Blurry faces in photos are one of the most frustrating image problems. Whether it's an old family photo, a low-light selfie, or a zoomed-in group shot, AI face enhancers can now fix what was once impossible. But which tool gives the best results?
The Top AI Face Enhancement Models
There are two leading AI models for face restoration, and they take fundamentally different approaches.
### GFPGAN (Tencent ARC)
GFPGAN uses generative facial priors — essentially, it has learned what high-quality faces look like and uses that knowledge to reconstruct damaged or blurry faces. It's fast, produces sharp results, and handles a wide range of degradation types.
Best for: Slightly blurry faces, selfie enhancement, general face sharpening, quick fixes.
Versions available: - v1.4 — Best overall balance of detail and identity - v1.3 — Slightly higher quality, may alter features more - v1.2 — Older, less refined results - RestoreFormer — Alternative architecture, good for certain damage types
### CodeFormer (Shanghai AI Lab)
CodeFormer takes a different approach using a learned codebook of facial features. It breaks down the face into discrete codes and reconstructs it, which gives it superior identity preservation — the enhanced face looks more like the original person.
Best for: Old photo restoration, heavily damaged faces, cases where preserving the person's identity is critical.
Key feature: Adjustable fidelity slider. Lower values (0.3-0.5) produce more creative/higher quality results. Higher values (0.7-1.0) stay faithful to the original face.
When to Use Each
| Scenario | Recommended Tool | |----------|-----------------| | Slightly blurry selfie | GFPGAN v1.4 | | Old family photo from the 1960s | CodeFormer (fidelity 0.5) | | Low-light group photo | GFPGAN v1.4 | | Heavily scratched vintage photo | CodeFormer (fidelity 0.3) | | ID photo enhancement | CodeFormer (fidelity 0.9) | | Quick social media fix | GFPGAN v1.4 |
How to Enhance Faces for Free
UpscaleFast offers both GFPGAN and CodeFormer as free online tools:
- Face Enhancer — Uses GFPGAN with version selection and upscale options
- Face Restorer Pro — Uses CodeFormer with adjustable fidelity
Both tools offer 3 free uses per day with no account required and no watermarks. Upload your photo, pick your settings, and download the enhanced result in seconds. You can also upscale the result to 4K for maximum quality.
Tips for Better Results
- Start with the largest version of the photo you have
- Crop to focus on the face area before enhancing
- Try both tools on the same photo and compare
- For group photos, the AI enhances all faces automatically
- PNG input preserves more detail than JPEG