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14 upscalers compared · checked 26 September 2026

The best AI image upscalers in 2026, compared

Free tiers, how you pay and how big each one goes — from each vendor's own website. Plus the no-subscription option with seven engines in one tool.

Turquoise alpine lake below snowy mountains with a wooden cabin (before · 480 px jpeg)
Turquoise alpine lake below snowy mountains with a wooden cabin (after · 4k · 5461 × 3072)
Before · 480 px JPEGAfter · 4K · 5461 × 3072
  • 14 tools
  • Free plans & limits
  • Max size
  • Honest verdicts

Updated by the

Quick answer

Updated

What is the best AI image upscaler in 2026?

The best AI image upscaler depends on how you work: Kenerate AI for occasional use without a subscription, Topaz Gigapixel for a desktop app, Let's Enhance or Magnific for heavy web use, and Upscayl or waifu2x for free open-source upscaling. We compared 14 upscalers with Kenerate, which has seven engines and outputs up to 8K or 128 MP.

Key facts

Tools compared
14 upscalers + Kenerate
Kenerate engines
7 in one tool, no subscription required
Kenerate max
8K or 128 MP
Free and open source
Upscayl desktop · waifu2x
Checked
26 September 2026

Checked 26 September 2026

Which AI image upscaler should I use?

Type, free plan, how you pay and maximum size. Plans change — confirm on each vendor's site.

Which AI image upscaler should I use? — checked 26 September 2026
UpscalerTypeFree planHow you payMax
Kenerate AIWeb (any device)Free credits, no watermarkOne-time credit packs, no subscription required8K or 128 MP
Let's EnhanceWeb + APIFree credits on sign-upSubscription credit plansUp to 16×, 256 MP (Starter)
Topaz GigapixelDesktop (Mac, Windows)No free plan statedYearly or monthly planUp to 6×, 32,000 px long side
MagnificWebNone shownMonthly or yearly plans2× to 16×
UpscaylDesktop (free) + CloudDesktop free; Cloud free trialDesktop free; Cloud Pro monthly plan4× native (desktop)
waifu2xWeb / in-browserFree, open sourceFree2× (web) · 4× (unlimited)
BigjpgWeb20 images/mo, 3000 px, 5 MBTime-based paid plans2× to 16×
VanceAIWeb + Windows appSome free creditsMonthly credit plans8× online · 40× desktop
upscale.mediaWeb, iOS, Android, APISmall monthly free allowancePay-as-you-go or subscription2×, 4×, 8×
imgupscaler.comWeb + desktop appMonthly free allowance (one at a time)Premium monthly plan2× or 4×
imageupscaler.comWeb + APISmall monthly free allowance per toolMonthly plansUp to 4×
ReminiiOS, Android, webFree with adsPro weekly subscription (App Store)Up to 2×, 4096 px
PixelcutWeb, iOS, Android3 downloads/dayPro monthly plan, unlimited upscaleUp to 16K output
PicsartWeb, mobile, desktopLow-res download onlyPro / Ultra subscription2×, 4×, up to 4096 px
Canva UpscaleWeb + appsUses Free plan AI allowanceCanva paid plans4× or 16×, up to 50 MP

Side by side

Compare Kenerate with each upscaler

Each page has a full comparison, an honest verdict and how to switch.

Decide

How do I choose an AI image upscaler?

  1. Step 1: Decide what you upscale

    Photos, faces, anime, old prints or AI art — and how many a month.

  2. Step 2: Decide how you want to pay

    Occasional use: no-subscription tools or free tiers. Daily volume: a subscription or a desktop app.

  3. Step 3: Test the same 3–5 images

    A face, text, a texture and a tiny screenshot — compare at 100% zoom.

  4. Step 4: Check the limits

    Free-tier caps (size, count, watermarks) and the biggest output you'll need.

At 100%

What to look for when you test

Compare at 100%, not as thumbnails. The same crop stretched vs upscaled by Kenerate.

Engines

What Kenerate offers

Seven engines in one tool, each with its output size and speed.

  • Real-ESRGAN title card — a small pixelated render of a robot sharpened into clean crisp detail on one side of a vertical split

    Open source

    Real-ESRGAN

    Style
    Faithful
    Speed
    About 25 s
    Output
    2048 px

    Best for

    Quick clean-ups of small AI renders, web images and product shots (under 2048 px).

    Open Real-ESRGAN
  • Kenerate Upscale title card — a crisp enlarged e-commerce product image of a ceramic mug with fine precise size-guide lines around it

    Kenerate AI

    Kenerate Upscale

    Style
    Faithful
    Speed
    About 14 s
    Output
    Up to 128 MP

    Best for

    E-commerce and design assets at a precise size, fast.

    Open Kenerate Upscale
  • Image Upscaler title card — a blurry low-resolution photo of a lighthouse on the left becoming crystal-clear high-resolution detail on the right

    WaveSpeed

    Image Upscaler

    Style
    Faithful
    Speed
    About 45 s
    Output
    2K · 4K · 8K
    Size
    2048+ px, 4096+ px, 8192+ px

    Best for

    Everyday photos and AI art to a standard 2K, 4K or 8K size.

