A MyHeritage photo alternative without the yearly plan

What MyHeritage offers

MyHeritage is a genealogy service first. Its enhancer, colouriser and face animation live inside the paid plans, which as of September 2026 run at roughly $119–$299 per year (prices may change). The photo tools are not sold separately.

The face animation is what people remember: 72 million animations were made in its first five weeks. If you also want records, DNA matching and a tree, the bundle makes sense.

What a one-payment pack offers

Revive does one thing: restore a small archive properly and hand you the files. You pay once, from $9 for three photos, $19 for ten with 4K masters and 300 dpi print files at 30×40 cm, or $39 for ten with 8K masters, 30×40 and 50×70 cm print files and one four-second animation.

There is no account and no renewal. You see a free preview of your own photo first, redos are free for 14 days, and a refund is available in full even after you download.

Print files, not just screen files

A photo enhanced for a website is rarely large enough to print. For a 30×40 cm print at 300 dpi you need 3543×4724 pixels; for 50×70 cm you need 5906×8268. The Family and Heirloom packs deliver those sizes directly, with no extra step.

Animation, handled gently

The Heirloom pack includes one short animation of a frame you choose: a blink, a breath, a slight smile. Nothing is invented and nothing is spoken. Some families love it; others prefer the still. It is included, not required, and you pick the photo yourself.

Whichever service you use, treat animation as a small thing done gently. Four seconds of a grandfather looking up from a photograph can be moving; a long clip with invented expressions rarely is.

Faithfulness and colour

Colourisation here is meant to be plausible for the period and understated, not vivid. Faces are kept as they were: no smoothing, no reshaping, no added features. If you would rather keep a photo black and white, ask for a redo and say so; cleaning and print files work the same either way.

For a good result from any tool, start with a good copy: a flatbed scan at 300–600 dpi, or a phone photo of the print laid flat in even daylight, without flash or glare, filling the frame.

Privacy

Photos are deleted 30 days after purchase, or sooner if you ask. They are not used for training and there is no face database or matching of any kind. Unpaid uploads are removed after seven days.

Which one fits you

If you are researching ancestors and will use the records, DNA tools and tree for a year, MyHeritage is the sensible choice and the photo tools are a bonus. If you have a small number of prints you want restored well, printed and kept, a one-payment pack costs a fraction of a yearly plan and leaves nothing to cancel.