My Review of the Top AI Image Colorizers

In this guide, we review the top AI image colorizers, which add realistic colors to monochrome photos instantly.

Adding color to black-and-white images is a classic editing trick. Realistic colors are compelling and emotionally evocative, connecting the viewer and the subject.

Before color photography was invented, photo editors would spend hours painting colors onto photos to vitalize the image.

AI has brought to the editing table a simple, slick click leading to infinitely more precise color enhancements.

Read on to find out which AI image colorizers are the best in 2025.

What is the Best AI Image Colorizer in 2025?

To minimize variables, I tested the apps with the same three images. This way, I could compare the monochrome to color results.

Is AI colorization a lucky fluke, or is there a science behind its process?

I used a vintage photo of a Victorian pianist, a black and white photo of two boys in the sea at sunset, and a picture of a girl in her garden.

How well would AI accurately colorize the images, and how would they stack up against each other?

I took into consideration how fast the colorization process was and how easy the apps were to navigate.

I checked to see how accurate the colorization was and if AI detected objects’ edges or if there was color leakage.

Other considerations were post-colorization manual editing tools, download quality, and the cost of the process.

I trialed some of the big names in the AI photo editing world to see how they compared to the new on-the-block apps, which promote themselves as specializing in colorization.

Can you bring a bleak black-and-white photo to life in the blink of an AI eye?

Here’s what I discovered.

Nero AI

Nero AI is an innovative AI-powered photo editing platform. You can log in to Nero AI to alter or enhance your images with only a few prompts or clicks.

This is an app that was designed to be intuitive and easy to use. I uploaded my image by simply dropping it onto Nero’s webpage.

Once my image was uploaded, Nero AI offered me the option of three filters: Vibrant Oil Pastel, Natural Style, or Crisp & Mint Tones.

I selected the Vibrant Oil Pastel hue for my first image of the young girl running in a garden. I then hit the Start button.

Nero AI warned me that the colorization process would take longer as I used the free version.

In a whopping 4.5 seconds, my girl was colorized. So, if you have subscribed, your colorization will take under two seconds.

I chose the Natual Style for the Victorian pianist; the tones were more subdued, and the colorization more realistic. However, the color of her dress was not consistent.

Inspecting the images, I found that the corrections were reasonably good. The girl’s face had blotches of red, which was disappointing.

Each time you punch for a colorization edit, you will be charged 1 Credit, whether you intend to download and use the image or not.

Nero’s has a fantastic Before and After preview slider that allows you to compare the new colorized photo with its original monochrome.

The zoom-in for a close-up feature allows you to inspect and pan around to see more closely if the colorization is clear or blotchy, if there is leakage, or if the edges of objects are intact.

You can download the vibrant images or share them straight from the webpage with the push of a button.

To download the high-quality, full-resolution colorized image, simply subscribe.

All up, this is a quick and easy platform to use if you’re not too fussy about how perfect the colorization is.

Canva

Canva is a versatile design platform that incorporates AI and graphic design editing tools.

When using Canva, you will definitely never lack inspiration or get bored creating. Canva always keeps up with the latest creative trends.

It usually delivers some pretty snazzy results, so I had to give it a go to see how it would deliver on AI colorization.

Navigating Canva takes a little patience, as the workspace is crammed with elements, features, and tools.

Click the Create a New Design button and upload your image. You can drag and drop the black and white image onto the canvas or click to upload.

Once the photo is uploaded, click on the image, and the photo edit panel will pop up.

Click Edit to open the AI Magic Tools. Click Colorize and your image will be colorized instantly.

There is an option to correct the colors manually. Adjustments can be made using a set of sliders, allowing precision control over the final result.

Still, I found that the results were only ok and not great.

AI colorization is available for pro subscribers or those with a free subscription.

Canva will downgrade the quality of the photo upon download. One reason for this is if you are creating an Instagram story or posting it on a social media platform.

The advantages of using Canva are tremendous, but they don’t outweigh the fact the colorization results were mediocre, even if keeping an efficient workflow is your priority.

If the quality of the colorization is important to you, I would advise colorizing images in another app and then uploading them to Canva to include in your design.

Canva is available online, or if you like having design options that are easily accessible in your pocket, you can download the Canva app.

Palette FM

Palette FM describes itself as a cutting-edge AI tool designed to breathe life into photos. In other words, Palette dedicates its AI machine learning to greyscale conversion, specializing in colorization.

I liked using Palette FM. Its sleek interface provides a user-friendly experience and is a pleasure to use. Drag, drop, and pop, it’s done.

