Best AI Image Upscalers for Photographers

The short answer by situation

Which upscaler fits depends on print volume, existing subscriptions and tolerance for another monthly charge.

Occasional prints, already on Adobe

try Lightroom Super Resolution first.

Frequent or very large prints

trial Topaz Gigapixel.

You also need denoise and face repair

Topaz Photo lists Upscale; compare with the bundle.

Photoshop user

Adobe says Topaz technology is now available in Photoshop; scope unconfirmed.

The options, as of 8 November 2026

Topaz Gigapixel

Topaz's pricing page lists Gigapixel as "image upscaling up to 16x pixels" with Face Recovery among its models, and lists Personal at US$149 per year (US$19 per month labelled annual commitment, US$29 without an annual-commitment label) and Pro at US$499 per year (Topaz pricing). DigitalProduction reports Topaz went subscription-only in October 2025 (report); Topaz's Photo licensing document says one computer at a time with monthly authentication (Topaz docs). Topaz's pricing-page footnote covers commercial use on Personal for organisations under US$1M annual revenue (licence text not read). Only part of Topaz's pricing page was read (the first 100,000 of 144,501 characters), and the one price conflict found is Studio Pro at US$75 versus US$79 a month; confirm at checkout. See the Gigapixel review.

Topaz Photo (Upscale)

Topaz Photo lists Upscale alongside denoise and face recovery (Topaz Photo page), at US$199 per year Personal. How its upscaler compares with Gigapixel's: not found in sources reviewed. See the Topaz Photo review.

Lightroom Super Resolution

Adobe says to use Super Resolution on desktop to enlarge low-resolution images for print (Adobe features). Factor, size cap, output and Classic availability: source inaccessible (Adobe help blocked); check Adobe's help documentation for the current menu path. Lightroom is US$11.99 per month and Photography US$19.99, both labelled "Annual, billed monthly"; trial 7 days on Lightroom (Adobe plans); cancellation and refund wording: not found in sources reviewed.

Photoshop and Topaz technology

Adobe's German-language announcement of 23 September 2026 says Topaz technology is available in Firefly and Photoshop and Topaz remains standalone (Adobe blog); which feature: not found in sources reviewed. See Gigapixel vs Photoshop Super Resolution.

Other candidates

ON1's page lists Photo RAW 2027 at US$99.99 one-time and advertises Resize AI, built on "diffusion-based models" that it says deliver the "sharpest enlargements and detail recovery yet" (ON1). That is a vendor claim: the page publishes no method, factor or sample, so Resize AI is not assessed here.

Vendor claims

Comparison table, as of 8 November 2026

Example (arithmetic from cited prices, hypothetical 3,000 RAW frames per wedding): Gigapixel at US$149 per year is about US$14.90, US$5.96 or US$3.31 per wedding at 10, 25 or 45 weddings a year; Topaz Photo at US$199 is about US$19.90, US$7.96 or US$4.42. Neither meters frames in the pages read.

Where your files go

Topaz says desktop apps render locally; Gigapixel cloud use: not found in sources reviewed; Topaz's privacy policy and terms: source inaccessible. Adobe Super Resolution's processing location and data terms: source inaccessible. ON1: not found in sources reviewed. No upscaler here can be recommended for client confidentiality from what was readable.

Print size arithmetic: how much enlargement you need

Whether you need an AI upscaler at all depends on the pixel count your print size requires, which you can calculate before buying anything. Example (arithmetic, assuming you target 300 pixels per inch, a common but not universal choice): an 8x10 inch print needs 2,400 x 3,000 pixels, about 7.2 megapixels; a 16x20 needs 4,800 x 6,000, about 28.8 megapixels; a 24x36 needs 7,200 x 10,800, about 77.8 megapixels. A 6,000 x 4,000 pixel file (24 megapixels) covers the 8x10 at that target but falls short of 16x20: cropped to the 4:5 shape of a 16x20 it is 4,000 x 5,000 (20 megapixels), so it needs about 1.2x enlargement per side, or a lower ppi target. A 50% area crop of that file leaves 12 megapixels, short of 16x20 at 300 ppi, and would need enlargement. Labs publish their own resolution advice, and large prints viewed at distance often use lower ppi; check with your lab before treating 300 as a rule.

