want, “your artwork needs to have a transparent background, and the file must be saved in PNG format” — the kiss-cut follows the edge of your design.
• Printful, direct-to-garment — PNG recommended for transparency. Printful calls PNG “usually the best option” for DTG because it supports transparent backgrounds, and warns that JPEG designs “may appear with a visible white background”.
• Etsy listing photos — transparent PNG is NOT supported. This one is a silent trap, and Etsy is specific about what goes wrong: “the transparent parts of the image will appear black on Etsy.” Our Etsy listing image checker flags a transparent PNG before you publish.
• Printables a buyer prints at home — transparency is usually irrelevant. Paper is already white, and a transparent background just means unprinted paper.

So check what the destination wants before you fix anything. “Not transparent” is only a defect if the platform needed it to be.

If your image needs transparency and hasn’t got it

• Re-export as PNG or WebP with the background layer hidden — and confirm the corners come back see-through here.
• Switch off JPG anywhere in the chain. Converting to JPG and back cannot restore an alpha channel.
• On Canva, transparent PNG is a paid feature. Canva lists transparent PNGs and SVGs among the options available only to Pro, Teams, Education and Nonprofits accounts, so a free account cannot export one at all — see Canva export settings for print.
• If you are converting between formats, our image converter lets you choose the colour that replaces transparency when you go to JPG, so nothing prints as an unexpected white box.