Best AI Photo Restoration: 15 Models Compared (2026)

Old photographs are irreplaceable. That faded wedding photo from the 1960s, the scratched portrait of a grandparent, the water-damaged family group shot - these images carry memories that no amount of money can recreate. But time, neglect, and accidents leave their mark. Colors fade. Details blur. Scratches, creases, and stains accumulate.

AI photo restoration has reached the point where even severely damaged photographs can be brought back to life. Tears can be repaired. Fading can be reversed. Black-and-white images can be colorized with realistic, period-appropriate colors. And the technology is now accessible to anyone, not just professional photo editors.

Upsampler offers 15 AI restoration models from four different providers - more variety than any other platform. This means you can find the right model for your specific image, whether it is a lightly faded portrait or a heavily damaged print. And the Free AI Image Upscaler lets you enlarge restored photos to print-ready resolution afterward.

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All 15 Restoration Models at a Glance

Bold entries are recommended models. The default restoration model is Nano Banana Pro.

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Understanding the Two Key Features

Prompt Guidance

All 15 models support prompt guidance. This means you can describe what the restored photo should look like, helping the AI make better decisions about color, detail, and composition. For example:

• "A family portrait from the 1950s, warm natural lighting, realistic skin tones"
• "A landscape photograph with vivid autumn colors and clear blue sky"
• "A military portrait, formal uniform, clean background"

The prompt does not change the content of the photo - it guides the restoration process toward more accurate and aesthetically pleasing results.

Face Enhancement

Face enhancement applies specialized AI processing to facial features, ensuring they are sharp, natural, and well-defined. This is critical for portrait restoration, where faces are the most important element and the most noticeable if they look wrong.

Available in: Google (Nano Banana family), Black Forest Labs (Flux family), Alibaba (Qwen Edit family)

Not available in: ByteDance (Seedream family) - Seedream models support prompt guidance only

If you are restoring portraits, choose a model with face enhancement. For landscapes, architecture, or non-portrait content, this feature is less critical.

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Choosing the Right Restoration Model

Best Overall Quality: Nano Banana Pro (Default, 18 Credits)

Nano Banana Pro is the default restoration model on Upsampler for a reason. It delivers the highest quality restoration with both prompt guidance and face enhancement. If budget is not the primary concern, start here.

Best Value: Qwen Edit 2511 (6 Credits)

At just 6 credits, Qwen Edit 2511 delivers 4-star quality with both prompt guidance and face enhancement. For the price, it is hard to beat - you get face enhancement (which Seedream models lack) at the same price as the cheapest Seedream option.

Budget Option: Flux Kontext Fast (4 Credits)

The cheapest restoration model on the platform. Quality is 2-star, but it supports both prompt guidance and face enhancement. Use it for quick previews or when processing many images on a tight budget.

Best Without Face Enhancement: Seedream 4.5 or 5 Lite (7 Credits)

If you do not need face enhancement - restoring landscapes, buildings, documents, or non-portrait content - Seedream models deliver strong 4-star quality with prompt guidance at 7 credits.

Premium Tier: Flux 2 Max (13 Credits)

Flux 2 Max delivers 5-star restoration quality with full prompt guidance and face enhancement. It is cheaper than Nano Banana Pro (13 vs. 18 credits) while matching the 5-star rating - making it the best choice when you want top quality at a slightly lower price.

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How AI Photo Restoration Works

The default restoration mode on Upsampler is repair and colorize, which performs two operations simultaneously:

1. Repair - The AI identifies and fixes damage including scratches, tears, creases, stains, fading, noise, and compression artifacts. It fills in missing detail intelligently based on the surrounding context.

2. Colorize - For black-and-white photographs, the AI adds realistic color based on its understanding of the era, setting, and content. Skin tones, clothing, foliage, sky, and architectural materials are all colorized with period-appropriate accuracy.

For color photographs, the colorization step focuses on correcting faded or shifted colors rather than adding new ones.

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Step-by-Step: Restoring a Photo on Upsampler

1. Scan or photograph your original. Use a flatbed scanner for best results, or take a well-lit, straight-on photo with your phone.
2. Visit the restoration tool. Go to the Image Restoration tool on Upsampler.
3. Upload your image. Drag and drop or select from your device.
4. Choose a model. Start with the default (Nano Banana Pro) or choose based on the guide above.
5. Write a prompt (optional but recommended). Describe the era, setting, and content to help the AI make better restoration decisions.
6. Enable face enhancement if the photo contains people.
7. Generate. The AI processes the image and returns the restored version.
8. Upscale for print. Use the Free AI Image Upscaler to enlarge the restored photo to print-ready resolution (4K, 8K, or larger).
9. Frame or share. Your restored photo is ready for printing, framing, or sharing with family.

