Three things get ordered as if they were one job. They are not interchangeable, and asking for the wrong one is the most common reason a batch comes back and has to go out again.
A white background
The subject sits on pure white, usually #FFFFFF, flattened into a JPEG. This is what most marketplaces ask for on the main listing image. It is the cheapest of the three because nothing has to stay editable once the file is flattened.
Ask for this when the image goes straight to a listing and will not be placed on any other colour.
A transparent PNG
The background is removed and the empty area carries real transparency, so the subject can be dropped onto any colour later. You need this for banners, email, decks and anywhere the surrounding colour is not white.
The cost is file size and a format that not every channel accepts. Order it when something downstream will composite the subject, not when the file is going straight to a listing.
A clipping path
The path itself is the deliverable: a vector outline saved into the file, with the original pixels untouched. Your team can switch the background on or off at any time, and print workflows can use the path directly.
This is the one to order when you want to keep options open, or when a printer has asked for it by name.
The short version
Going straight to a listing, ask for white. Compositing later, ask for a PNG. Want the decision deferred, ask for the path. If you are not sure, send one file and say what happens to it next — we will tell you which of the three that actually needs.
