Capturing memories through photographs is one of the most common ways we preserve our precious moments. However, time and environmental factors can often cause these images to fade, become scratched, or deteriorate in quality. Fortunately, with the help of advanced software, old and damaged photos can be restored to their original glory. In this article, we have compiled a list of the best old photo restoration software that you can download and use for free.
20 Best Software to Restore Your Old Photos on PC
Photo software tools can restore old photos by enhancing and repairing images that have been damaged over time by various factors. These tools use advanced algorithms and techniques, such as:
- Image processing
- Artificial intelligence
- Machine learning
These techniques help eliminate scratches, blemishes, and other imperfections from the images. Besides, they enhance brightness and contrast as well as restore the colors of faded photos. These tools can transform aged and damaged photographs into high-quality images that retain their original details and vibrancy.
There are numerous software and online tools available in the market, each with its own unique features and capabilities. These applications or tools make it easy for professionals and amateurs to easily restore old photos. Now, let’s explore the best options that will help you cherish your old and precious memories.
1. Adobe Photoshop CC
Adobe Photoshop CC is a powerful tool for photo repair. The imaging and design app is a part of Adobe Creative Cloud service. It is atop this list of the best software to restore old photos due to the various features it offers.
Features:
- It has photo enhancement which can improve the color, contrast, and details of old photos.
- It has features that can enhance faces and improve the detail on the face specifically.
- Adobe Photoshop CC allows you to restore areas of the photo that have been scratched or damaged.
- It has a colorizing feature for black-and-white photos.
- It can restore aged or damaged photos using a new Neural Filter that uses AI.
- You can use this software for free with the 7-day free trial.
Also Read: How to Make a Blurry Picture Clear Photoshop for Free
2. PhotoGlory
PhotoGlory is a free-to-download photo restoration software that allows you to edit and restore your old photos. It is an intuitive and efficient software. The non-pro version of the software could be the best free photo restoration software for you.
Features:
- It offers creative tools for restoring old photos of family and friends by removing scratches, stains, and other defects.
- PhotoGlory enables you to restore photos with clarity, saturation, and contrast so that no kind of details inside the photo can be missout.
- It offers a fully-automatic photo restoration feature, which removes tears, scuffs, dust, and other defects without any user input.
3. Luminar Neo
Luminar Neo is a photo editing software that offers a range of photo restoration tools to help you restore old photos.
Features:
- It has Relight AI to provide smart control of overexposure.
- This software includes an adjustable clone and stamp tool.
- It offers a portrait background removal tool.
- Luminar Neo has a mask AI tool to recognize objects.
- It also offers a range of tools to adjust detail, correct uneven color, adjust color temperature, and remove excess grain.
4. Retouch Pilot
Retouch Pilot is a photo editing software that provides a variety of photo restoration tools to help you fix your old photos.
Features:
- This software can restore scanned old photos.
- It can eliminate any imperfections that may occur in a still image due to extended storage, such as stains, scratches, and areas of wear and tear.
- It can enhance a background outdoor scene by removing unnecessary objects from a photo.
- It serves as a plug-in that is compatible with Adobe Photoshop or other suitable software applications.
Also Read: How Do I Find My Old Google Photos
5. PaintShop Pro
The image editing tools of PaintShop Pro enable effortless and speedy restoration of images, reviving them to their former glory.
Features:
- Paintshop Pro can help you alter image colors, eliminate image noise, and enhance underexposed pictures.
- It can enlarge the image using digital technology, which is a recommended approach for scanning old photos to produce a digital copy.
- You can also perform fade correction with the help of this software.
- Using the AI Artifact Removal feature, you can eliminate any undesired artifacts resulting from the restoration process.
6. AKVIS Retoucher
AKVIS Retoucher is a program for photo restoration and photo retouching. Let’s see some of its best features:
Features:
- It can intelligently reconstruct the missing parts of the photo using the information of the surrounding areas.
- It can enhance faded and discolored pictures.
- It removes scratches, stains, and other defects from photos.
- It improves the tonality, contrast, and sharpness of photos.
7. Photoscape
Photoscape is a free-to-download desktop software used for photo restoration. It is widely accepted and allows you to optimize your photos easily.
Features:
- It offers numerous editing tools, including resizing, color and brightness adjustment, white balance, frames, mosaic mode, red-eye removal, and more.
- It can help you remove scratches, lint, dust, and more.
- The Batch editor enables you to edit multiple photos simultaneously.
- It can copy parts of a photo and remove unwanted objects.
- You can print portrait shots, carte de visites (CDV), and passport photos.
8. SketchWay
SketchWay is a freely downloadable software for restoring old photographs. The following features will help you determine whether it is a suitable option for you or not.
Features:
- It is a program that is free to use and is designed to repair photos using content-filling algorithms.
- The algorithms are able to analyze the image and reproduce the original background behind the cropped object.
- With just a few clicks, it has the ability to eliminate scratches and blemishes.
- It can tidy up film grain and digital noise, repair cracks, and damaged sections, as well as erase marks and writings from your pictures.
- It has powerful and easy-to-use selectors and erasers.
Also Read: How to Invert Colors on iPhone Photos
9. Inpaint
Inpaint stands out as a top-notch photo restoration software due to its exceptional features, which are mentioned below:
Features:
- It makes it effortless to retouch an old scanned photo’s digital copy.
