Best AI Image Upscaler

Gigapixel is the most capable upscaler you can buy. It enlarges up to 16x and lets you pick a model for each job: High Fidelity for clean photos, Low Resolution for tiny web images, Text & Shapes for logos and screenshots, Art & CG for illustrations, and Face Recovery for portraits. The generative Wonder and Redefine models add detail when you want more than the source holds.

You can render on your own GPU, which keeps photos private, or in Topaz's cloud at no extra cost. It also works as a plug-in inside Photoshop and Lightroom Classic.

The catch is price and licensing. Topaz moved to subscriptions: $29/month for Gigapixel alone. Standard plans cap exports at 32 MP and allow only limited commercial use. Pick it if you print photos or upscale professionally. Skip it if you upscale a few images a year; Upscayl or Let's Enhance will do.

Let's Enhance is the simplest way to make an image print-ready in a browser. Upload, pick a preset, download. Paid plans output up to 256–512 megapixels, enough for large posters and billboards, and each image costs one credit.

Pricing is clear: $9 a month on the annual Starter plan buys 100 images, and unused credits roll over up to six months' worth. That suits people with bursty workloads, like print shops or online sellers.

It does not offer as many specialist models as Topaz, and everything runs in the cloud. The free tier adds a watermark and caps output at 8 MP. Pick it if you want reliable, large upscales without installing anything. Skip it if you need offline, private processing.

Upscayl is the best free upscaler. It is an open-source desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux, built on Real-ESRGAN models, with nearly 50,000 stars on GitHub. There are no credits, no watermark and no account. Your images never leave your computer.

Quality is good on low-resolution and pixelated images, and version 2.15 added a High Fidelity model and batch tools. The project itself says it cannot fix out-of-focus photos, and it lacks the face-recovery and text-specific models that make Topaz stand out.

You need a graphics card that supports Vulkan. Development has also slowed: the last major release was v2.15.0 in December 2024. Pick it if you want unlimited, private upscaling at zero cost. Skip it if you need the best face and text detail.

Magnific is the upscaler that made generative upscaling famous. Instead of only sharpening, it reimagines texture: skin pores, stone, foliage and fabric become rich and detailed. A creativity slider controls how much it invents, and you can guide it with a text prompt.

That is ideal for AI art, game concepts and renders that started at low resolution. It is risky for real photos of people, because faces and text can change. The platform, run by Freepik's parent company and now branded Magnific, bundles the upscaler with image and video models and also offers Topaz upscalers on Premium plans.

Pick it if you upscale AI art or concept work and want more detail than the original had. Skip it if you need a faithful copy of a real photo, or a cheap single-purpose tool.

VanceAI is a low-cost web toolkit. A 2x upscale uses one credit, and the $9 Starter plan includes 260 credits a month, so each image costs a few cents. It also has tools for sharpening, denoising, restoring and colourising, which is handy when an image needs more than just size.

Quality is solid but a step behind Topaz and Let's Enhance on fine texture, and very large enlargements can look over-processed. A Windows desktop version processes images locally.

Pick it if you want the lowest cost per upscale online, plus extra clean-up tools. Skip it if you need top-tier detail for large prints.

If you already have Adobe's Photography plan, you already have a good upscaler. Super Resolution in Lightroom and Photoshop's Camera Raw doubles the width and height of an image and works directly on RAW files, which keeps the most detail from the camera.

It is limited to a single 2x step and has no special face or text models. For heavier enlargements, Topaz Gigapixel plugs into both Photoshop and Lightroom Classic.

Pick it if you are a photographer who needs a modest size boost without leaving Lightroom. Skip it if you need 4x or more, or you upscale screenshots, logos or AI art.

Picsart's AI enhance and upscale tools are fine for social media. They sharpen a soft phone photo or enlarge a small image in a few taps, and you can keep editing in the same app.

Output size and fine detail are well behind the specialists, and you do not get a choice of models. Treat it as a convenience feature, not a print tool.

Pick it if you already use Picsart and need a quick boost for Instagram. Skip it if you plan to print or need faithful detail.