The colorization result was incredible. There was no leakage between the edges, and the object’s colors were kept consistent.

Palette FM doesn’t stop at perfectly consistent colorizations. It also gives you the option to change the tone, hue, and saturation of the colorization with a simple click using their filters.

Once the image is colorized, filters will appear on a sliding panel above the canvas.

Glide the slider across to select and apply your favorite filter: Classic Palette, Bright Essence, Colorful Past, Dusk Dream, and more.

I applied different filters to my images and was impressed at how each filter achieved a new, unique look.

Not only does Palette FM offer ample filters, but it also has an AI colorization text prompt and a Surprise Me button. Palette FM’s AI will treat you to an AI random color customization.

As a paid subscriber, you can enjoy full-resolution downloads. Otherwise, if you don’t want to subscribe, you can download a compressed image with Palette FM’s logo attached.

The color conversions were the most impressive so far, excelling over Photoshop and other renowned AI platforms.

If you don’t like the edits you have applied, Palette FM provides an undo and redo button below the edit bar so you can easily review your edits.

When inspecting the result, I noticed Pallete FM had also improved the image quality. Blemishes were smoothed over, and dust specks were removed.

What I loved the most about Pallete FM was the immaculate and convincing colorization, but I have to admit I was also smitten with the ‘Surprise Me’ button for AI to surprise you with its favorite color tone.

Pallete FM is purpose-built to colorize your photos, giving you a streamlined, professional experience. This one is definitely worth a shot.

ImageColorize

ImageColorize is an online AI-powered tool that can revive cherished photos.

I found ImageColorize easy to navigate and streamlined for photo colorization. It’s the perfect AI for users of any skill level.

It’s another tool that offers drag-and-drop quick results, but with the option for manual input and editing.

A factor slider is available to increase the saturation of the colorization.

Click the pencil icon on the top right of the canvas to open the image in Colorize’s edit workspace.

Here, you can adjust the colorization using sliders, allowing for precise control over the final result.

I found the editing sliders were effective when I corrected the colorization in the photo of the boys swimming.

The original result was high on the red scale, but by using the edit panel, I could tone down the excessive red.

A huge plus for people with many photos is that ImageColorize can bulk edit up to 50 images.

This is great for anyone who has discovered a chest full of black and white family photos in their attic or professionals who retouch antique images regularly.

Downloading the full-size image was easy; just click, download, and it’s done.

ImageColorize adds no watermark to the high-resolution download, making this AI app a favorite.

If you want to dabble non-committally, you can avail of ImgeColorzier’s generous free subscription.

When an unsatisfactory AI colorization is delivered, click the regenerate button, and bang, a new colorization of your photo will be promptly presented.

If you are hungry for more AI design tools, explore ImageColorize’s other AI services, such as AI Enhance, AI Retouch, and AI Repair, to restore images to absolute sparkling clarity.

YouCam

YouCam has advanced AI technology designed to enhance the appearance of your images.

YouCam is easy to use but possibly a little too basic for my liking, mainly because there is no manual editing option.

I uploaded my photos and was impressed with the rapid processing time.

YouCam also provided one of the best results for the two boys swimming. The hues were realistic, and the boy’s skin color was not overly saturated.

I was impressed with the results of the Victorian pianist and the boys in the water; the colors were realistic, and the AI calculated them well.

The girl seemed a little grey in areas. It’s as if the color correction was laid on top of the original image rather than replacing it, as some seepage of grey was evident through the color.

The before and after previews and the option to zoom in for a detailed look are helpful when you want to inspect the result.

You don’t have to pay to colorize. Credits are only taken when you download the high-resolution image.

Another benefit of using YouCam is downloading your high-resolution image in JPEG, PNG, or TIFF format. Alternatively, you can keep your photos in a YouCam Gallery.

YouCam’s AI platform provides lots of additional tools for you to perfect your photos.

YouCam is surprisingly adept at instantly and expertly colorizing black and white.

Photoshop

Photoshop is a sophisticated photo editing software. It has advanced, powerful tools and has been in the editing game long before AI appeared on the scene.

I had to give Photoshop a go to see how well its AI colorization competes with specialized AI colorization apps.

Finding your way around Photoshop can be daunting. It wasn’t designed for the faint-hearted.

To find Photoshop’s AI colorize tool, open the Discover panel and enter Colorize in the search bar.

You can access the Discover panel by pressing Cmd + F (Mac) or Ctrl + F (Windows) in Photoshop.

Select “Colorize Old Photos” from the quick actions, and Photoshop will automatically apply color to your black-and-white image using AI technology.

The AI-generated color filter appears in the layer panel. This allows for non-destructive editing.

