Sharpen an image
One slider with a live preview. It brings back the crisp edges that soft focus or shrinking took away.
- Free
- Runs on your device
- No account
- No limits
How to sharpen an image
- Drop an image in the box above.
- Drag the slider until edges look crisp, or type an exact amount beside it. If bright outlines appear, go back a little.
- Choose a format and download at full quality.
How sharpening works here
The tool compares your image with a blurry copy of itself. The parts that differ are the edges, and those get boosted. It can't invent detail, but it makes real detail easy to see again.
Sharpening is the classic last step after shrinking a photo, which is why it pairs well with the resize tool.
Like everything on this site, this tool runs in your browser. Your image is never uploaded.
Common questions
Is the sharpen tool free?
Yes, properly free. No paid tier, no trial, no watermark on the result and nothing to sign up for. Put as many files through it as you like, as often as you like.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. The sharpen tool runs inside your browser, on your own machine, so your files never go anywhere. Big ones are fine too, up to whatever your browser can hold.
Can sharpening fix a blurry photo?
It can make a slightly soft photo look crisp, which covers most pictures that lost their edge to shrinking, a cheap lens or a little camera shake. It can't rescue one that's badly out of focus or smeared by motion, because the detail was never recorded and sharpening only exaggerates the edges that are already there.
How much sharpening is too much?
Watch the edges between light and dark. When a pale outline appears around them, like a halo, you have gone past the point where it looks natural and into the point where it looks processed. Back off until the halo disappears. Faces and skin need less than buildings and text.
What people usually do next
- Resize an image Exact pixels or quick percentages, with the shape locked.
- Adjust brightness, contrast and saturation Brightness, contrast and saturation with a live preview.