FreeNoise Reducer
Reduce noise in a photo
Median despeckle that clears sensor noise without smearing edges flat.
Drop an image here, or .
Free, no sign-up. Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
Noise Reducer: how to use it
- Drop in a grainy photo, such as one taken indoors or at night.
- Set the Radius and number of Passes. Start low: 1 and 1.
- Use Blend with original to bring some texture back if it looks too smooth, then download.
Tips
- This is a median filter, which removes speckles while keeping edges. Strong settings can make fine texture look painted.
- Reduce noise before sharpening, not after.
Noise Reducer: what it does and when to use it
Digital noise is the speckled grain that appears in photos taken indoors, at night, or with a small phone sensor. The Noise Reducer uses a median filter: each pixel is replaced with the middle value of its neighbours. Isolated speckles are outliers, so they disappear, while edges between two areas survive better than they would under an ordinary blur.
Radius sets how many neighbours are considered and Passes how many times the filter runs. Start at one and one and increase slowly: each step removes more noise and also more fine texture. Blend with original brings back some of the original grain, which often looks more natural than a perfectly smooth result.
Strong noise reduction makes faces look waxy and turns grass and hair into flat patches. If a photo is both noisy and small, the AI Photo Enhancer usually cleans it with less smearing. For scans of old prints with dust and grain, the Photo Restorer is the better starting point.
Noise Reducer: frequently asked questions
Is the Noise Reducer free, and do I need to sign up?
Yes, the Noise Reducer is 100% free with no sign-up, no login and no account. The Noise Reducer runs in your browser, so it has no daily limit and no upload, and saves at full size with no watermark. See why it is free.
How do I remove grain from a photo taken at night?
Apply a low strength first. It removes the coloured speckles of low-light photos while keeping edges, but too much makes skin and fabric look plastic. For heavy noise plus softness, try the AI Photo Enhancer.
Why is my photo so noisy?
In low light the camera boosts the sensor signal (high ISO), and random noise is boosted with it. Phones hide it with heavy processing; cameras and older phones show it as grain and coloured specks.
Can it clean up an old scanned photo?
It helps with dust speckle and scanner noise. For fading, colour cast and blur as well, use the Photo Restorer.