- It is designed to reconstruct the selected image area from the pixels near the area boundary.
- You can remove undesirable objects from your images using this tool, such as logos, watermarks, power lines, people, text, or any other undesired artifacts.
10. SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher
SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher is free-to-download software designed for the restoration of old scanned photos. It can improve the quality of the aged photos with the help of these features:
Features:
- The advanced system of the SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher allows users to perform top-quality photographic restoration.
- It can help to improve old photos by restoring them, touching them up, and removing blemishes.
- This photo editing software enables you to revive an old black-and-white photograph.
- It can rotate or crop photos.
11. VanceAI Photo Restorer
VanceAI Photo Restorer is a photo restoration software powered by AI. It can quickly remove scratches from old photos.
Features:
- It can bring old photos back to life by removing their scratches, creases, spots, and tears,
- VanceAI can automatically repair images by intelligently analyzing and filling in the missing parts caused by scratches.
- It also includes color restoration and face enhancement for old and damaged photos.
- With just one click, VanceAI can restore old photos, bringing them back to life with clarity and natural vintage colors.
Also Read: 15 Best App to Restore Old Photos Android List
12. Movavi Photo Editor
Movavi Photo Editor is a photo restoration software that has an incredibly diverse palette of retouching tools. The software has AI-powered photo-editing software for flawless results.
Features:
- It offers high-quality output without losing image quality.
- It auto-enhances photos for perfect color and contrasts within seconds with artificial intelligence technology.
- Movavi Photo Editor for PCs is designed for photographers of any skill level.
13. Remini AI Photo Restorer
With its advanced and powerful AI technology, Remini can instantly revive your old photos, bringing them back to life.
Features:
- It can identify faces and facial features in images, even blurry group images from decades ago.
- Remini software enhances old photos to super-sharp HD quality.
- With just one click, this tool can remove blur, sharpen details, and clean up grain.
14. ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate
ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate is photo restoration software equipped with a diverse range of tools and features to aid you in fixing your old photos.
Features:
- It restores the details and vibrancy in your images with Light EQ™ technology.
- This tool can fix overexposed or underexposed photos.
- The software has a powerful RAW photo editor, layered editor, and file manager.
- It can remove digital noise from photos with ease.
15. Fotor
Fotor is a photo editing tool that grants users access to AI-powered photo restoration services.
Features:
- It has a simple UI and is easy to use.
- You can transform blurred and pixelated photos into high-resolution versions with the help of this software.
- It can restore the most realistic details and atmosphere of the old photos.
- It has automated restoration tools.
- Fotor offers users the option to restore old photographs in a natural-looking manner.
Also Read: Photoshop vs Canva: Which is the Best Design Tool?
16. Ashampoo Photo Optimizer
Ashampoo Photo Optimizer is a free-to-download one-click photo restoration and editor software that optimizes as well as edits photos instantly.
Features:
- It is simple and easy to use.
- It has fully automated functionality.
- It has an auto-optimization feature that scans each photo for issues with exposure, color temperature, and other defects.
- Ashampoo Photo Optimizer also helps you remove the face stains from your old photos.
17. MyHeritage Photo Enhancer
The MyHeritage Photo Enhancer employs machine learning technology to improve old photos by utilizing face upscaling, which increases the resolution of facial features.
Features:
- It can predict the potential appearance of the original faces by converting blurry, pixelated, or low-resolution images into sharp and clear pictures.
- Enhancing a photo with this tool typically takes 4 to 6 seconds, varying based on the photo’s dimensions and the number of faces.
- You can choose to download either the entire enhanced photo or just an enhanced version of a particular face.
18. ImageColorizer
ImageColorizer uses cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology to effortlessly and instantly restore old photographs.
Features:
- It enhances blurry and low-quality old photographs, restoring them to a state of clarity and sharpness.
- You can clean up photos and remove unwanted objects from old photos with the help of this tool.
- ImageColorizer automatically adds color to black-and-white photos at no cost.
19. Wondershare Repairit
Repairit by Wondershare offers a quick online solution for restoring damaged old images. Below are some of its amazing features:
Features:
- It uses fast AI upscaling to enhance visual quality, ensuring smooth image restoration automatically.
- This tool uses cutting-edge AI algorithms to achieve natural and refined facial enhancements.
- It can help you remove scratches from your images, restoring them to a clear and intact state.
- Repairit can also help improve the appearance of faces by blurring fine lines, blemishes, and imperfections.
- It allows easy colorization without requiring any installation. Simply upload your black-and-white photo, and let AI handle the rest.
Also Read: 28 Best Free Photo Editing Software for PC
20. jpgHD
jpgHD utilizes AI image super-resolution models and deep learning technology to fix old photos. Let’s see other features provided by this tool:
Features:
- It enhances noisy, scratched, and older photos while adding vibrant colors.
- It supports all types of images, including graphic design, illustrations, cartoons, as well as old and scratched photographs.
- The Magic Photo feature allows you to construct a portrait move vividly, and each photo can support up to 10 faces.
We hope this guide was helpful for you to find the best software to restore your old photos. Let us know which tool helped you the best to get the desired results. If you have any queries or suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comments below. Also, stay tuned to our website for more informative articles.
