My Experience Testing the Best Image Cleaners

This guide to AI image cleaners will give you an in-depth rundown of what’s AI hot right now.

Image repairs and cleanups used to take intricate expert editing.

Today, artificial intelligence can sweep to the rescue, restoring a photo to its original glory in a few seconds.

It can also help you “clean up” your image by removing unwanted distractions.

There are a ton of AI apps available online, but which one is the most capable?

We’ve put seven of the top AI technologies to the test. Read on to learn what we discovered.

What is the Best AI Image Cleaner in 2025?

An AI photo cleanup is ideal for anyone who wants to clean up images for social media, vamp up product photos for their e-shop, or remove an ex from their favorite party photo.

To test the cleaning capacity of some of the most capable AI image cleaners, I focused on a few integral factors.

Number one, I tested to see if the clean-up job was effectively completed and delivered promptly.

I also checked the apps for manual editing options, download size and extra features.

I used scratched and dusty vintage images and photos with subject matter that needed to be removed.

Could AI remove these flaws without spoiling the integrity of the image?

Let’s check out what AI image cleaners can do.

Nero AI

I had to include this AI app because it is in my list of AI image clean-up favorites.

It can masterfully complete all the messy photo clean-up tasks, including restoring, denoise, or removing an object.

You can sign up for the benefits of a pro account or take advantage of Nero AI’s free credits.

I loaded up my image and let the app’s powerful AI algorithm work its magic to achieve my desired picture-perfect result.

For AI automatic photo restoration, you can choose between three options: colorize, scratch fix or face enhancement.

I checked the scratch fix option, and Nero’s AI eliminated scratches and perfectly sharpened the damaged areas of my vintage photo.

It seems this app keeps its image algorithms up to scratch, with fast processing speed and accurate editing results.

I love the sliding before and after preview bar. You can whizz it from side to side to admire Nero AI’s incredible restoration job.

If you wish to adjust the clean-up manually, click the hand icon below the canvas. I found the tools a little clunky, and thus, it was impossible to make intricate adjustments. Each correction costs one credit.

I was slightly disappointed when I noticed my downloaded image had decreased drastically from 1.6 MB to 192 KB.

If you’re unhappy with the size of your downloaded image, you can use Nero’s AI enlarge tool to resize the image back to its original size, so who’s complaining? Not me!

All up, Nero’s AI did a swell job.

Nero works on a credit system. It takes three credits to use AI to clear the image of dirt and debris and 4 to enlarge it.

Nero AI generously offers a lot for free, but if you choose to go Pro, you will enjoy a three-fold processing speed boost.

This one is worth a look. Whatever the clean-up task is, it seems Nero AI always coughs up a commendable final result.

Photoshop

Photoshop is a powerful image editing software incorporating AI technology and manual editing tools.

The option to fuse the high-speed editing capacity of artificial intelligence with human input produces a heightened editing experience.

Cleaning away objects using Photoshop’s AI is straightforward if you can find the tool. Upload your image and activate the AI Remove tool. Brush over the object and click Remove.

I was impressed with the result. Photoshop’s AI had removed the unwanted guest from the diner party, expertly camouflaging her empty spot with wallpaper.

One huge plus for Photoshop is that due to its powerful AI algorithm, it produces very convincing object cleanups.

The edit took a little longer than other AI apps. However, it’s possible to forgive the wait, as Photoshop does not compromise image size and is the only app that creates an editable layer mask.

The layer mask is placed over the object, hiding it from view. The niffy thing about layer masks is that you can tweak the correction at any time.

Unfortunately, Photoshop has no quick AI fix for restoring faded, speckled and scratched photos.

You can use the Spot Healing brush, but this isn’t a one-click edit. You must zoom in and brush over every rip, tear and scratch particle.

This makes the restoration task time-consuming, especially if you have a lot of debris to clean up.

The amazing bonus to opting for Photoshop is that you can always adjust the AI edits. All editing decisions are not left entirely in the hands of AI. You can give some human input, too.

This app is the best AI editing choice for professional photographers or advanced designers and creators.

Hugging Face

Hugging Face is a platform that provides open-source AI tools, machine learning and data science. Plus, it has a huge Hugging Face community to help you find your way.

I like Hugging Face for this reason, although sometimes it can be an odd user experience and finding your way around is not intuitive.

Upload the image by dragging and dropping it onto the page.

I adjusted the brush size to suit the size of my unwanted object, drew over it and released the cursor. Then, I clicked Submit.

It took Hugging Face a few moments to calculate the cleanup. A little green sign ‘running’ indicated that the image was being edited.

If you aren’t happy with an edit, you can undo it using the reverse arrow icon, which you will find under the image.

It’s so easy to save the image when you’re done. Simply click the download button.

Although the cleanup was not perfect, I liked that it was delivered quickly and the download size was not compromised.

When you’ve finished and want to thank the creator, click the coffee icon in the top right to send a tip.

Currently, Hugging Face has no AI tool for repairing tears or scratches, but many options exist to upscale, restore and remove noise.

But watch this space. There will definitely be new AI advancements on this collaborative open-source platform.