    Open Image Upscaler
  • Ultimate Upscaler title card — a marketing photo of a hand-stitched leather wallet with a magnifier lens revealing extreme fine detail in the stitching; the wallet is plain and unb

    WaveSpeed

    Ultimate Upscaler

    Style
    Faithful
    Speed
    About 19 s
    Output
    2K · 4K · 8K
    Size
    2048+ px, 4096+ px, 8192+ px

    Best for

    Marketing assets and photo restoration where fine detail matters.

    Open Ultimate Upscaler
  • Clarity Pro title card — a campaign photograph of a perfume ad becoming richly detailed and textured from left to right

    Clarity AI

    Clarity Pro

    Style
    Creative
    Speed
    About 81 s
    Output
    Up to 64 MP

    Best for

    Campaign visuals and artwork for print. On faces keep creativity low — higher values can change the person.

    Open Clarity Pro
  • Phota Enhance title card — an old faded family photograph of fictional adults restored to vivid sharp clarity on its right half

    Kenerate AI

    Phota Enhance

    Style
    Restore
    Speed
    About 37 s
    Output
    2048 px

    Best for

    Old family photos, archives and low-res pictures you want to print.

    Open Phota Enhance
All models (7)
  • Recraft Creative title card — a carved wooden owl figurine gaining richer wood grain

    Recraft

    Recraft Creative

    Style
    Creative
    Speed
    About 29 s
    Output
    4096 px

    Best for

    Portraits and product shots that need richer texture.

    Open Recraft Creative

How it works

How it works in the app

  1. Step 1

    Add the image to upscale

    Open Image Upscaler and upload a photo, or pick one from your library or a link.

  2. Step 2

    Pick an upscaler and mode

    Choose one of the upscalers, then Precise for a faithful copy, Creative for extra detail or Restore for old photos.

  3. Step 3

    Click Upscale

    Press Upscale to create a sharper, larger copy of your image.

  4. Step 4

    Compare and download

    Slide between the original and the upscaled result, then download the full-resolution file.

1Add the image to upscale2Pick an upscaler and mode3Click Upscale4Compare and download
Kenerate AI Image Upscaler with a portrait of an old fisherman loaded as the input

Open Image Upscaler and upload a photo, or pick one from your library or a link.

1 / 4 · Add the image to upscale

FAQ

AI image upscaler alternatives — FAQ

What is the best AI image upscaler in 2026?

It depends on how you work. For occasional use without a subscription, Kenerate's seven engines (Real-ESRGAN, 2K/4K/8K set sizes, up to 128 MP) are simple. Topaz Gigapixel suits photographers who want a desktop app; Let's Enhance and Magnific suit heavy web users; Upscayl and waifu2x are free if you're happy with their limits.

Link to this answer

Which AI image upscaler is free?

Upscayl's desktop app and waifu2x are free and open source. Free tiers with limits: Kenerate (free credits on sign-up, no watermark), imgupscaler.com (a monthly free allowance), Bigjpg (20 images a month), Pixelcut (3 downloads a day) and Remini (with ads).

Link to this answer

Which upscaler goes the biggest?

Among the tools we checked: Let's Enhance lists up to 256 MP on Starter, Topaz Gigapixel up to 32,000 px on the long side, Pixelcut up to 16K, Kenerate up to 128 MP, and Canva up to 50 MP.

Link to this answer

Which upscaler is best for old photos?

Pick one with a restoration mode: Kenerate's Phota Enhance, Let's Enhance's Old Photo mode or VanceAI's Old Photo Restoration.

Link to this answer

Which upscaler is best for anime?

Real-ESRGAN-based tools (Kenerate, Upscayl) and waifu2x are the usual picks for clean line art.

Link to this answer

Do these upscalers need a GPU?

Web tools (Kenerate, Let's Enhance, Magnific, Bigjpg…) run on their servers. Upscayl needs a Vulkan-compatible GPU; Topaz Gigapixel runs on your computer.

Link to this answer

How were these tools compared?

From each vendor's own pricing, help and product pages, checked on 26 September 2026. Plans change — confirm on the vendor's site.

Link to this answer

In depth

How to judge an AI upscaler

The metrics researchers use, the trade-off every upscaler makes, and a fair way to test — with sources.

On this page

PSNR, SSIM and LPIPS

Research papers score upscalers with PSNR (pixel error), SSIM (structural similarity, Wang et al. 2004) [1] and LPIPS (a learned perceptual distance, Zhang et al. 2018) [2]. LPIPS tracks human judgement better than PSNR or SSIM, which its authors call “simple, shallow functions” [2]. Vendor marketing rarely publishes any of these — so test yourself.

Keep going

More upscale, enhance and restore tools

By Last updated and reviewed

We make Kenerate AI, one of the tools compared. Every competitor fact comes from that vendor's own website and is linked below.

Sources: Let's Enhance — Pricing · Topaz Labs — Pricing · Topaz Gigapixel — Resize mode docs · Magnific — Pricing · Upscayl — Pricing · Bigjpg · VanceAI — Pricing · upscale.media — Pricing · imgupscaler.com — Pricing · imageupscaler.com — Pricing · Remini — Image enlarger · Pixelcut — Pricing · Picsart — Image upscale · Canva Help — Upscale image

Try the no-subscription upscaler

Free credits on sign-up. No subscription required, no watermark.

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