How much does old photo restoration cost?

Each restoration costs 8 credits. Signing up is free and includes starter credits.

Is there a watermark?

Photos restored with free credits have a small watermark in the bottom-right corner. Photos restored with purchased credits don't, and you can also remove the watermark later by buying credits.

Will it change people's faces?

The AI is set up to keep faces and details as they are while it repairs the damage. Very damaged or tiny faces may still come out slightly different, so compare with the original.

Does it add color too?

No. Restoration repairs damage and fading but doesn't colorize. To add color, send the restored photo to Colorize Photo.

What's the best way to digitize an old print?

Use a flatbed scanner if you have one. Otherwise, photograph the print flat, in soft daylight, straight on, without glare or shadows.

What file types are supported?

PNG, JPEG and WebP up to 20 MB. On an iPhone, HEIC photos are converted automatically in Safari.

What happens to my photos?

Uploads are deleted after 7 days. Results are kept for 30 days on a free account and 365 days if you have bought credits or a subscription. Restored images include metadata noting they were made with AI.

AI Old Photo Restoration

Repair scratched, creased and faded prints in one step, while keeping faces true and the photo's original character.

8 credits
Free account, 20 credits to start
No watermark with purchased credits

1 · Your photo

Needs a free account. New accounts get free credits to start.

BeforeExample · Restore

Example made with this tool. Upload a photo to make yours.

See what it does

How it works

1
Upload the old photo
Upload a scan or a phone photo of the print. PNG, JPEG and WebP up to 20 MB work.
2
Let the AI repair it
The AI removes scratches, creases, stains and fading, and keeps the faces and period details.
3
Download, colorize or animate
Save the restored photo, add color with Colorize Photo, or make it move with Animate Photo.

Why people use it

Repairs real damage

Fixes scratches, creases, stains and faded tones in one pass.

Keeps faces true

Restoration is designed to keep people looking like themselves, not like new people.

Keeps the era

Clothing, hairstyles and the photo's age stay intact, so it still feels like the original.

Powered by Seedream 5.0 Flash

Uses ByteDance's Seedream 5.0 Flash image model, which is good at keeping people unchanged while it repairs the damage.

Restore, colorize, animate

Send the restored photo to Colorize Photo and Animate Photo without uploading it again.

What old photo restoration fixes

Old prints pick up damage over the years: scratches from being handled, creases from wallets and envelopes, water stains and faded, washed-out tones. Old photo restoration with AI repairs that damage in one step. You upload a scan, and the AI cleans up the defects while keeping the people, the clothing and the feel of the era as they were.

It uses Seedream 5.0 Flash, an image model from ByteDance, to work out what each damaged area should look like from the rest of the picture.

Getting the best scan

Scan, don't screenshot. A flatbed scan at a high resolution captures the most detail.
Photograph carefully if you can't scan. Lay the print flat, use soft daylight, hold the phone straight above it, and avoid glare.
Take it out of the frame. Glass and plastic sleeves add reflections the AI may treat as damage.
Crop to the photo. Remove album pages and backgrounds before uploading.

Restore, then colorize and animate

Restoration repairs the photo but doesn't add color. Many people then send the restored photo to Colorize Photo to add natural color, and on to Animate Photo to turn a portrait into a short video. Restoring first gives the colorizer and the animator a cleaner picture to work from. Note that video can only be made with purchased credits.

Limitations

The AI rebuilds missing areas from what's around them. If a large part of a face is torn away, the result is a best guess, not the real person. Always compare the restored photo with the original, especially for faces, writing and small details. Free-credit results carry a small watermark, which purchased credits remove.

Each restoration costs 8 credits. Uploaded scans are deleted after 7 days, and location and other private metadata are removed when you upload. Restored photos are kept for 30 days on a free account and 365 days once you have bought credits or a subscription, so download the ones you want to keep.