AI Photo Restoration 2026: GFPGAN (38k Stars) vs CodeFormer - Bring Old Photos Back to Life, Free

Grandma's 1980s photo is blurry, scratched and faded. Paid restoration services charge per photo. Two open-source models restore faces and details locally and free - here is how they compare in 2026.

## The short answer The two open-source AI photo restoration models that matter in 2026 are **GFPGAN** (37,645 stars) - the practical face restoration workhorse - and **CodeFormer** (18,089 stars), which handles a wider range of degradations with a controllable fidelity knob. Both run locally, free, and restore old or damaged photos in seconds. ## GFPGAN - the face specialist - Purpose-built for restoring faces in old photos (blur, low-res, scratches). - Practical API and pre-trained models for 1.x and 2.x. - Simple usage: ```bash pip install gfpgan # or use the inference script python inference_gfpgan.py -i inputs/ -o results/ -v 1.3 ``` - Strong on faces; background and text get less attention. ## CodeFormer - the all-rounder - Handles faces, backgrounds, text, and complex degradation together. - Key feature: a fidelity weight (w=0 to 1) - low w gives more dramatic restoration, high w stays closer to the original. - From the NeurIPS 2022 paper "Towards Robust Blind Face Restoration with Codebook Lookup Transformer". - Recommended CLI usage: ```bash python inference_codeformer.py -w 0.5 --input_path inputs --output_path results ``` ## Practical comparison | Aspect | GFPGAN | CodeFormer | |:-------|:-------|:-----------| | Faces | Excellent | Excellent | | Text/backgrounds | OK | Better | | Control knob | Little | Fidelity weight | | Speed | Fast | Fast | ## Tips for best results 1. Run face restoration first, then upscale with Real-ESRGAN (see our guide) for a full pipeline. 2. For heavily damaged photos, try CodeFormer with w=0.3-0.5, then compare with w=0.7. 3. Batch process old family albums - both tools handle folders. ## FAQ **Are these really free?** Yes - open source (CodeFormer has a non-commercial license; GFPGAN is for non-commercial use - check licenses for commercial work). **Do they work on non-face photos?** GFPGAN focuses on faces; CodeFormer handles general restoration better. **Can they fix color?** They improve clarity and details; color grading is often still needed manually. ## Related - [AI Image Upscaler 2026: Real-ESRGAN](/post/ai-image-upscaler-real-esrgan-20260802) - [AI Photo Restoration (Photoshop tools)](/post/ai-image-upscaler-comparison-2026)