Photo Restoration Services in 2026: Prices, Wait Times and When to Do It Yourself

Most of the photo restoration services we checked charge $20 to $100 a photo. Light repairs start near $3, and hard jobs, like rebuilding part of a face, cost more. Rememorie, Pixels Photo Art and Forever Studios send a first version in 1 to 4 days, while a standard job at ScanMyPhotos takes 20 days. ScanCafe, which takes mailed prints, quotes 5 to 6 weeks for standard scanning.

If the photo is only faded, scratched or a little blurry, try an online tool first. On our site that usually takes 1 to 3 minutes, and one photo a day is free without signing up. Pay a restorer when part of a face is missing or the colors must match what your family remembers.

A note up front: we run CodeFormer.io, an online restoration tool, so we have a stake in this. Below, we also list the photos we'd send straight to a person.

What photo restoration services cost in 2026

Most professional photo restoration services we checked charge more as the damage gets worse. These are advertised prices on October 20, 2026. Some are sale prices: Forever Studios shows $35, reduced from $55, and Pixels Photo Art shows crossed-out higher prices next to its own.

Two studios start from one base price. Rememorie advertises a flat $29 with all damage included, though it quotes more for photos that need much more work. Forever Studios charges $35 before any rebuilding.

Thumbtack, a site for hiring local pros, puts the average at $78, with an average range of $55 to $100 and a full range of $25 to $494.

ScanMyPhotos charges $45.50 for a 20-day job and $75.50 for 3 days, and Forever Studios adds $20 for a rush in 1 business day, so a tight deadline raises the price.

Sources: ScanCafe, Pixels Photo Art, FixThePhoto, Harold's Photo, ScanMyPhotos, Forever Studios, Rememorie, Thumbtack.

Where to get old photos restored: what stores offer in 2026

The big chains have mostly stopped restoring photos.

• Walgreens. Its photo site doesn't mention restoration. In 2015, stores sent restorations to an outside company, from $14.99, with a two- to three-week wait (ABC13, 2015).
• CVS. Its photo page lists film processing, home movie and photo transfer, and passport photos, but not restoration.
• Costco. Costco photo restoration ended on February 14, 2021, when every in-store photo center closed (CNN). PhotoRepairPro, the studio that had done Costco's repairs, began selling direct that year at a flat $39.99 (2021 report). We couldn't check its price today.
• Walmart, Legacybox and Kodak Digitizing Box. None of the three lists a repair service, and Legacybox says it doesn't restore photos.
• Local photo stores. Some still do it in person. Harold's Photo, a regional chain based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, scans the print in the store and has the job ready in 5 business days.

How online photo restoration services work

Every online studio we checked accepts an uploaded copy, so your print can stay home. The usual steps:

1. Upload a scan or a phone photo. Rememorie, Pixels Photo Art and Forever Studios all accept phone pictures, though a good scan helps (how to scan old photos).
2. Get a quote. It's often free.
3. A restorer does the work by hand, often in Photoshop. Some studios, Rememorie and Forever Studios among them, say they use AI tools for parts of the job, so ask if you want none at all.
4. Check the preview. Pixels Photo Art sends one in 1 to 3 days and Forever Studios within 3 business days. Pixels and Rememorie both include free changes.
5. Download the file, or order prints.

If a service wants the original print

A few photo restoration services still take prints by mail. ScanCafe, for example, ships them with prepaid UPS labels to its scanning center in Indianapolis.

Check what shipping insurance covers before you send one. The US Postal Service, for example, pays an item's actual value when mailed and lists "claim based solely on sentimental rather than actual value" among the claims it won't pay (USPS DMM 609).

For a one-of-a-kind photo, scan it at home and send the file instead. Then keep the original, as the National Archives advises.

What a human restorer can do that AI can't

AI handles common damage fast. A person makes the judgment calls, and professional photo restoration services charge extra for them.

