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Yahyati's avatar
Yahyati
Brass Contributor
Jun 04, 2026

Best AI to colorize black and white photos in bulk on Windows 10?

Hi everyone, there are many old black and white family photos saved on a Windows 10 computer, and it would be nice to turn them into color versions. An AI photo colorizer seems like the easiest option, especially if it can handle many images at once instead of editing one photo at a time.

How can I colorize photos with ai in bulk on Windows 10? A desktop program would be preferred because uploading private family photos to online websites does not feel safe. 

10 Replies

  • Augustusc's avatar
    Augustusc
    Copper Contributor

    To colorize black and white photos on a Windows 10 computer. AlterPhoto is a completely free photo editor for Windows that's packed with features — including a dedicated Coloriza tion tool designed specifically for black and white photos. It's been around for a few years now, with the latest version (3.3) released in April 2026, so it's actively maintained.

    Most free coloriza tion tools fall into two categories: either they're web-based (which means uploading your photos to someone's server) or they're single-purpose apps that do one thing and one thing only.

    AlterPhoto is different. It's a full-featured photo editor that happens to include black-and-white coloriza tion as one of its many tools. Here's you can colorize black and white photos:

    Coloriza tion-specific tools:

    • A dedicated Coloriza tion feature for black and white photos
    • Color balance adjustment by range
    • Color change by range or picked color (manual control when the AI gets it wrong)
    • Color curve and levels for precise adjustments
    • Color presets for quick, one-click results
    • Auto-enhancement that can help balance the final image

     

    Additional editing power:

    • Support for layers 
    • Healing, cloning, smudging, and blurring tools for retouching
    • Over 100 file formats supported, including RAW imports
    • Filters for denoising, smoothing, sharpening, and more
    • Generative AI features 
  • Scottil's avatar
    Scottil
    Brass Contributor

    AI Productivity Tool is a best colorize photo AI tool for Windows 10 or 11. This is a free, portable Windows application that includes photo colorization as one of its many AI-powered features.

    What it can do for photos:

    - Image Colorization – Automatically adds realistic colors to black and white photos

    - Face Restoration – Optimizes facial features, removes wrinkles, improves skin tone

    - Upscaling – Enlarges images without losing quality

    - Watermark Removal – Batch removes watermarks, logos, or subtitles

     

    How to use the best colorize photo AI tool on Windows 10:

    1. Search for "AI Productivity Tool" on GitHub or major software portals

    2. Download the latest version (around 100-200 MB)

    3. Extract and run the executable

    4. Look for the "Image Colorization" feature

    5. Upload your black and white photo and let it process

  • Xollom's avatar
    Xollom
    Iron Contributor

    Shutter Encoder is an open-source program that uses built-in colorize photo ai offline.

    Instructions: Drag and drop black-and-white photos into the list, select “DeOldify” from the function menu, set the rendering factor to 24–32, change the save path if necessary, and click “Start” to complete the colorize photo ai.

    Pros: Offline operation; supports batch processing.

    Cons: High-quality settings may slow down processing; the interface is a copy of another program.

    This software helps with offline batch restoration of old photos and is suitable for daily small-batch photo colorization and local archive organization.

  • Stable Diffusion Web UI is an open-source offline AI tool. After adding the DeOldify plugin, it supports large-batch old photo processing and color restoration directly on your local machine.

    Instructions: Download the software from GitHub and open it. Install the DeOldify extension via the URL extension tab. Restart the user interface, enter your input and output folder paths in the DeOldify batch panel, select your target AI model, and then click the Generate button to colorize photo ai.

    This offline batch solution fits bulk old photo repair and local archive color restoration. Once the processing is complete, you can open your designated output directory to view and collect your newly colorize photo ai files.

  • Peytong1180's avatar
    Peytong1180
    Iron Contributor

    It is easy to use cv_unet_image-colorization to colorize black and white photos on a Windows 10 computer.

    Okay, here's the honest truth. This isn't a "double-click and done" kind of tool. You need to be comfortable with a little bit of command line work. But the good news? The community has made this way easier than it used to be.

    How to colorize black and white photos on Windows 10:

    1: The Python way (more control)

    First, make sure you have Python 3.8 or higher installed on your Windows 10 machine. Then open Command Prompt or PowerShell and run:

    cmd

    pip install modelscope streamlit opencv-python torch pillow numpy

    This installs all the necessary libraries . Once that's done, create a Python script with the code from the tutorials. Then run:

    cmd

    streamlit run colorize_app.py

    Your browser will open to http//localhost: 8501. From there, you upload your black and white photo, click "Start Colorizing," and wait a few seconds.

