AI Photo Restoration

Input image

Drag an image here or click to upload

Also colorize

Image model

Example

Sample photoRestored

Also colorize

Settings· Auto

Image model

Usually, to restore a photo: <20s
Scan, upload, restore, download: 4 steps
To try, no sign-up: Free
Optional colorize: 1-click

How it works

How to restore old photos in 4 steps

Scan or photograph the old photo
Scan the print, or take a photo of it with your phone: lay it flat in even light, without glare, and fill the frame. The original never leaves your hands.
Upload your old photo
Upload the scan or the phone photo. Scratched, creased, faded, yellowed or torn: the AI works on the damage you can see.
Let the AI restore it
The AI repairs scratches and creases, rebuilds missing areas and brings back faded contrast. Color is an extra: tick 'Also colorize' if you want it.
Compare and download
See the restored version next to the original, then download the clean result. If a scan still looks soft, run it through the sharpener or upscaler for a print-ready file.
BeforeAfter

How it works

How AI Photo Restoration brings old pictures back to life

AI Photo Restoration is a free online tool that repairs old, damaged and faded photographs. You upload a scan or a phone photo of a print, and the AI removes scratches, creases, stains and dust, rebuilds torn or missing areas and brings back the contrast that time had worn away, usually in under 20 seconds.

It works on the kind of pictures most families keep in a shoebox: a wedding portrait with a crease across the middle, a childhood snapshot gone yellow, a photo with a corner ripped off. Color is an extra: tick 'Also colorize', or use the AI image colorizer for black and white photos that aren't damaged.

An old photo of a couple with scratches, a crease and a torn corner, and the same photo restored by AI

How the AI tells damage apart from the photo

The AI looks for what damage looks like (a thin bright line, a fold, a stain, a missing corner) and separates it from what the scene should be. A scratch running across a cheek is repaired from the detail around it instead of being smeared into the face.

That is why results look natural rather than blurred: faces stay recognizable and fabric and hair keep their structure. If a scan comes out soft, follow up with the AI image sharpener, or make it bigger with the image upscaler for large prints.

Damaged and undamaged image pairs used to restore old photos

Cheaper and faster than a restoration studio

Restoring old photos by hand takes real skill and patience, and a restoration studio charges per photo and takes days. The AI does the repetitive repair work first, so you keep the result or start manual edits from a much cleaner base.

For a step-by-step guide, from scanning to printing, read how to restore old photos. To lift a portrait off a busy backdrop before printing, use the background remover.

Hand restoration compared with AI to restore old photos

Who it's for

Who restores old photos with this tool

Families digitising a shoebox

Anyone scanning decades of prints who wants creased, yellowed and torn family pictures cleaned up before archiving or sharing them.

People preserving a legacy

Those restoring photos of parents and grandparents for anniversaries, memorials or reunions, wanting faces to stay true to the originals.

Genealogy and history buffs

Family-tree researchers reviving old portraits and documents so faded faces and details are readable again.

Anyone avoiding a studio bill

People who don't want to pay per photo or learn photo editing software, and just need old photos restored quickly and cheaply.

Pricing

Restore old photos for free, upgrade for more

Try the AI photo restoration on your own damaged prints for free, then pick a plan when you need to restore more photos.

This tool works on the free plan

Free

100 credits every day
The Auto model, on our own servers
No card needed

Paid plans

Basic · Starter · Creator

1,600 to 10,000 credits a month
Every AI model, including premium ones
AI video, and no ads in the mobile app

Compare plans

Why CreArt

Why restore old photos with this AI tool

Repairs real physical damage

Removes scratches, creases, dust spots and tears, and rebuilds ripped corners or missing edges based on the surrounding detail.

Keeps faces recognisable

The AI tells damage apart from actual features, so a scratch across a cheek gets fixed without smearing the face underneath.

Usually under 20 seconds

What takes hours of cloning and healing in an editor is usually ready in under 20 seconds, to keep or touch up further.

Optional colorize

Add tone to a black-and-white or heavily faded print with a single checkbox, turning an old grey snapshot into a colour image.

Free to try, no signup

Upload a damaged photo and see the restored version before committing to anything — no software to install.

Pairs with other fixes

Chain restoration with the upscaler or the sharpener to boost resolution and print old family pictures large.

Honest limits

What restoration recovers — and what is gone

Scratches, creases, spots and fading lift off remarkably well, because the damage sits on top of an intact image. Most attic photos are in this category.

Where the emulsion is missing — torn corners, water damage that dissolved a face — the AI reconstructs a plausible version, not the true one. On faces of loved ones, treat large reconstructions as an artist's impression.

FAQ

Questions about restoring old photos

Still have a question? Visit the help center →

How do I restore old photos?

Scan or photograph the print, upload it, and let the AI repair the damage: it removes scratches, creases and fading and rebuilds worn detail. Then download the restored version, usually in under 20 seconds.

Can I restore old photos online for free?

Yes. With Auto you get 10 free tries a day without signing up or installing anything. Paid plans add more credits.

How do I restore blurry old photos on my phone?

Take a clear, well-lit photo of the print with your phone camera, upload it here, and the AI repairs the damage. For extra crispness, run the result through the AI image sharpener; the upscaler adds resolution for larger prints.

Where can I restore an old photo for free?

Right here: scan or photograph the print, upload it and download the restored version, free and without sign-up. Photo shops and restoration studios charge per photo and take days; for a very damaged photo that means a lot, a studio can still be worth it.

Do I need to take my photo to a shop?

No. A phone photo of the print is enough: lay it flat in even light, without glare, and fill the frame. The original never leaves your hands.

Does the AI colorize black-and-white photos too?

Yes — tick the 'Also colorize' option and the AI adds colour to a black-and-white or heavily faded print alongside the repair. You can leave it unchecked if you only want the damage fixed while keeping the original tones.

Will restoration change how faces look?

It keeps faces recognizable when the damage sits on top of them, like a scratch or a crease, because it repairs from the detail around it. Where part of a face is missing, the AI reconstructs a plausible version, not the true one, so check it before you print.

What kinds of damage can it fix?

It handles scratches, creases, dust, tears, torn corners, yellowing and general fading on old prints. Very heavily destroyed areas may be reconstructed approximately, but most typical shoebox-photo damage cleans up well.