When a tear runs through a face, someone has to decide what belongs there, and an AI tool can only invent a new face. A restorer can borrow detail from a clearer photo of Grandpa from the same year. Forever Studios adds $50 and up to rebuild missing parts, FixThePhoto starts at $45, and Harold's Photo even lists an "eye/head swap" at $29.99 per person. Our tool works only from the one photo you upload.

Match the real colors. You can tell a person the dress was navy and the car was a green 1957 Chevy. AI colorizing can only make an educated guess.

Check for invented details. A BYU Library Family History Center class warns that AI "photo restoration" tools often make up facial features, which can mislead family historians about who is in a photo. FamilySearch suggests comparing repaired images with the original. The federal scanning guidelines (FADGI, 2023) allow restoration only on a copy labeled as edited, never on the original scan.

Treat the paper. If a print is stuck to glass, keeps getting worse or is especially valuable, the Library of Congress recommends a photograph conservator, a specialist who treats the paper itself. The American Institute for Conservation keeps a directory of conservators.

When restoring it yourself online is enough

Photo restoration services charge least for light damage. ScanCafe Basic ($3 to $18) covers small tears or marks, and Harold's Minor ($39.99) covers simple areas without faces. That's also the kind of damage an online tool like ours handles well: prints that faded or turned yellow, orange or pink, light scratches and creases, and small tears that stay clear of faces.

Our tool also sharpens soft or grainy faces, cleans up small, blocky photos from early digital cameras and phones, and adds color to a black-and-white photo if an educated guess will do. Two cases are hit or miss: heavy motion blur, and very small faces in a large group photo.

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Should you hire a photo restoration service? A quick checklist

Run through it before you call or email anyone.

Try it yourself online first if:

• the problem is fading, a color tint, dust, light scratches or soft faces
• you need it this week, for a slideshow or a service program
• you have a dozen ordinary photos, and $30 each adds up (our free use covers 1 to 2 photos a day, and the $9.90-a-month Basic plan's 100 credits cover 50 standard photos)

Hire a person if:

• part of a face, a hand or the background is missing
• several people in the photo need rebuilding
• the colors must match what the family remembers
• it's for a family history record, where nothing should be invented
• an AI result, from any app, changed how the person looks

Call a conservator instead if the print itself is stuck to glass or another photo, is especially valuable, or keeps getting worse.

Try it yourself first, free

Upload the photo on our homepage, then compare the faces with the before/after slider. You don't need an account for your first photo of the day, and it's free. A photo usually takes 1 to 3 minutes; some take longer.

If the result looks right, you're done. If something still looks wrong, or part of a face is gone or hidden under a stain, send the same scan to a restorer.

Your uploads are private to your account: none appear in a public gallery, and none are used to train AI. If you don't have a paid plan, restored photos are removed automatically after 30 days. You can delete any of them before that.

The homepage also covers the steps and the limits, and prices are on pricing. For a blurry picture, see unblur a photo; for black and white, see colorize a photo.

FAQ

How much does photo restoration cost?

Among the services we checked, most charge $20 to $100 a photo. Light repairs start near $3, and rebuilding missing parts often runs $79 to $100 or more. Color adds $10 to $20 at most of the online studios we checked; FixThePhoto and Harold's charge about $60 to colorize.

Can Walgreens restore old photos?

Not that we could confirm: when we checked in October 2026, Walgreens photo restoration wasn't offered on its photo site, so call your local photo counter to be sure.

Is Costco photo restoration still available?

No, it ended in February 2021, when Costco closed all its in-store photo centers.

Is a professional photo restoration service worth it?

For a badly damaged photo that matters to you, often yes: you're paying for skilled hand work and someone you can ask for changes. For fading and soft faces, try a free online tool first.

Can AI replace a human photo restorer?

Not for every photo. AI fixes common damage fast, but a person can ask you what color the dress really was and work from other pictures of the same face.

How do I choose between the best photo restoration services?

We don't rank studios. Look for a free quote, a way to upload instead of mailing the original, a preview before you pay in full, free changes, a straight answer about AI, and no charge if they can't fix it.