Palette.fm

AI photo colorization that turns black-and-white images into realistic color

Hand-reviewed by the Toolglade team·Updated Aug 2026

photo-editing#colorization#photo-restoration#black-and-white#archival

Free plan Free trial Claimed API

Toolglade’s take

Palette.fm nails a narrow job: colorizing black-and-white photos with better-than-expected realism and useful filter and prompt controls. The free tier is only a preview (watermarked, low-res), so real use means paying, though pricing is fair. It is not a general editor and struggles with badly damaged sources, so pair it with a retouching tool for archival work. A solid specialist pick for restoration and ancestry projects.

About Palette.fm

Palette.fm is a focused AI colorizer that converts black-and-white photos to realistic color, controllable with named filters and text prompts, with high-resolution paid exports.

Palette.fm focuses on doing one thing well: adding believable color to grayscale photographs. Instead of a generic slider, it offers more than twenty named color filters plus a text-prompt option, so users can nudge the AI toward warmer skin tones, specific eras or particular moods. This makes it popular for genealogy projects, museums, documentary teams and anyone reviving old prints. The tool is built around a simple upload-and-download flow with no steep learning curve. Free users can preview results at low resolution with a watermark, and subscribers or credit buyers get full-resolution, watermark-free exports up to several thousand pixels across many file formats. Because colorization is inherently interpretive, results are strongest on clear portraits and landscapes and less reliable on ambiguous or damaged source material.

TL;DR

Palette.fm is a specialist AI photo colorizer that turns grayscale images into realistic color, with filter and prompt controls and high-resolution paid exports.

Company overview

Palette.fm is a focused AI product dedicated to photo colorization rather than general editing. It has attracted a large user base, reportedly millions of users, drawn to its simplicity and quality on portraits and archival material.

The business runs on a freemium model: free watermarked previews funnel users toward affordable subscriptions and one-time credit packs. Its narrow scope is both its strength and its ceiling.

Product features

Core features include automatic AI colorization, more than twenty named color filters, and text-prompt control for steering palette and mood. Outputs scale to several thousand pixels and many file formats for print and archival use.

The tool emphasizes a frictionless flow, upload, preview, refine, download, plus API access for higher-volume or programmatic use. It deliberately avoids becoming a full editor.

Target market

The tool serves genealogy hobbyists, photo restorers, archivists, museums and documentary producers who need believable color from black-and-white sources. It is not intended as a replacement for full-featured photo editors.

Buyer personas

End users

Individuals restoring family photos and professionals colorizing archival images.

Buyers

Hobbyists on low-cost subscriptions and studios buying credits or API access.

Key influencers

Genealogy communities and restoration professionals recommending tools.

Ideal customer profile

A restorer or ancestry enthusiast who wants fast, high-quality colorization without learning a complex editor.

Funding & performance

Funding details are not publicly detailed; verify with the vendor.

Pros & cons

Pros

Purpose-built colorizer with strong results on portraits
Filters and text prompts give creative control
Simple, fast upload-to-download workflow
High-resolution, watermark-free paid exports
Supports many file formats
Affordable entry pricing

Cons

Free tier is watermarked and low resolution
Single-purpose; not a full editor
Results vary on damaged or ambiguous photos
Credit system can feel restrictive
No mobile app
No true offline or self-hosted option

Pricing plans

Free

Watermarked previews
Low-resolution output
Filters and prompt testing

Subscription

$6 / month

Watermark-free downloads
Up to ~5000px resolution
All color filters
Many export formats

Credits

Pay-as-you-go

One-time credit packs
High-resolution exports
No subscription commitment

Key features

API

Input types

image, text

Output types

image

Compare key features

View all alternatives →

Feature

Palette.fm

Remini

Imagen AI

Pricing

Freemium

Free plan

Yes

Free trial

Yes

API

Yes

Team support

Yes

Frequently asked questions

Is Palette.fm free?+

There is a free tier that previews colorized results at low resolution with a watermark. Full-resolution, watermark-free downloads require a subscription or credits.

How high resolution are the outputs?+

Paid users can export up to roughly 5000px on the long edge, watermark-free, in a wide range of file formats.

Can I control the colors?+

Yes. Beyond the automatic result, you can apply named color filters or type a text prompt to steer the palette and mood.

Does it work on damaged photos?+

It can, but results are best on clear, well-exposed images. Heavily damaged or ambiguous photos may need manual retouching elsewhere first.

Is there an API?+

Palette.fm offers API access for developers and businesses that need to colorize images at scale; check the site for current terms.