12 Best Photo Restoration Software - Complete List [2021]

What's the Best Photo Restoration Software in 2021?

By: Rob Adams, travel photographer, asian food aficionado

4.9 Votes: 8

Have lots of old photos damaged by time? Want to save them for the generations to come, but don’t know how? Most people just scan their old albums to save them from wear and tear, but in this case, your digital copies will be still torn and faded. What to do then? Luckily, there is old photo restoration software to bring back the former glory of your pictures.

What's the best photo restoration software

However, which program to choose? Will you be able to use this kind of software without expert skills in photography? No need to bombard yourself with these questions - we’ve done all the research for you and compiled a list of the most versatile programs. Some of them are perfect for beginners in picture editing and others are aimed at pro-level users.

Let’s start with a comparison table featuring 12 best software to fix old photos and evaluating the essential toolkit:

Features	PhotoGlory Download	Adobe Photoshop Sign Up	SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher Download	GIMP Download	Retouch Pilot Download	Luminar Download	AKVIS Retoucher Download	Inpaint Sign Up	Image Mender Download	PhotoScape Download	Fotor Download	SketchWay Download
License	Free trial	Free trial	Free trial	Free	Free trial	Free trial	Free trial	Free	Free trial	Free	Freemium	Free
Price	from $19.25	$39.99/month	$24.99	$0.00	$47.54	$67.00	$87.00	$0.00	$24.95	$0.00	$3.33/month	$0.00
Ease of use
Smart coloring
Auto correction
Damage removal
Noise reduction
Torn photo reconstruction
Inversion of negative pics
Built-in effects	100+	None	None	None	None	70	None	None	None	None	200	None
Text options
Final score	10	9.8	9.5	9.0	8.7	8.3	7.7	7.5	7.0	6.7	6.5	6.0

Top 12 Old Photo Editors for Windows and Mac

Being informative and objective, figures can give you only the general impression. Below, we will dwell on each software for old photo enhancement in more detail, pointing out both their ups and downs.

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Score10

PhotoGlory

Features: ..........................................10
Ease of use:.....................................10
Price / Quality: .................................10
Final score: ......................................10

PhotoGlory is the best photo restoration software since it combines a powerful toolkit with ease of use. With this program, you can colorize black & white photos in just a click or paint them manually using smart brushes. There are numerous features for removing creases, scratches, stains, scribbles and damaged edges. In general, PhotoGlory is a great choice for anyone since it’s pretty easy to grasp and copes even with severely damaged pictures.

Pros:

Tools powered by neural networks
Colorize B&W pics automatically
Boost faded colors
Get rid of worn edges
Assemble photos torn in half
Remove nasty grain
Turn negative images into positive
Add stylized text and date stamps
Apply 100+ retro photo filters

Cons:

No Mac version

Score9.7

Adobe Photoshop

Features: .............................................10
Ease of use: ........................................9
Price / Quality: ..................................10
Final score: .....................................9.7

What’s the most popular image editor available on the market? 99% of people will say Photoshop. This software is jam-packed with various tools. There is a detailed layer system, content-aware brushes, smart denoising and sharpening filters, convenient masks and what not. However, you need high image editing skills in order to restore old photos in Photoshop. Apart from the skills, an expensive monthly subscription is required.

Pros:

Colorize grayscale photos manually
Redeem any type of damage
Repair ripped photos
Erase stains, blobs or splotches
Get rid of color cast
Work with negatives
Supports custom plugins

Cons:

Steep learning curve
No automatic coloring option
No built-in filters or effects

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Score9.3

SoftOrbit Photo Retoucher

Features: ............................................10
Ease of use: ........................................9
Price / Quality: ....................................9
Final score: .....................................9.3

Thanks to automatic colorization, Photo Retoucher can be called one of the best programs for colorizing pictures. All you need is to upload your photo, make a click and the software will colorize it without your involvement at all. The interface is pretty simple. All the features are at your fingertips: you can restore and enhance your image digitally in mere minutes. However, some brushes are rather clumsy and you have to download additional presets.

Pros:

Colorize images automatically
Remove scratches, stains and tears
Get rid of grain and blur
Add date stamps and captions

Cons:

Automatic coloring mode is not precise
Can’t colorize images manually

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Score9.0

GIMP

Features: ............................................10
Ease of use: ........................................8
Price / Quality: ....................................9
Final score: ........................................9

If you need a free program, then try using GIMP to restore old photos. Similar to Photoshop, it offers many smart and content-aware brushes for fixing various types of damage. Using layers in the Color mode, you can quickly colorize your black and white images and bring faded colors back to life. It’s not the best photo repair software since there is no automatic coloring and the manual tools are rather clumsy.

Pros:

Customizable toolkit and UI panels
Boost faded colors
Fix severely damaged photos
Colorize pictures with convenient brushes
Supports community-created plugins

Cons:

Loading time is quite slow
No automatic picture coloring
Complex actions need a workaround

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Score8.7

Retouch Pilot

Features: .............................................9
Ease of use: ........................................8
Price / Quality: ...................................9
Final score: .....................................8.7

Retouch Pilot really stands out among the other photo restoration and retouching programs for newbies, since it offers a built-in video guide for each feature. Although the toolkit is limited, the software lets you repair your images without any undue efforts. You can pick the Clone Stamp to remove minor damage, or go with the Auto Patch tool to deal with larger tears. Nevertheless, don’t expect a pro-level result - the tools are rather messy with small details.