Vance AI

Vance has a dedicated tool for photo restoration. I put it to the ultimate AI test: can it remove creases, rips, and tears, plus enhance faces?

No sign-up is needed to try out Vance’s AI tools. Drop your image onto the webpage and click the toggles to the left of the canvas.

I didn’t want my image colorized, so I ticked the box to have AI repair scratches, creases and spots.

I chose auto-denoise rather than manual and checked the box to restore faces.

Using the free subscription meant I had to wait in a queue. Three minutes seems like a long time to wait.

The first image I uploaded was not a simple image to resurrect. The image was torn and creased heavily in many spots.

Vance did an admirable job of rising to the clean-up challenge and giving it a shot. Managing to remove the photo’s creases successfully was a great start.

Currently, Vance AI has no option to remove objects from images.

One word of warning: Vance AI will watermark and compress the image when downloaded.

But saving the picture without a watermark will only cost you two credits.

The benefits of being a pro subscriber include watermark-free, full-resolution downloads, and super fast edits.

ObjectRemover

ObjectRemover is a free AI-powered tool that you can use to clear your images of any blemishes, including people or watermarks.

You won’t need editing skills to use this one. Open the web page and drag and drop your image.

In a matter of seconds, ObjectRemover’s powerful AI algorithm found and rapidly removed the guests from my image, replacing the guests’ faces with patches of wallpaper and furniture from the surrounding area.

I have to say, for a free tool, this one is reliable and accurate. It consistently delivers a good service when removing unwanted items and watermarks.

I achieved the best results editing when I zoomed in on the areas I wanted cleared and decreased the brush size to fit exactly over the object.

Amazingly, it’s 100% free, so don’t be surprised when the pop-up advertisements appear.

ObjectRemover protects your privacy, so your images will not be shared with a third party or on the net, which is great for those of us who want to protect our intellectual property.

When put to the test, I discovered that ObjectRemover doesn’t have a dedicated AI tool to repair old photos.

ObjectRemover’s powerful AI didn’t go to scratch, rip, tear, or repair machine learning school but has completed a master’s in object removal.

Extra editing photo features are included on ObjectRemover’s website and are easily accessible.

Plus, you can download a full-size free copy of your spotless image, making this an extra desirable AI tool.

My only issue with ObjectRemover, and I am scrapping the dregs of the barrel, is that it isn’t available for download.

Hotpot

Hotpot is an AI enhancement tool and art generator platform.

Hotpot’s photo cleaner is an easy-to-use AI editing tool that uses artificial intelligence to detect scratches and noise in images.

No login is needed. Just hop straight on to Hotpot’s website to begin your image clean-up.

Hotpot’s clutter-free interface makes the restoration task straightforward. Not many people will get lost following the simple drag-and-drop steps when resurrecting their old photos.

I was amazed at how quickly Hotpot completed the task of removing scratches and dust from my photo. It took Hotpot’s AI a little over 3 seconds.

And it’s ready to download just like that. It was so easy I was confused and waiting for more steps.

The image on the screen looked clear, squeaky clean and scratch-free. Fantastic. Hotpot offers no option to edit the image manually, so I clicked Download.

I have to admit I was disappointed to see that the downloaded image’s resolution was considerably reduced in size.

I zoomed in, and considering how low the resolution of the image now was, it was as if I had traded dust particles for pixels.

You can use Hotpot’s AI to enlarge the image back to its original size, but maybe it’s better to skip this step and opt for an AI service that retains the integrity of the original.

Hotpot’s object remover was a breeze to use. A simple brush stroke over the object and bang, the object is gone. Ok, it’s not a flawless removal, but it’s adequate.

If you want fast results, this could be the AI clean-up app for you.

Conclusion

AI Image Cleaners are an invaluable tool when we need to remove debris that will distract the viewer’s eye from the main subject.

Defects impact the professional appeal of an image and interfere with the message you hope to convey.

Not all AI image cleaning apps are made equally. They are designed with different editing requirements in mind.

ObjectRemover won me over with its straightforward user experience. You don’t even need to sign up! And, of course, its superior AI algorithm delivers excellent corrections, which is a huge bonus.

Hugging Face aims to empower everyone to pick up AI tools using open-source code and is a great pick for quick, uncomplicated edits. It’s free to use and supports high-resolution downloads.

Hotpot AI delivers superior photo restoration and scratch clean-up but has no manual input option.

Being unable to give input can be a good thing, but let’s be honest: AI isn’t the master guru of everything (yet), so human input is necessary and often valuable.

Photoshop is the one to turn to for editing complex images. When AI falls short, you’ll have the option to jump in and correct it.

We know AI is super powerful and coming on in leaps and bounds, but you can’t beat the human touch or discerning eye for fine detail when editing. This is especially true with complex image clean-ups.

Vance AI and Nero AI proved they can offer exceptional AI photo cleaning tools. Just remember to check the download image resolution.

AI can restore images and remove unwanted blemishes, including tattoos, watermarks and, believe it or not, even graffiti.

Whoever said that AI doesn’t know how to clean up after us?