What photo restoration costs

What drives the cost elsewhere

Most restoration services price by effort, which depends on a few things:

• How bad the damage is. Light fading and a few spots take far less work than a missing corner, a tear through a face or heavy water stains. Many services sort photos into tiers, such as light, moderate and severe, and price each tier differently.
• How much of the photo is people. Repairs in a plain background are quick. Repairs across faces and hands take the most care.
• Colorizing. Often a separate charge on top of the restoration.
• Rush service. Faster turnaround usually costs more.
• The print itself. Many services deliver a digital file only, and printing, paper choice and shipping are extra.
• Copies. Prints for each sibling may be charged one by one, sometimes with setup fees.

That is why two quotes for the same photo can be very different, and why a low headline price can grow by the time a print is in your hands. When you compare, ask each service for the total for a finished print of your size, delivered to your door, with color if you want it.

How our pricing works

We keep it to one number per print. The restoration is included in the price of the print, whatever the damage, black and white or with color added.

Prices are per print, before any sales tax that applies at checkout. What is included:

• The restoration, repairing cracks, tears, stains, scratches and fading.
• Color, if you want it, at no extra charge.
• A real photo print on lustre or glossy paper, with a clean white border, keeping the whole photo.
• Free shipping, arriving in about 6 to 10 business days. Faster shipping is offered at checkout, with its price and arrival date shown before you pay.
• Protective packing: each print in its own sleeve with a stiff backing board.

Copies for the family are simply more prints of the same photo, at the same price per print, up to 50 in one order. They arrive together in one package.

See it before you pay

The most important part of the price is when you pay it. You upload a copy of your photo, see the restored result, and only then decide whether to order. If something does not look right, you can ask for a free re-do with a short note, such as "keep the background darker" or "her dress was blue". Nothing is charged until checkout.

Is restoration worth it?

For most family photos, the honest answer depends on two questions.

Is it the only copy? Many old photos exist as a single print, and that print is slowly fading, cracking or staining. A restored copy, printed on fresh photo paper, protects the picture even if the original keeps aging. Our guide to faded photos explains how quickly prints change.

Will it be seen? A photo in a box is seen once a decade. A restored print on the wall or in a frame on a grandparent's table is seen every day. If the photo matters, and someone will look at it, restoring it usually is worth it.

How to get the best result for the price

The quality of the restoration depends on the copy you send. A sharp, glare free copy lets the restoration recover more and supports larger prints. Our scanning guide shows how to make one with a phone. When choosing the finish, our glossy vs lustre guide explains which paper suits which photo.

Updated October 8, 2026