Colorize black and white photo
Turn any black and white photo into a full-color image — free, right in your browser. On-device AI predicts natural colors from grayscale tones automatically, or you can pick a tonal palette and paint specific hues by hand. Works on film scans, old prints, digital grayscale files and phone photos of documents.
Drop black & white photos here
JPG, PNG or WebP · several files at once for batch mode
Photos are processed on your device and never uploaded.
How to use
Open your black and white photo
Drop a black and white photo onto the page, paste it with Ctrl+V (⌘V on a Mac), or click “Choose photos”. JPG, PNG, WebP and any other browser-supported format works. Nothing is uploaded — the AI runs entirely on your device.
Let the AI predict natural colors
In Auto mode the neural network analyzes the grayscale tones and adds realistic colors — skin, sky, foliage, clothing — in seconds. Or pick one of 8 tonal palettes for a specific mood.
Refine with the color brush
If the AI picks the wrong hue for a jacket or a car, switch to the Paint brush and set the exact color by hand. The brush changes only color, never detail, and you get 15 undo steps per photo.
Download the colorized photo
Export as JPEG, PNG or WebP at up to 4096 px with a live file-size preview. Processing a batch? “Download all” applies the same settings to every photo. “Copy” puts the result on your clipboard as a PNG.
Getting better colors from black and white photos
Start with a clean grayscale image
The AI reads brightness to predict color. Strong color casts (orange scanner light, yellowed paper) can confuse it — convert the photo to true grayscale in any editor first if the original has a heavy tint.
Use higher resolution for more detail
The model processes up to 4096 px on the longest side. A high-resolution scan gives the network more tonal information to work with, especially for faces, fabric texture and foliage.
Paint what the AI cannot know
The AI guesses colors from brightness, so a red car and a blue car in the same shade of gray may get the same prediction. Use the brush to correct objects whose true color matters to you — the brush only changes hue, never sharpness or detail.
Adjust intensity to taste
Full-strength color can look vivid on photos that were originally low-contrast. Pulling the intensity slider back to 60–80% produces a softer, more natural palette without losing the sense of color.
FAQ
- How do I colorize a black and white photo?
- Add the photo above and the built-in AI colorizes it automatically on your device. You can also choose a tonal palette, adjust intensity, or paint specific hues with the brush. Then download the result as JPEG, PNG or WebP.
- Does AI colorization work on any black and white photo?
- Yes. The neural network handles scanned film negatives, old prints, phone photos of documents, digital grayscale images and even screenshots. It reads light-and-dark structure, so both pure black and white and sepia-toned photos colorize well.
- How accurate are the AI-predicted colors?
- The model produces realistic best guesses based on the grayscale tones — skin, sky and foliage are usually very close. Objects whose color can’t be inferred from brightness (a red vs. blue car, for instance) may need a manual brush correction.
- Is colorizing a black and white photo free?
- Yes — completely free with no signup, no watermark and no limit on the number of photos. The AI model downloads once (about 39 MB) and is cached by your browser for future visits.
- Are my photos uploaded to a server?
- No. The neural network runs inside your browser via WebAssembly, so photos never leave your device. There are no uploads, no cloud storage and no image tracking.
- Can I colorize multiple black and white photos at once?
- Yes. Add all the photos together and use “Download all” to apply the same color style, quality and size settings to every photo in one batch.
- What resolution does the colorizer support?
- Up to 4096 px on the longest side at full detail. You control the output dimensions and quality with sliders, and a live file-size estimate updates as you adjust.
- Can I paste a black and white photo instead of uploading?
- Yes — copy an image anywhere and press Ctrl+V (⌘V on a Mac) with this page open. Screenshots and photos copied from a file manager both work, and pasting several images at once adds them all.
Your photos stay private
Everything happens locally in your browser. Black and white photos you colorize never leave your device — there are no uploads, no storage and no tracking of your images.
Working with scanned family prints? Colorize old photos has scanning tips and settings tuned for faded originals. Or head to the main photo colorizer for the full toolkit.