AI Colorize
How to colorize a black and white photo
- 1. Add a photo
Drop a black and white or sepia JPEG, PNG or WebP up to 25 MB on the box, or click it to select one. You can also try a sample photo.
- 2. Select a mode
High Quality colorizes on our server, and Enhance Faces restores the faces. Fast Mode runs in your browser, free and with no limit.
- 3. Compare
Move the divider to compare the color photo with the original. In Fast Mode, Color Saturation makes the colors stronger or softer.
- 4. Download
Download the image, or copy it to paste it somewhere else. A photo with transparent areas downloads as a PNG that keeps them. Every other photo downloads as a JPG.
Frequently asked questions
Is AI Colorize free?
Fast Mode runs in your browser and is free with no limit. High Quality gives you free runs every day, with or without an account; after that, each run costs credits, which needs an account. See the pricing page for the current numbers. Free runs reset every day at 00:00 UTC. When your free runs are used and your credit is not enough, the tool tells you and offers Fast Mode. If our server cannot answer, the photo is colorized in Fast Mode on your device, the tool tells you, and the run is not counted. If the photo already has its own colors, High Quality does not colorize it: the tool tells you, and the run is not counted and costs no credit.
What is the difference between High Quality and Fast Mode?
High Quality sends the photo to our server, where the DDColor AI model colorizes it at its original size, and Enhance Faces can restore the faces. Fast Mode uses a different AI model in your browser, so the photo is not uploaded. Fast Mode gives an image of a maximum of 1920 px on the longest side, and its first run downloads the model.
Are my photos stored?
No. In High Quality, your photo is sent over HTTPS to our server, processed in memory, and never written to disk or stored. It is not used to train AI, and no person sees it. In Fast Mode, the photo does not leave your device.
Can it restore faces in old photos?
Yes, in High Quality, on a black and white or toned photo. When Enhance Faces is on, the tool finds each face and restores its details with GFPGAN, an AI model for faces. A photo that already has its own colors is not changed by AI, faces included: to restore the faces in a color photo, use Sharpen image. Fast Mode only adds color.
Can it colorize a sepia photo?
Yes. High Quality treats a photo with one overall tone, such as a sepia print, a blue cyanotype or a black and white print photographed under warm light, as black and white, and colorizes it. A faded color print keeps its colors when part of it still shows a color of its own, such as a sky or a face; a print faded to one tone everywhere is colorized. A photo with its own colors keeps them: it gets less grain and more contrast, but no new colors and no face restoration, and the run is not counted. Fast Mode colorizes any photo from its light and dark areas.
Are the colors the real colors?
Not always. A black and white photo has no color data, so the AI estimates the colors. It gives probable colors to what it sees, such as skin, sky and plants. Clothes, cars and painted walls can get a color they did not have.
Which files can I use?
JPEG, PNG and WebP, up to 25 MB each, one photo at a time. In both modes, the download is a PNG that keeps the transparency when the photo has transparent areas, and a JPG for every other photo.