AI headshot tools can make pretty accurate photos these days, but most of them cost money.
I decided to test free AI headshot generators to see how they compare to paid ones. In this post, I’ll share my results and rank them from best to worst.
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👉 Check the updated list of Best AI Headshot Generators.
Top Picks
For those in a hurry, here are the free tools I recommend:
1. Vheer.com
Vheer.com is a completely free AI headshot generator. It’s first on my list because, out of all the free tools I tried, these are the ones I’d actually consider using on my LinkedIn.
My Results & Experience
Making headshots with Vheer.com is quick and simple. Just upload your photo and pick a style. You can also add a text prompt if you want something specific.
Here’s one of the selfies I uploaded:
And here’s the result. It’s clearly my face, but it looks pretty artificial and almost has a 3D feel to it.
These look accurate, but that’s only because it feels like my face was copied and pasted. Maybe they could work as small icons on LinkedIn.
It’s basically just my selfie with a cartoon filter on.
Pros
- Quick results
- You can create changes with basic inputs
- Somewhat realistic results
- Just one selfie is enough
Cons:
- Looks like a 3D character… Not too realistic, if I’m honest
- Blurry and bad quality
To Take Home
Vheer.com takes the top spot for free AI headshot generators, but it can’t compete with the paid tools.
I kind of liked the results, but they’re more like a copy-and-paste of my face than real headshots made from my selfies.
2. HeadshotMaster
HeadshotMaster is second on my list. You can make headshots in just a few minutes, and you don’t even need an account.
The results sort of look like me. Let’s take a closer look.
My Results & Experience
The nice thing about free tools is how easy they are to use. Just go to the website and start generating.
You’ll be asked a few questions about your details, like age, gender, and ethnicity.
You only need to upload one selfie, but you can add up to four.
Me as a politician in 25 years? Every time I enter my real age for “professional” headshots, the results make me look way older. I’m still in my twenties!
My guess is there’s some “professional = older” bias in the training data.
Here are more headshots. They’re pretty bad. You can kind of see my features, but I wouldn’t use these anywhere. They look too AI-made.
The smiling shots are even worse.
Pros
- Fast results, no sign-up needed.
- Only one selfie required.
- Several styles to choose from.
Cons
- Has a 3D or cartoon look.
- Very obviously AI-generated.
To Take Home
HeadshotMaster lands second on the list because it at least loosely looks like me. Maybe with more tries, I’d get better results. But the ones I got were bad, and I wouldn’t use them.
One plus compared to Vheer.com is that HeadshotMaster actually created the headshots from my selfies and details.
3. SupaWork AI
Third on the list is SupaWork AI. You can make headshots in just a few minutes and pick from different styles.
Let’s check out my results.
My Results & Experience
Go to their website and start creating. They say no login is needed, but I had to sign up to generate the headshots.
Upload your selfie. You can make several headshots at once by picking multiple styles.
Here are my results. They don’t look too bad, and at least they don’t have that 3D character vibe like some of the others.
The problem is, the person in the photos isn’t me.
Pros
- Can create multiple headshots at once.
- Only one selfie required.
- Plenty of styles to pick from.
Cons
- Low quality.
- Doesn’t look like me at all.
- Very obviously AI-generated.
Takeaway
The headshots don’t look terrible, and you can choose from different styles.
But if you’re looking for photos of yourself, this won’t work. The tool gave me images of a random caucasian woman instead of me.
4. Canva
You probably know Canva as a design tool, but you can also use it to make free headshots.
My Results & Experience
You can start generating your headshots here. I couldn’t find the feature on their homepage, so this link goes straight to the headshot maker. You can create one free headshot per day.
Upload one selfie—that’s all you need. Select your gender, and if you’re on the Pro plan, you can also add custom instructions.
Here are the results. I tried different selfies as the base.
The first one is probably my favorite—you can actually tell it’s me.
Here are some other results. There’s a lot of variation, so if one comes out bad the first time, it’s worth trying again the next day.
Pros
- Only one selfie needed.
- Fast to generate.
- Better quality than some other free tools.
Cons
- Not very accurate.
- Still looks clearly AI-generated.
To Take Home
Some of the results turned out okay, but I wouldn’t really use them. Maybe the Pro version gives more accurate shots, hard to say.
I’ll stick with Canva, just not for headshots.
5. PFPMaker
PFPMaker isn’t really a headshot generator. It’s more of an AI background changer. You upload a selfie, and it gives you profile pictures with different templates and backgrounds.
My Results & Experience
Let me show you how to use it with my results.
To start, just head over to their website. You don’t even need to create an account.
The profile pictures look a bit blurry. I guess the better your selfie, the better the results.
You can also edit the profile pictures after, changing backgrounds, shadows, and more.
Pros
- Fast to use.
- Only one selfie needed.
- Several styles available.
Cons
- Low quality.
- Feels more like something a kid would play around with.
To Take Home
Might be useful if you already have a good selfie and just want to swap out backgrounds.
Some results were okay, maybe usable as small icons if the quality was higher.
But as expected, these headshots don’t come close to what the paid tools can do.
It was fun to test, but I don’t see a real use for it.
Do not use free AI headshot generators. Instead, read this post to find the actually good tools.
My Recommendation: Pay for Your Headshots
To make the most of your headshots, just pay for them.
The free technology is just not good enough yet.
I recommend using Photo AI Studio to this.
It’s super easy to use. Just take a selfie and drop it into this view:
Pick a gender and a background.
Then wait a few moments for the AI to generate your photos.
In just a minute or two, your AI headshots will be ready.
Here’s my favorite one from the batch.
As you can see, it’s not just professional headshots. It also makes fun and casual images.
This one is much faster and cheaper than the AI headshot tools from the past couple of years.
You can also use the AI photo editor to fix or adjust any of the images.
As an example, I asked the AI to change the color of my suit.
Pretty cool, right?
This is the fastest tool on the list. Just upload one image, and you’ll get your results in about two minutes.