Pay-Per-Photo Restoration Services, Compared

By the Resly AI team · Updated 5 November 2026

The short answer

Several online services restore an old photo for a one-off price with no subscription: Pastlume from $1.49, Resly $1.99, Vintage Photos $2, Belagon $5 and Reviva $9 a photo when we checked in November 2026. Most charge less per photo when you buy several at once. For heavy damage, a human retoucher costs about $35 to $150 a photo.

Pay-per-photo services side by side

We make Resly, which is in this table, so read it knowing that. Every service below uses AI and charges per photo. They differ in whether you can see the result before paying, whether you need an account, and what color costs.

Pay-per-photo restoration, prices read from each site on 5 November 2026
Service	One photo	More photos	See it before paying	Account	Color
Pastlume	One photo: $1.49	More photos: 5 for $5.99, 12 for $11.90	See it before paying: Small preview, 800 px	Account: Sign-in by email code	Color: Included
Resly	One photo: $1.99	More photos: 99¢ each extra, up to 5 an order	See it before paying: Free watermarked preview	Account: None	Color: Included, plus sizing for print
Vintage Photos	One photo: $2	More photos: Monthly plans: 20 for $10, 100 for $25	See it before paying: Free preview	Account: Only to download	Color: Offered
Belagon	One photo: $5	More photos: 5 for $15, 15 for $29	See it before paying: Not stated; refund if you ask within 14 days, before download	Account: Not stated	Color: Included for black-and-white
Reviva	One photo: $9	More photos: 3 for $19	See it before paying: Small watermarked preview	Account: Not stated	Color: $5 extra a photo

For comparison, hand restoration by a person: RetouchUp $35 a photo flat, MemoryCherish from $38. Prices change; check the service's own page before paying.

A 1945 black-and-white snapshot of a young woman on a lake dock, torn across the middle, restored — A 1945 snapshot torn across the middle, restored by Resly and kept black-and-white. Photo: Infrogmation family collection, CC BY-SA 2.0; the restored version is shared under the same licence.

A 1945 black-and-white snapshot of a young woman on a lake dock, torn across the middle, before restoration — A 1945 snapshot torn across the middle, restored by Resly and kept black-and-white. Photo: Infrogmation family collection, CC BY-SA 2.0; the restored version is shared under the same licence.

What to check before you pay

A preview. Seeing the restored face before paying is the single most useful thing, because AI sometimes makes a person look subtly like someone else.
Output size. If you plan to print, ask how many pixels you get. Resly delivers up to 16 megapixels and sizes the file to the print you choose; several services only say "high resolution".
Color. Some include colorizing in the price, some charge extra.
What happens to your photos. Resly deletes them two days after delivery and never trains AI on them; check the policy of any service you use.
A refund route if the result is wrong. Resly refunds a photo it couldn't restore.

Resly, in detail

Upload an old photo, or a phone photo of the print, and you see a free watermarked preview of the restore. If it looks right, pay $1.99 for that photo, or 99¢ for each extra one in the same order. There is no account: payment goes through Stripe and the finished file arrives by private link in about 20 seconds. You can keep the original colors or add color, and choose a print size such as 5×7 or 8×10; Resly extends the background to that shape instead of cropping. Restore a photo.

When pay-per-photo isn't the best deal

A box of hundreds of photos: a monthly plan works out cheaper. Vintage Photos sells 100 restorations for $25 a month, and MyHeritage's Reimagine app is $7.99 a month. See MyHeritage alternatives.
Light damage on one photo: try a free tool first, such as Adobe Firefly or Canva. See photo restoration apps.
Missing parts of a face, or the only photo of someone: pay a person. See how much photo restoration costs.

Restore one photo, pay for one photo

Upload a scan or a phone photo. See it restored free first, then pay $1.99 for just that photo, with no account and nothing that renews.

Drop images, or click to browseTap to choose photos

JPG, PNG, HEIC, WEBP (up to 50MB each) · up to 5 at once

Free preview · No account needed · Deleted after 48 hours · Never used to train AI

Questions

Can I pay to restore just one photo?

Yes. Pastlume ($1.49), Resly ($1.99), Vintage Photos ($2), Belagon ($5) and Reviva ($9) all sell single photos with no subscription, at November 2026 prices.

What is the cheapest photo restoration service?

Among pay-per-photo services, Pastlume is the cheapest for one photo at $1.49, and cheaper still in packs. Free tools such as Adobe Firefly and Canva cost nothing for light damage.

Can I see the restored photo before paying?

With several services, yes. Resly and Vintage Photos show a free preview, and Pastlume and Reviva show a small or watermarked one.

Is AI restoration as good as a human retoucher?

For scratches, creases and fading, usually yes, and in seconds. Where part of a face is missing, AI has to invent it; a human retoucher at $35 to $150 can ask you what the person looked like.

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