5+ best apps & software to restore old photos

Adobe Photoshop CC

Adobe Photoshop CC is a well-acknowledged photo editing software that is used both by beginners and professionals.

It has all the necessary features to make edits on actual images or graphics as well as create new ones from scratch. Besides that, it comes with thousands of plugins and pre-made templates you can freely use.

In our opinion, it is one of the most suitable software to restore old images that are damaged by either scratch, color degradation, or come with the well-known sepia hue.

The main reason why we chose Photoshop CC as the best option is the ability to work on multiple layers, adjust highlights, shadows, and change RGB colors down to the pixel level.

Apart from restoring old images, you can also work on improving the quality of images by changing skin tone, applying filters, or removing backgrounds.

For a beginner, the process of restoring an old photo can be challenging. However, there are plenty of step-by-step guides from Adobe that will help you get started.

Let’s quickly look at its key features:

• Professional photo editing toolkit (crop, retouch, restore, repair, and combine photos)
• Unlimited layers, masks, and effects for stunning imagery
• Cross-platform compatibility and full support for stylus or touch technology
• Your projects are automatically saved to the cloud 
• Interactive in-app tutorials and inspirational content available

Adobe Photoshop

Restore your most precious memories to their former glory with this great photo restoration software!

Free trialVisit website

PhotoWorks

Another great entry in our list of reliable photo restoring tools is PhotoWorks, a user-frindly software that will soon become your most trusted photo-assistant.

The tool comes with AI features that automatically detect any type of picture so that it can apply special enhancements based on that.

You will benefit from a lot of image enhancement tools that will help you express your imagination in getting the perfect shot.

However, PhotoWorks is especially good in photo restauration. Take for instance the Healing Brush that you will find in the Retouch tab. This will just help you get rid of the inherent small cracks from old photos.

If you choose the right brush size, they will disappear like magic. And after you adjust the Feather and Opacity settings for softening the areas that have been touched and the rest of the photo, you are done.

Of course, you can still work on the details and enliven the colors or even replace the background if it’s too damaged, but everything is extremely easy to work with.

The software is not free, but you will still get the chance to try it for free before buying and there’s a great chance that you’ll decide to continue using it.

PhotoGlory

If you want a powerful photo restoration software, PhotoGlory is worthy of your full attention. There is no other tool on the market that can remove scratches, tears, and stains so easily.

Moreover, when your mission is to bring life to old photos, another useful trick is to colorize them. Don’t even think that you need to find a different tool for that.

A click is all that stays between you and achieving this goal as well. You can even modify the colors manually in order to make the results more personal.

Key features that PhotoGlory brings to the table:

• Restores colors to faded photos
• Ads stylized text labels and date stamps
• Removes scratches, stains, and creases
• Assembles photos ripped in half
• Turns a negative picture into positive

PhotoGlory

Give a new life to your old photos with PhotoGlory! Your loved ones will most likely be surprised!

Check priceVisit website

Corel Paintshop Pro

With an interface that will satisfy both beginners and advanced users, Corel Paintshop Pro is another great tool to restore photos.

Corel has grown a lot in the last few years and the quality of Paintshop Pro stands behind the company’s name.

Fade correction is one of the most utilized tools due to the fact that the main problem when it comes to old photos is decoloration.

With it, you can adjust the percentage of tint and fade to your liking without the need for complex photo editing skills.

One of the other advantages it has is the scratch remover that can easily handle scratches on damaged photos. It allows you to select a damaged area and then apply a layer of paint over it.

With the Cutout Lab feature, you can easily remove the background of the photo while preserving the quality on the edges.

Let’s quickly look at its key features:

• Customizable interface
• Stylus and tablet support
• 360 photo editing
• HDR photo manipulation
• Creative content integration

Corel PaintShop Pro

Breathe life into your old photos and enjoy forever-lasting memories with Corel PaintShop Pro right away!

Free trialVisit website

AKVIS Retoucher

AKVIS Retoucher is a photo restoration software that helps to remove dust, scratches, and other unwanted objects as well as restructure missing parts.

By removing unwanted details, this software helps to improve photo composition. Since it’s a Photoshop-compatible plugin, it works well with a selection of your Photoshop image editors.

⇒ Get the plugin from the official website

Let’s quickly look at its key features:

• Intelligent cloning techniques to cover the selected areas and yields amazing results at removing photo defects
• Resolves the problem of extending the borders of a layout that does not have space for cropping
• Photo restoration tools
• It also removes the date stamp, distracting details, and increases the image canvas using the image patterns to fill blank areas

Besides the plugin version, AKVIS Retoucher is available as an independent program (standalone) with a trial version.

There is no registration required to try all the features of the software during the free 10-day evaluation period.

Akvis Retoucher

AKVIS Retoucher will help you give a new life to your old, dusty photos by also improving their composition.

Free trialVisit website

SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher

SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher enables you to clean digital photos, removing any imperfections to create a perfect picture.

So, whether it’s a wandering tourist, a breakup, or an inconveniently placed animal, SoftOrbits helps you remove them all.

This program not only allows you to remove minor imperfections such as scratches but also cause major objects or people to vanish.

This is made possible by the content filling algorithms that also let you reproduce the original background behind the erased objects.

You can also use SoftOrbits to remove scratches, cracks, dust, stains, and other imperfections.

⇒ Download SoftOrbits Photo Retoucher

Luminar 4

Restoring old photos is no easy task… or is it? It can be with the right tools and Luminar delivers everything you need to remove noise, retouch black and white pictures and adjust tones, clarity, and contrast.

Using AI-based image processing and powerful noise reduction tools, Luminar helps you bring your old photos back to their sharp and crisp state.

Let’s quickly look at its key features:

• Automated AI-based photo editor
• Professional-grade noise reduction tools
• Old photo restoration tools to remove stains, scratches, splotches, and dirt
• Erase tool to cover problematic areas with similar-looking textures
• Enhance faded photos by fixing contrast, tone, exposure, and color
• Color Temperature filter to cool down the temperature of your photos

⇒ Download Luminar 4

Fotor

While it is not as features-rich a software as Adobe Photoshop, for instance, Fotor does a pretty good job at photo restoration.

What’s more, it delivers a complete photo editing toolkit for free.

Fotor’s main focuses are on color correction and RAW image editing, which makes it perfectly suited to adjust balance and enhance faded colors and shades in old photos.

Let’s quickly look at its key features:

• Supports all popular graphic file formats
• In-built photo restoration feature
• Photo editing tools (crop, add or remove objects, bur, adjust contrast, correct color and shade, and more)
• Intuitive, easy to use interface

⇒ Download Fotor

Seeing old photos that hold precious memories shrouded in scratches and stains can be heartbreaking.

However, with the latest technology in photo restoration software, you can relax knowing that all blemishes will be handled perfectly well.

We’ve listed some of the renowned old photo restoration software that can assist you in cleaning up all your old photos.

We hope you found this article useful and informative. Feel free to comment and share.