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Restoration by Provider: Strengths and Trade-offs

Google (Nano Banana Family)

Strengths: Highest overall quality, strong face enhancement, excellent colorization accuracy. Nano Banana Pro is the default for a reason.

Trade-off: Most expensive (7-18 credits). Worth it for irreplaceable photos where quality matters most.

Black Forest Labs (Flux Family)

Strengths: Six models covering every price point from 4 to 13 credits. Flux 2 Max matches the 5-star quality of Nano Banana Pro at a lower price. All models support face enhancement.

Trade-off: The Kontext models (Fast, Pro, Max) are lower quality than the Flux 2 lineup but cheaper.

ByteDance (Seedream Family)

Strengths: Strong 4-star quality at mid-range pricing (6-7 credits). Built-in reasoning in Seedream 5 Lite helps with complex restoration decisions.

Trade-off: No face enhancement. Not ideal for portrait-heavy restoration work.

Alibaba (Qwen Edit Family)

Strengths: Best value with face enhancement - 4-star quality at just 6 credits. Qwen Edit 2511's improved consistency helps with multi-photo restoration projects where you want uniform results.

Trade-off: Limited to two models (vs. six for Flux). Still very capable for most restoration tasks.

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Tips for Better Restoration Results

1. Scan at the highest resolution possible. More input detail gives the AI more to work with. 600 DPI is ideal for print photos.
2. Clean the physical photo first. Gently remove dust and debris before scanning. The AI can fix digital damage but not physical particles on the scanner.
3. Use specific prompts. "A 1940s military portrait, studio lighting, olive drab uniform" will produce better results than leaving the prompt blank.
4. Try multiple models. Different models handle different types of damage differently. If one model struggles with a particular scratch or stain, another might handle it cleanly.
5. Restore before upscaling. Always restore first, then upscale. Upscaling a damaged photo just creates a larger damaged photo.
6. Use face enhancement for group photos. Even if faces are small in the frame, face enhancement helps ensure they are recognizable in the restored version.

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Complete Restoration Workflow

For the best possible result, use the full Upsampler pipeline:

1. Restore with Nano Banana Pro or Flux 2 Max in the Restoration tool
2. Edit if specific areas need further refinement - use the Image Edit tool for inpainting with models like Nano Banana or Flux Fill, or the Free AI Image Editor for quick prompt-only touch-ups
3. Upscale to print resolution with the Free AI Image Upscaler or Clarity AI Upscaler
4. Remove background if needed with the Free Background Remover

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I restore old photos for free?

You can upscale and run prompt-only touch-ups on the Free AI Image Editor without signup. The 15-model restoration suite (Nano Banana Pro, Flux, Seedream, Qwen, and more) is in the Restoration tool with credits - not on the free pages.

Which model is best for face restoration?

Nano Banana Pro (18 credits) delivers the best face restoration quality. For a budget option with face enhancement, Qwen Edit 2511 (6 credits) is excellent value.

Can AI colorize black-and-white photos accurately?

Yes. The default repair-and-colorize mode produces realistic colorization based on the era, setting, and content of the photo. Results are not perfect - the AI makes educated guesses about colors - but they are remarkably convincing for most photos.

How do I restore a photo that is torn in half?

For severe physical damage like tears, scan both pieces aligned as closely as possible, then use restoration to repair the tear line. Follow up with inpainting in the Image Edit tool to refine the repair if needed.

Should I restore or upscale first?

Always restore first, then upscale. Upscaling a damaged photo magnifies the damage. Restoring first gives the upscaler a clean, enhanced image to work with.

Can I restore multiple photos from the same era consistently?

Yes. Use Qwen Edit 2511 for its multi-image consistency capability, and write similar prompts for each photo in the set. This helps maintain consistent colorization and restoration style across a collection.

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Restore Your Photos with 15 AI Models

No other platform offers 15 different AI models for photo restoration. Whether you need budget-friendly batch processing or premium quality for an irreplaceable family heirloom, Upsampler has the right model at the right price. No subscription required - buy one-time credits that never expire and use them whenever you need.

Start with the Free AI Image Upscaler for quick enhancement, then unlock the full restoration suite in the Upsampler dashboard.

Try AI Photo Restoration - 15 models, 4 providers, one platform.