Pros:

Get rid of large tears and scratches
Correct washed-out colors
Built-in video guides for each tool
Supports plugins and add-ons

Cons:

No tools for professional restoration
Can’t colorize black & white images
Have to buy additional plugins

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Score8.3

Luminar

Features: .............................................9
Ease of use: ......................................8
Price / Quality: ....................................8
Final score: ....................................8.3

Seeking a pro-level toolkit? You’ll find it in Luminar. It’s packed with many smart tools for image repairing. You can apply AI-powered automatic presets to quickly enhance pictures, color correct them with filters and curves, remove stains or splotches, etc. Though Luminar is not as cumbersome as Photoshop, there is a downside - you need a high-end PC to run the software smoothly.

Pros:

Masks for editing certain areas
Reduce heavy grain
Convenient image organizing system

Cons:

No automatic coloring
High price tag

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Score8.0

AKVIS Retoucher

Features: .............................................8
Ease of use: ......................................8
Price / Quality: ...................................8
Final score: ......................................8

Your photos are heavily damaged? Check out AKVIS Retoucher - the best dust and scratch removal software. It allows you to quickly remove tears and scratches manually using content-aware brushes. Alternatively, it’s possible to select certain areas and let the software redeem all the damage automatically. Using this mode, you can even assemble torn photos. There are some cons: the software is rather pricey and doesn’t offer any image coloring tools.

Pros:

Reconstruct missing parts
Works as a Photoshop plugin

Cons:

No automatic image coloring
Rather expensive

Score7.7

Inpaint

Features: ............................................7
Ease of use: .......................................8
Price / Quality: ....................................8
Final score: .....................................7.7

If you don’t want to install any old photo editor to your PC, there’s always Inpaint. It is a web-based tool for removing scratches, tears and unwanted objects. It works like the Clone Stamp: you just need to make a selection and the program will get rid of any objects automatically. Although it sounds awesome, the service can’t offer anything else: there are no coloring or editing options available. In case you want to remove color cast, consider choosing a different program.

Pros:

Get rid of any damage quickly
Pretty easy to grasp

Cons:

Extremely limited toolkit
No image coloring tools
Uploads private pics to the Internet
Needs a stable Internet connection

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Score7.3

Image Mender

Features: ............................................7
Ease of use: ......................................8
Price / Quality: ....................................7
Final score: ......................................7.3

Need software to restore old photos rather than a web application? Image Mender is worth checking out. It’s an easy-to-grasp program where you need to select a damaged area with a brush, make a click and your picture will be patched up automatically. Sounds like Inpaint that doesn’t need a stable Internet connection. There is a pinch of salt, though - the software doesn’t offer anything else except the tools for removing unwanted objects.

Pros:

Remove scratches in a click
Assemble photos torn to pieces

Cons:

Discontinued
Can’t color black & white images
Limited toolkit

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Score7.0

PhotoScape

Features: ............................................7
Ease of use: ......................................7
Price / Quality: ....................................7
Final score: .......................................7

Looking for free software to restore old photographs? Check out PhotoScape. This program offers all the essential tools for image repair, including a convenient Clone Stamp. You can quickly remove scratches, splotches and stains, then enhance your pics with frames and effects. However, there are no image retouching tools. If you want to restore old portrait shots, then you’d better try a different program.

Pros:

Revive faded colors with effects
Redeem any type of damage

Cons:

No image retouching tools
Can’t colorize images
Outdated UI

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Score6.7

Fotor

Features: ............................................7
Ease of use: ......................................6
Price / Quality: ....................................7
Final score: .....................................6.7

There aren’t many photo editors for old photos on Mac. Fotor is one of them. It offers lots of automatic tools for portrait retouching. With this program, you can redeem damage and perform color correction in a few clicks. If you want to restore a whole photo album, then you can speed up the process with a batch editor. However, Fotor is clearly not the best old photo restoration software, since the toolkit is oversimplified, and meant for quick image enhancement.

Pros:

Boost and correct colors
Apply cool-looking effects
Add date stamps and frames

Cons:

Can’t colorize photos automatically
Few effects available
Works slow with large photos

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Score6.3

SketchWay

Features: ............................................6
Ease of use: ......................................6
Price / Quality: ....................................7
Final score: .....................................6.3

If SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher took your fancy but is too pricey, take a look at SketchWay. It has a similar interface and toolkit, although SketchWay is a little bit clumsier. With this image restoration software, you can remove scratches, tears and spots, as well as apply denoising filters and get rid of grain. You can get this software only from a few file share services. The official website doesn’t work properly.

Pros:

Content-aware brushes

Cons:

No official support
No automatic coloring

After reading photo restoration software reviews, you are probably confused with the diversity of programs: there are many options depending on your device, wallet size and image editing skills.

Judging by the final score and total number of features, PhotoGlory is the best photo editing software for old photos. While the other programs in the list tend to either retouching or repairing, PhotoGlory offers an all-in-one solution. You can quickly colorize your black and white pictures. If you have only negatives, PhotoGlory will turn them into positives and help you get rid of tears and scratches in them. What’s more, the software is much cheaper than its competitors. Also, it saves you a lot of money in comparison with photo restoration services that ask about $100 per photo.

Want to expand your line of work and try your hand at fixing regular images? Then you'll need a trusty program for that. Sure, Photoshop is the staple of photo editing software, but this program is too expensive and complex. Luckily, you don't have to resort to it. Just have a look at our ranking of the best Photoshop alternatives to find the most suitable tool for you.

It’s high time to bring your images back to life. We hope this list will help you find the best software to restore old photos.