This process takes longer than a couple of seconds.

Photoshop’s results didn’t blow me away; there appeared to be some color leakage, and skin tones were overly saturated.

However, the huge plus to using Photoshop is that you can edit an image manually.

You can adjust the contrast, hue, and luminance of areas on the photo separately from the rest of the photo.

Photoshop is the only application I tested that allows you to target specific areas of an image.

Hotpot AI

Hotpot is free to use. Hop on its AI colorize page to drag and drop your image for instant colorization.

Hotpot also lets you adjust the ‘Factor’ setting, which controls the saturation level of the colorized image.

It’s hard to tell if the colorization was effective in certain areas, as you can’t zoom in on the faces.

Instantly download the images using the download button, and for a full-size download, buy some credits.

Hotpot is very easy to use. The colorized effect looks like it’s good, but with no zoom in preview, it’s hard to tell.

Hotpot is a very AI-focused platform. There’s no option to give any human input or direction other than the factor indication.

If you have minimal interest in directing the edit, then Hotpot AI is a worthwhile solution.

Conclusion: Which Tool to Choose?

From testing the most renowned and capable AI image colorizer, we now know that AI far exceeds human editing capabilities.

It’s fast and precise, plus, through machine learning, it knows precisely which grey corresponds to which real-life color.

Taking photos from dull grayscale to vibrant realism used to be an intricate, time-consuming practice.

Before AI entered our lives, photo editors would spend hours meticulously coloring black-and-white photos to replicate real life.

The editor would decide which color to paint the subject’s clothing. Thus, the colors wouldn’t always reflect real-life colors.

The arrival of AI has revolutionized the colorization process. A photo will be accurately colorized in seconds, replicating the original scene’s colors.

The colorization process is so quick one can’t be blamed for thinking that AI is playing a guessing game and pumping out random colors.

However, incredibly, photo colorization is no longer a guessing game but a scientific equation based on greyscale mathematics.

AI colorize apps use AI tinting technology that uses greyscale mathematical algorithms to turn grey shades into their corresponding color.

When trained on the many shades of grey, AI can select the exact color of your great gran’s apron, your grandfather’s cap, or an eighteenth-century child’s ball.

After testing AI image colorizers, we found that Palette FM produced the most convincing, seamless, and superior color additions.

Photoshop may not have produced the best colorization, but it’s the best photo editing software if you want post-colorization precision manual control. It’s the only editing program that allows the user to edit specific photo areas separately.

ImageColorize offers the best free service, providing vivid colorizations and full-resolution downloads.

And what’s the answer to the question burning on the edge of our tongues? Can you tell if AI has colorized an image? Or will the AI colorization look like it was shot in color?

Using the best AI image colorizers, it’s impossible to know that the image was shot in black and white.

However, not all AI image colorizers are made equal. AI programs that use less involved greyscale machine learning generate amateur results.

Pick a capable AI app, and you will reap the benefits of high-quality colorization, which will enliven and revive your priceless heritage memories.

Surprising Advantages of  Photo Colorization Conversions

You might worry that you will ruin the original vibe of a photo if you pop it into an AI machine for colorization.

However, in contrast, you will find there are some surprising advantages to colorizing an image.

Black and white photos are arty and elegant, but they are also known to strike a cold, sometimes eerie or distant vibe. Adding color to your photo will soften an image, creating intimacy and connection.

Colorizing antique photos humanizes them and thus brings the past closer to us. Black and white vintage photos detach us from the past through a monochrome veil.

Scientific studies have shown that color creates a bond and evokes an emotional response, while grey-tone images create a distance between the subject and the viewer.

Seeing the images in color sends a clear message that these people were not fictional but were, in fact, real.

When an image is in color, the subjects appear vital and alive, and the viewer can almost feel them, helping to keep us connected with the past and our heritage.

Another advantage of colorized photos is that they can expose vintage fashion trends, showing the popular color combinations and patterns.

Revealing the trends and fashion secrets of the day can inspire new design ideas.

Adding color will make ornamentation more visible, as contrasting colors reveal otherwise obscured patterns.

Colorization gives us a new perspective on times gone past and revives old memories of loved ones who are long gone.

It can decipher hidden mysteries. What side of the war did your ancestors fight on?  The side a soldier fights on will depend on the color of his uniform.

Was your great-aunt a pious maiden or a flirt? Did she wear rouge and scarlet lipstick? Lipstick can change a lady’s face from demure to seductive vamp.

When we take a photo from greyscale to vivid, we can peek behind the monochrome veil to see a completely new aspect of life gone by.