The short answer
Why use Add Stroke?
A sticker outline traced by hand never stays the same width around curves. Here the stroke is built from the image's own transparency, so it hugs every edge evenly.
Size is the outline width, from 1 to 160 pixels of your original image, and starts at 24. Color starts at a deep red; white is the classic sticker edge. The canvas grows by the Size on each side, so a 1000 × 1000 cutout comes out 1048 × 1048 with the default, and the area outside the outline stays transparent.
The outline is made by spreading the image's silhouette outward in a circle, which rounds off sharp corners. Thin wisps of hair or semi-transparent shadows also get outlined, so a rough cutout gives a lumpy stroke. Clean up the edges first. For a sticker look, start with a PNG whose background has already been removed.
Add Border is the better fit for a normal photo: it fills a straight-edged frame of one color. Shadow adds a soft blurred shape behind the subject instead of a hard edge. Use Remove White Background before Add Stroke when your cutout sits on plain white.
Where Add Stroke fits
Chat stickers
Give a cutout of your pet a white sticker edge for messaging apps.
Thumbnail cutouts
Outline a person cut out for a video thumbnail so they pop off the background.
Print-ready decals
Add a bleed outline around a logo before sending it to a sticker printer.
Start to finish
How to use Add Stroke
- 01Tap Choose image and open a PNG cutout with a transparent background.
- 02Set Size, the outline width from 1 to 160 px, and switch Color from red to white for a sticker edge.
- 03Tap Apply changes, check the outline follows the shape, then Download result.
What to expect from Add Stroke
| Check | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Supported input | JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, SVG and browser-supported AVIF images |
| Main controls | Text, color, size, opacity, or layout, depending on the tool |
| Output | A PNG image, or a ZIP when the tool makes several files |
| Working limit | 50 MB and 50 megapixels per image; jobs with several images also depend on memory |
Add Stroke tips
- Plain photos get a rectangular outline with softly rounded corners.
- Stray hair and soft shadows also get outlined, so clean the cutout first.
- The canvas grows by Size on every side.
- White plus a dark Shadow afterwards looks like a printed sticker.
Add Stroke FAQ
Something missing? Ask us.
Why did my photo just get a plain frame?
Does the outline cover the edge of my image?
Does Add Stroke upload my file?
Is Add Stroke free to use?
Why did Add Stroke fail or look wrong?
Related tools
More in Add Elements.