The best AI image upscalers in 2026, compared on facts

01What an AI upscaler actually does

A traditional resize stretches the pixels you already have, so a small photo just gets bigger and softer. An AI upscaler predicts the detail that should be there, such as edges, texture and fine lines, and draws it in at the higher resolution.

That prediction is also the limit. An upscaler cannot recover detail the camera never recorded, and on very small or very blurred originals it may invent features that were not in the scene. Check faces, text and repeating patterns at 100 percent before you use a result.

02What to compare

Five questions separate these tools more clearly than any quality claim:

• Where it runs: in the browser, as a desktop app, on your phone, or inside a photo editor, and whether it needs a dedicated graphics card.
• What is free: a trial, a monthly allowance, free open-source software, and whether free results carry a watermark.
• How you pay: monthly, yearly or weekly subscriptions, one-time purchases, and whether unused credits expire.
• How far it enlarges: the maximum upscale factor and the largest output it will produce.
• What happens to your uploads: where they are stored, for how long, and who can reach them.

03Desktop apps: Topaz Gigapixel and Upscayl

Topaz Gigapixel is a dedicated upscaler for Windows 10 and 11 and macOS 13 or later; Topaz also sells a browser version and an iPhone app. Topaz describes upscaling of up to 16x. On Windows the minimum is a graphics card with 6 GB of video memory or recent Intel integrated graphics, and its generative models need 8 GB of video memory to run locally. When we checked, the pricing page listed Gigapixel Personal at $29 a month billed monthly, $19 a month with an annual commitment, or $149 billed yearly, and listed no free trial; refund requests must be made within two days of purchase.

Upscayl is free, open-source software (AGPL-3.0) for Windows 10 or later, macOS 12 or later and Linux, with upscaling of up to 16x. It needs a Vulkan-compatible graphics card, and its documentation says it will not work with most integrated graphics or CPUs, and that it cannot de-blur or adjust focus. The same team also sells a paid web service, Upscayl Cloud.

04Inside a photo editor: Adobe Super Resolution

If you already use Lightroom or Photoshop, Super Resolution is built into Lightroom, Camera Raw and Photoshop. It doubles the width and height of a photo, so a 12 MP image becomes 48 MP, and saves the result as a new DNG file. Adobe offers a 7-day free trial; on the US site the Lightroom plan was listed at US$11.99 a month on an annual plan billed monthly.

05Web and mobile services

These run on the vendor's servers, so no graphics card is needed. As listed on each vendor's own site:

• Let's Enhance (web and API): 10 free credits on sign-up with no card, with a watermark on free results. The Starter plan is $9 a month billed yearly or $12 billed monthly for 100 credits, one credit per image. It advertises upscaling of up to 16x and up to 512 megapixels on its largest plan.
• Remini (iPhone, Android and web): free to download with in-app purchases; the US App Store lists weekly plans from $4.99. Its enlarger makes images up to 2x larger, up to 4096 × 4096 pixels. There is no public pricing page.
• Bigjpg (web, Windows, Mac, iOS and Android): 20 free images a month up to 5 MB, 3000 × 3000 pixels and 4x. Paid plans start at $6 for two months with 500 images a month and up to 16x. Its FAQ says the default server is in mainland China, with a US server available after login.
• Magnific, formerly Freepik (web, mobile, desktop and API): its API offers 2x to 16x upscaling, and purchased credits are valid for one year. Prices are shown in your local currency, and the pricing page lists no free plan.

06Where Pixelyft fits

Pixelyft runs in the browser with nothing to install and no graphics card needed. Enhance takes JPEG, PNG, WebP or HEIC files up to 10 MB and produces output of up to 4K, while also sharpening, removing noise and grain, and cleaning up JPEG artifacts in the same pass. A job is charged only when a result is produced. Pro is €19.99 a month, and one-time image packs are available for occasional use.

If you need a 16x enlargement or prints larger than 4K, one of the dedicated upscalers above is the better fit. If your photo is small, soft or compressed and you want it cleaner as well as larger, Enhance is built for that, and storage of your images is private and can be switched off in Settings.

07Sources

Prices and limits change often and can vary by region and app store. Everything above was checked on 27 October 2026 on these official pages:

• Topaz Gigapixel: topazlabs.com/gigapixel, topazlabs.com/pricing, docs.topazlabs.com
• Upscayl: github.com/upscayl/upscayl, upscayl.org
• Adobe: adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom/super-resolution.html, adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom/plans.html
• Let's Enhance: letsenhance.io, letsenhance.io/pricing
• Remini: remini.ai/image-enlarger, the Remini listing on the US App Store
• Bigjpg: bigjpg.com/en, bigjpg.com/en/faq
• Magnific: magnific.com/pricing, docs.magnific.com