How to restore and colorize old photos with AI: a simple guide

By the end of this guide you will have taken a scanned family photo that is faded, scratched or soft, repaired it, optionally added colour, and saved a clean digital copy you can print or share. The job is done by an AI photo restoration tool: you upload the scan, the tool removes damage and sharpens detail, and you check the result against the original.

If you want to restore old photos with AI, the main decisions are how damaged the picture is, whether you want colour, and how many photos you have. This guide compares seven tools from our Image generation category.

Key takeaways

• Scan the photo at the highest quality you can, upload it to a restoration tool, repair first, then colorize, and compare each result with the original scan.
• The main decision is whether you want one all-in-one app (restore, sharpen, colorize) or several separate tools you chain together.
• AI invents detail when it repairs or colorizes, so faces and colours may not match the truth. Keep the original and check against family memory or records.
• Most services run on credits or subscriptions, and some list no prices at all, so check before you upload a large batch.

What you need before you start

• The physical photo or a file. A flatbed scanner gives the cleanest result. A phone photo taken in even light, without glare, works for a first try.
• An account or app. Most tools here run in the browser, and some have iOS and Android apps.
• Time. One photo takes minutes. A box of photos takes an afternoon.
• Difficulty. Easy. You do not need photo editing skills.
• Storage. Keep untouched scans of every original in a separate folder.
• Sensitivity. Photos of relatives are personal. Check each service's privacy terms, and think about whether the people pictured, or their families, would be comfortable with the picture being processed online.

Which kind of AI tool fits this job

Match the tool to the job rather than to a feature list.

All-in-one photo enhancers. Remini lists an old photo restorer for faded and damaged pictures, an unblur and sharpener, a denoiser, a face enhancer and a colour fixer, on iOS, Android and the web. Fotor lists old photo restoration and colorizing alongside enhancing, unblur and object removal, on web, iOS, Android, Mac and Windows.

Credit-based restoration toolkits. Nero AI offers photo restoration with optional colorization, plus denoising, unblur and an upscaler, with credits that work across the web apps and Windows apps. Hotpot lists a photo upscaler, a colorizer and a restorer for scratched or faded photos, and a cloud API.

Suites that also handle other media. neural.love lists image upscaling and restoration, text-based image editing and colorization of old footage and photos, with one credit balance. A1D.AI lists photo colorization, object removal and image upscaling, and offers many of its tools as apps inside Canva.

A tool for the last step. Deep Nostalgia is a MyHeritage feature that animates faces in old photos so they blink, smile and turn their heads. It is optional, and it comes after you have restored the picture.

Step 1: Scan the photo properly

Everything depends on the quality of the scan, so spend time here.

1. Clean the photo gently with a dry, soft cloth and wipe the scanner glass.
2. Scan on a flatbed scanner if you have one, at a high resolution, and save as TIFF or PNG if offered, or as a high-quality JPG.
3. If you use a phone, photograph in even daylight from straight above, without glare or shadows.
4. Save an untouched copy of the original scan and work only on duplicates.

Check it worked by viewing the scan at 100% zoom and confirming faces and edges are as sharp as the print.

Step 2: Decide what needs fixing

A short list stops you over-editing.

1. Look for physical damage: scratches, cracks, stains, folds, spots.
2. Look for quality problems: blur, grain, fading, low contrast.
3. Decide whether you want colour. A photo restored without colour is still a faithful record.
4. Decide whether to enlarge it for a print. Remini lists enlarging up to 2x, Fotor lists upscaling up to 4x, and Nero AI lists upscaling at 2x, 4x and 8x with 8x reserved for paid users.

Check it worked by writing a three-line list: damage, sharpness, colour.

Step 3: Choose a tool and check the cost

You finish this step with one tool chosen.

1. Pick a tool that lists the features on your list. Six of the seven here list restoration, sharpening or colorizing; Deep Nostalgia is for animating faces afterwards.
2. Check how it charges. Nero AI uses credits for every action, with a typical image costing 2 credits. Hotpot says credit costs vary by tool and settings. A1D.AI's Free plan gives 30 credits one time.
3. Look for missing prices. Remini and Fotor do not list plan prices, so check their sites or app stores for current options.
4. Use the comparison table further down to see pricing and stated limits side by side.

Check it worked by knowing roughly what a single photo will cost before you upload.

Step 4: Run the restoration

The goal is a repaired version that keeps the people recognisable.

1. Upload the scan and choose the restoration or old photo mode.
2. Start with the repair or enhance option on its own, before adding other effects.
3. If the tool offers face enhancement, try it with and without. Remini lists Face Enhance and Face Glow modes.
4. Download the result and keep it separate from the original.

Check it worked by seeing scratches and noise reduced without faces turning plastic.

Step 5: Compare against the original

AI repair guesses at missing detail, so your eyes are the quality check.