This matters for the tool choice because enlargement factors are not all alike. Topaz says Gigapixel upscales "up to 16x pixels" (Topaz pricing); the wording suggests a pixel-count multiple (about 4x per side) but Topaz does not define the unit, so confirm in the app. A 2x linear enlargement of a 6,000 x 4,000 file gives 12,000 x 8,000, which is four times the pixels. The Topaz Photo page's structured data gives a 512 megapixel maximum image size for its Lightroom Classic plugin (Topaz Photo page); confirm in Topaz's plugin documentation; that is a ceiling on the file you can hand it, so check that your enlarged target stays under it if you use that route.

Scenarios: which option fits which job

One large canvas a year for a family portrait. A subscription is hard to justify for one job. Try Lightroom Super Resolution first if your plan includes it; Topaz's trial availability: not found in sources reviewed, so confirm before planning around one.

A studio selling wall art and albums every month. Recurring enlargement favours a dedicated tool, so Gigapixel's subscription may be a cost of doing business. Example (arithmetic): US$149 per year is about US$12.42 per month. Topaz's pricing-page footnote covers commercial use on Personal for organisations under US$1M annual revenue; confirm in the licence text that selling prints counts, or look at Pro at US$499 per year.

Cropped ceremony frames for an album spread. Spreads are often smaller than wall prints, but a cropped telephoto frame may carry few pixels. Run the exact crop at the exact spread size through each candidate and check faces first, since Face Recovery is a feature Topaz names.

A mixed workflow already on Photoshop. Adobe says Topaz technology is available in Photoshop, but the feature name and scope were not found in sources reviewed. Check your installed version before buying a separate tool.

Where upscaling sits in the workflow

Upscale after you have chosen the crop and finished the edit, as a final step per print, because enlarging earlier makes every later file bigger and slower. This is reasoning, not vendor guidance. Denoise, if needed, is usually considered before enlargement so noise is not magnified, but no source read tests either order; try both on one file. Keep the enlarged master separate from your delivery gallery so a very large file does not end up in a client download folder or bloat the catalogue.

Returned files and album decisions

Check what each tool returns (file type, bit depth, size, and whether colour profile and metadata carry over), because album designers and labs have their own file requirements. Adobe's page says Super Resolution is meant for print enlargement; its output format: source inaccessible. For Topaz, output formats: not found in sources reviewed. Ask your lab which formats and maximum file sizes it accepts before choosing a tool, and make the master at the dimensions the lab specifies rather than the largest the tool can produce.

When a licence stops

If you cancel or a payment fails, what Gigapixel or an Adobe plan's upscaler does afterwards: not found in sources reviewed. Protect yourself by keeping every enlarged master you have delivered or sold, with a note of tool, version and settings. Topaz is subscription only per its pricing page, and its Photo licence is for one computer at a time, so if enlargement is a core service, budget for it as a running cost and check offline authentication before travelling to a print-deadline job.

Choosing by the constraint that matters most

Lowest added cost

Lightroom Super Resolution, if your Adobe plan already includes it; confirm the plan at checkout.

Largest stated enlargement

Topaz states "up to 16x pixels" for Gigapixel; no other option here states a factor in the sources read.

Need a perpetual licence

Topaz (Gigapixel and Photo) is subscription only for new buyers, and Lightroom Super Resolution comes with a subscription plan. ON1 lists a one-time price for Photo RAW 2027, so it is the one option here that sells outright, but its Resize AI claims come with no published method and are not assessed.

Commercial licence

Topaz's footnote says Pro licences add full commercial use for organisations over US$1M annual revenue, and Personal covers commercial use under it; the phrase is not on the Gigapixel Pro listing, and the licence text was not read.

Offline work on location

Topaz documents monthly authentication with up to one month offline for Photo; the other options' rules: not found in sources reviewed.

Adjacent questions

Can AI upscaling replace a bigger sensor? The sources read do not say; test on a print. Should you denoise first? No source read answers it; see best AI denoise software and test the order on your file. What about the Adobe deal? See what photographers should do and Topaz Studio vs single apps.

Check this in your trial

1. Enlarge a sold-print file to your largest size in each candidate.
2. Judge the print at viewing distance, not only on screen.
3. Check faces, lace, hair and lettering for artefacts.
4. Record time, file size and output format.
5. Check whether anything is sent to a cloud.
6. Confirm licence limits for your business revenue.
7. Calculate your target pixel dimensions from the largest print you sell and your lab's guidance; start the test at that size, not at the tool's maximum.
8. Run the same file at 2x and at your target in one pass versus two passes, and compare.
9. Ask your lab for a test print or soft proof if available.

Original test pending: we would run each tool on a shared RAW set at fixed enlargement factors with printed samples and measured file sizes, because print buyers care about the result at size and no page read measures it.