    2: Docker way (simpler but heavier)

    If you'd rather not mess with Python environments, you can use Docker. Install Docker Desktop for Windows, then pull the pre-built image and run it . This takes more disk space (about 2GB for the image) but requires less manual setup.

    3: Look for a one-click installer

    Some community members have created PowerShell and Batch installation scripts that automate the whole process . Search GitHub or the ModelScope discussion forums for "cv_unet_image-colorization Windows installer" — there might be a packaged version ready to go.

  • Gordony's avatar
    Gordony
    Iron Contributor

    ColorfulDream is an open-source tool built on an engine, but it can only colorize black and white photos locally and offline, rather than relying on online cloud services, because all AI processing takes place on the user’s computer.

    You can colorize photos in batches all at once, but when using this feature, you’ll need to adjust the rendering factor parameters appropriately based on the desired output quality.

    First, download the software from the official website and complete the installation; an NVIDIA GPU is optional hardware used for acceleration, while the CPU is sufficient for basic operations.

    Launch the application, click Add Folder to select the directory where all your black-and-white photos are stored, and set the rendering factor:

    16–20 for quick preview output, 24–28 for high-definition final photos. Check the Batch Mode box, then click Colorize to begin processing. The colorized photos will be automatically saved to a newly created folder.

    Once colorization is complete, you can browse and export all processed color photos directly from the destination output folder.

    Since the software cannot colorize black and white photos online via the cloud, it is only suitable for users who prioritize image privacy and need to colorize images in batches offline.

    If you don’t want to upload private photos to third-party online platforms, you can try this method. This is a privacy-friendly offline solution, so you should reserve enough disk space for AI model files beforehand carefully.

  • Finneganfg's avatar
    Finneganfg
    Brass Contributor

    As a colorize photo AI. DeOldify is an open-source deep learning model that colorizes old black and white photos (and even videos) using AI. It was created back in 2018 by a developer named Jason Antic, and honestly? It kind of became the gold standard for this stuff . The name is pretty self-explanatory — it takes old, faded, colorless images and makes them not old anymore.

    The way it works is pretty clever. The AI has been trained on thousands of color images, so it's learned what things are supposed to look like. It knows that the sky is usually blue, that grass is green, that skin tones fall within certain ranges. When you feed it a black and white photo, it recognizes the objects in the scene and applies colors based on what it's learned.

    There are a couple of community-made tools that let you run DeOldify on Windows without having to become a Linux expert.

    Option 1: ColorfulSoft Windows GUI

    This is a standalone Windows application based on DeOldify that doesn't even require a fancy graphics card — it can run on regular Windows 10 PCs using just the CPU . You download it, you run it, you load your photo, and you click a button. That's it. No command line, no coding, no Linux.

    Option 2: Stable Diffusion Web UI Plugin

    If you already use Stable Diffusion, there's a plugin that adds DeOldify colorization to it . This one works for both photos and videos and runs cross-platform.

    Option 3: PaddleGAN

    There's also a Chinese framework called PaddleGAN that includes DeOldify. You can install it via command line and run colorization that way .

    If you want a colorize photo AI on Windows 10 that's completely free and open source, DeOldify is a solid choice. Just skip trying to install the original Linux version and grab one of the Windows GUI wrappers instead.

  • XanderKnox's avatar
    XanderKnox
    Iron Contributor

    To get the most out of any AI colorization tool, keep these tips in mind:

    Start with a Good Scan: The better the quality of your black-and-white scan (high resolution, clear contrast), the better the AI will interpret the image.

    Try the Free Trial First: For paid software like AKVIS, always use the free trial period to test it with your specific photos before buying.

    Manual Touch-Ups May Be Needed: While AI is impressive, it's not always perfect. More advanced tools like AKVIS's "Classic Mode" or a general editor like AlterPhoto let you manually fix any small areas where the AI got the colors wrong.

    Use as a Plugin: If you already use professional editing software like Photoshop or Affinity Photo, look for tools like AKVIS Coloriage AI that can install directly as a plugin, streamlining your workflow.

    Hopefully, this guide helps you colorize photo with ai and bring your old photos back to life.

  • MiloShepherd's avatar
    MiloShepherd
    Iron Contributor

    While Stable Diffusion Web UI is open-source offline AI tool to finish colorize photo ai after adding DeOldify plugin, it supports large-batch old photo processing locally.

    Instructions: Download the software from GitHub, install the DeOldify extension via the extension link, enter the input and output folder paths in the DeOldify batch panel, select the target model, and then click the Generate button to colorize photo ai.

    his offline batch solution fits bulk old photo repair and local archive color restoration.