1. Open the original scan and the restored version side by side at the same zoom.
2. Check faces first: eyes, mouth, hairline, glasses. Compare with other photos of the same person if you have them.
3. Look at clothing, jewellery, text and background objects that may have been invented or smoothed away.
4. If a face looks wrong, go back and try a lighter setting or a different tool on the same scan.

Check it worked by showing the result to a relative and asking whether it still looks like the person.

Step 6: Colorize, if you want colour

Colour is an interpretation, not a record.

1. Run the colorizer on the restored version. Nero AI offers restoration with optional colorization, Fotor lists colorizing, and A1D.AI lists photo colorization.
2. Check skin tones, clothing and sky for colours that look unnatural.
3. Where you know the truth, such as a uniform colour or a car, compare against records or memories.
4. If the colours look wrong, keep the black-and-white restoration as your main copy.

Check it worked by confirming the colours look plausible to someone who remembers the scene.

Step 7: Save, share and optionally animate

Finish by storing files safely and deciding how to share.

1. Save the final version as a high-quality JPG or PNG, and keep the untouched scan beside it.
2. Name files with names, place and approximate date so the family record is clear.
3. If you want to animate a portrait, Deep Nostalgia animates faces in photos, including colorized ones, but it requires a Photo subscription, Complete Plan or Omni Plan from MyHeritage.
4. Label restored or colorized images as such when you share them, so later readers do not mistake them for the original.

Check it worked by opening the saved files on another device.

Tools for this job compared

Tool	Good fit for	Pricing	Stated limits
Remini	Sharpening and restoring faded photos on phone and web	Pricing unknown	Enlarging goes up to 2x; plan prices and free limits not listed
Fotor	Restoring and colorizing within a wider photo editor	Freemium	Credits are a separate meter; unused subscription credits roll over for up to 5 months while active
Nero AI	Credit-based restoration with optional colorization	Freemium	Every action consumes credits; 8x upscaling for paid users only; credits lost if you cancel
Hotpot	Restoring, colorizing and upscaling, with an API	Pricing unknown	Credit costs vary by tool and settings; no fixed plan prices listed; monthly plans need at least two terms
neural.love	Restoration and colorization of photos and footage	Freemium	Plan prices not shown; no photos of minors; generated images carry an invisible watermark
A1D.AI	Colorizing, object removal and upscaling, with Canva apps	Freemium, paid from $7.99/mo (checked 24 Oct 2026)	Free plan: 30 credits one time at standard resolution; limited API access
Deep Nostalgia	Animating faces in restored family photos	Paid	Animates faces, not whole scenes; needs a Photo subscription, Complete Plan or Omni Plan

Prices and plan limits change, so confirm the current terms on each vendor's site before you subscribe.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Working on the only copy. Overwriting a scan makes a mistake permanent. Fix it by saving an untouched original scan and editing duplicates only.
• Starting from a poor scan. Glare, shadows and low resolution give the AI less to work with. Fix it by rescanning flat, clean and at a higher resolution before you upload.
• Trusting invented detail. Restoration tools guess at missing faces, text and colours. Fix it by comparing with the original and with other photos, and by labelling restored images as restored.
• Stacking every effect at once. Enhance, colorize and upscale together can make faces waxy. Fix it by applying one step at a time and checking after each.
• Ignoring privacy. Family photos can include children and people who cannot consent. Fix it by reading the service's data terms. neural.love, for example, says photos of minors are not allowed.

How we put this together

This is an evidence-based guide built from each tool's listing in our directory, which is compiled from the vendor's own site and pricing page. It is not a review based on using the tools. We don't rank tools, and nobody paid to be included. Some outbound links may be affiliate links; see our disclosure.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free way to restore old photos with AI?

Sometimes, in a small way. A1D.AI's Free plan gives 30 credits one time, and Fotor has a Basic plan with limited free credits. Several other tools in this guide list no free limits, so check each site before you upload. Free tiers may add watermarks, lower resolution or caps.

Can AI restore a badly damaged photo accurately?

It can repair scratches, noise and fading convincingly, but it does so by guessing missing detail. Faces, text and colours may differ from reality, so treat the result as an interpretation and keep the original scan.

Can I colorize a black-and-white photo?

Yes. Nero AI offers restoration with optional colorization, Fotor and Hotpot list colorizers, and A1D.AI lists photo colorization. The colours are the tool's best guess, so check them against what you know.

Which tool is good for restoring photos on a phone?

Remini is available on iOS, Android and the web, and Fotor has iOS and Android apps. Deep Nostalgia is also available on iOS and Android through MyHeritage. Check each vendor's site for current app options.

Can I animate an old photo?

Yes. Deep Nostalgia animates the faces in a photo so the person blinks, smiles and turns their head, and it works on black-and-white and colour pictures. It uses pre-recorded gesture sequences, so movement is limited, and it needs a MyHeritage Photo, Complete or Omni plan.

Compare more options in our Image generation category. If the restored photo is small, see how to upscale an image with AI.