# upscale.media alternative

> A good upscale.media alternative is Kenerate AI: 25 free credits on sign-up, then one-time credit packs with no subscription, seven engines, 4K/8K output, up to 128 MP and Phota Enhance for old photos. upscale.media, run by Shopsense Retail Technologies (PixelBin), gives 3 free credits a month and upscales 2×, 4× or 8×.

URL: https://kenerateai.com/upscale-media-alternative
Publisher: Kenerate AI (https://kenerateai.com)
Last updated: 26 September 2026

## Key facts
- upscale.media free: 3 credits a month
- upscale.media scales: 2×, 4×, 8×
- Kenerate free: 25 credits on sign-up
- Kenerate max: 8K or 128 MP

## Steps
1. Open the Kenerate upscaler — Go to kenerateai.com/app/tool/image-upscale — 25 free credits on sign-up.
2. Pick an engine — Real-ESRGAN for everyday upscales, Image Upscaler for 4K/8K, Phota Enhance for old or blurry photos.
3. Convert HEIC first if needed — Kenerate takes JPG, PNG and WEBP — export HEIC photos as JPG from your phone's share sheet.
4. Download — PNG, JPG or WEBP with no watermark.

## In depth

### Why 8× comes with a small input limit
upscale.media caps guest inputs at 1,250 × 1,250 px for 8× [1] — because 8× of that is already 10,000 × 10,000 px, 100 megapixels. Output size grows with the square of the scale factor, so tools limit the input as the factor rises.

### Work backwards from the destination
Most destinations need far less: Shopify displays square product images best at 2048 × 2048 px [2], and YouTube recommends 3840 × 2160 thumbnails [3]. Picking an output size — as Kenerate does with 2K/4K/8K or megapixels — avoids huge files you'll only shrink again.

### Upscale once, from the best copy
Real-ESRGAN-type models are trained on repeated blur, noise, resizing and JPEG damage [4], but they still do best on the largest, least-compressed original you have. Upscale once, straight to the final size.

References:
[1] upscale.media — Home (input limits): https://www.upscale.media/
[2] Shopify Help — Product media types and sizes: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/product-media/product-media-types
[3] YouTube Help — Add video thumbnails: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/72431
[4] Wang et al. — Real-ESRGAN (ICCV Workshops 2021): https://arxiv.org/abs/2107.10833

## FAQ
Q: What is the best upscale.media alternative?
A: Kenerate AI if you want 25 free credits to test, exact print sizes up to 128 MP and old-photo restoration, without a subscription.

Q: How many free upscales does upscale.media give?
A: Its pricing page lists 3 free credits a month. Kenerate gives 25 credits on sign-up.

Q: Does Kenerate accept HEIC?
A: Not directly — export the photo as JPG first. upscale.media accepts HEIC.

Q: Can Kenerate upscale 8×?
A: Kenerate works by output size: 8K with Image Upscaler or up to 128 MP with Kenerate Upscale — usually more than an 8× upscale of a phone photo needs.

## Related pages
- AI image upscaler: https://kenerateai.com/ai-image-upscaler
- Upscale image: https://kenerateai.com/upscale-image
- AI image enhancer: https://kenerateai.com/ai-image-enhancer
- Upscale image to 4K: https://kenerateai.com/upscale-image-to-4k
- Increase image resolution: https://kenerateai.com/increase-image-resolution
- HD photo converter: https://kenerateai.com/hd-photo-converter
- Unblur image: https://kenerateai.com/unblur-image
- Sharpen image: https://kenerateai.com/sharpen-image
- Unpixelate image: https://kenerateai.com/unpixelate-image
- Photo restoration: https://kenerateai.com/photo-restoration
- Uncensored image enhancer: https://kenerateai.com/enhance-ai
- Enhance AI art: https://kenerateai.com/enhance-ai-art
- Anime upscaler: https://kenerateai.com/anime-upscaler
- Bulk image upscaler: https://kenerateai.com/bulk-image-upscaler
- Remove glare from photo: https://kenerateai.com/remove-glare-from-photo
- Restore old photos: https://kenerateai.com/how-to-restore-old-photos
- Best photo restoration software: https://kenerateai.com/best-photo-restoration-software
- Denoise photos: https://kenerateai.com/how-to-denoise-photos
- Increase image resolution: https://kenerateai.com/how-to-increase-resolution-of-an-image
- Sharpen an image in Photoshop: https://kenerateai.com/how-to-sharpen-an-image-in-photoshop
- All upscaler alternatives: https://kenerateai.com/image-upscaler-alternatives
- Remini alternative: https://kenerateai.com/remini-alternative
- Let's Enhance alternative: https://kenerateai.com/lets-enhance-alternative
- Upscayl online: https://kenerateai.com/upscayl-online
- Bigjpg alternative: https://kenerateai.com/bigjpg-alternative
- VanceAI alternative: https://kenerateai.com/vanceai-alternative
- waifu2x alternative: https://kenerateai.com/waifu2x-alternative
- Magnific AI alternative: https://kenerateai.com/magnific-ai-alternative
- Topaz Labs alternative: https://kenerateai.com/alternatives/topazlabs-alternative

## Sources
- upscale.media — Home (scales, limits, formats): https://www.upscale.media/
- upscale.media — Pricing: https://www.upscale.media/pricing
- upscale.media — Video upscaler: https://www.upscale.media/video-upscale