Gigapixel vs Photoshop Super Resolution

What changed in September 2026

Adobe's announcement of 23 September 2026 says Adobe completed the acquisition, Topaz Labs continues as a standalone brand, its apps and models remain available as standalone products, and Topaz technology is available in Adobe Firefly and Photoshop to upscale and enhance images and videos. The post does not say which Photoshop feature uses Topaz technology, whether it is Super Resolution, or whether it matches Gigapixel; anything more would be a guess. Background: Adobe-Topaz explainer.

What is and is not confirmed

Adobe's features page says to use Super Resolution on desktop to enlarge low-resolution images for print. Adobe's Super Resolution page adds that it doubles linear resolution (twice the width and height, four times the total pixels), outputs a DNG, works best from RAW but also accepts JPG, PNG and TIFF, and is "also available" in Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop. Its steps are to right-click a photo, choose Enhance, tick Super Resolution in the Enhance Preview, and continue editing the new DNG; for several images, select them in the Filmstrip and run Enhance. It gives no maximum input or output size, says a faster GPU and an SSD speed it up, and uses a 12-megapixel to 48-megapixel example equal to a 16 x 24 inch print. It lists a free trial and the Lightroom (US$11.99/mo, which it says includes Lightroom Classic) and Photography (US$19.99/mo) plans, but does not say which plan Super Resolution requires or whether processing is local. Maximum size, Lightroom Classic availability and the exact menu path in Photoshop: source inaccessible (Adobe's help site returned 403), so check Adobe's help documentation for the current path. For Gigapixel, Topaz's pricing page says up to 16x with Face Recovery (Topaz pricing); detail in the Gigapixel review. See also Lightroom AI features in 2026.

Vendor claims

Side by side, as of 8 November 2026

Sources: Adobe plans, Topaz pricing, Topaz docs. 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. Adobe's plans are labelled "Annual, billed monthly"; confirm both vendors' terms at checkout.

Example (arithmetic from cited prices): Gigapixel Personal 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; Adobe's page does not say which plan includes Super Resolution, so check your plan before assuming it adds no charge.

Where your files go

Topaz says desktop apps render locally (Topaz pricing); its Gigapixel page says files never leave your computer with local rendering and also offers cloud rendering, which the Lightroom Classic plugin does not use. Retention and training terms for cloud-rendered images: not found in sources reviewed; Topaz's privacy policy and terms: source inaccessible. Adobe's Super Resolution page does not say where processing runs (its GPU and SSD tip suggests local, which is an inference, not a statement), and Adobe's data terms for it: source inaccessible. The Topaz-in-Photoshop feature's data path: not found in sources reviewed. No confidentiality conclusion is drawn for either.

Print size arithmetic and the plugin size limit

Whether you need either tool depends on pixels, which you can work out before testing. Example (arithmetic, assuming you target 300 pixels per inch; confirm your lab's guidance): a 16x20 inch print needs 4,800 x 6,000 pixels, 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) doubled in each dimension becomes 12,000 x 8,000, which is 96 megapixels, four times the pixel count. The Topaz Photo page gives a 512 megapixel maximum image size for plugins (Topaz Photo page); that is the Photo app's limit, not Gigapixel's, and for Gigapixel the product page gives only a 30,000 pixel maximum for its Photoshop plugin (Gigapixel page); Gigapixel's Lightroom Classic plugin limit: not found in sources reviewed. Both are file-size ceilings, not quality statements. Topaz says "up to 16x pixels" for Gigapixel; the wording suggests a pixel-count multiple (about 4x per side) but Topaz does not define the unit, so confirm in the app.

Which enlargement factors each route documents

The documented factors decide whether a fixed 2x step is enough before any quality question arises. Example (arithmetic at 300 pixels per inch, hypothetical files):

Adobe's page read today documents a single 2x step and says nothing about running it twice. A 2021 Lenscraft comparison describes getting 4x by saving the first result as a TIFF and enhancing it again, and reports a 15.9 MP file becoming 63.7 MP after one pass and 255 MP after two; that is a 2021 post by a single author, so treat it as a lead to test. Topaz documents a selectable factor, with its batch page capping the MAX option at the smaller of 32,000 pixels on the longest side or 6x, and its system requirements treating outputs of 256 MP or more as "very large" upscales needing 128 GB of RAM. Its Lightroom Classic plugin page says the plugin converts files to TIFF and advises against sending RAW. So the 255 MP two-pass figure sits right at Topaz's own very-large threshold. Lenscraft also compares the two tools in 2021 material (a video comparison is mentioned in the post); this page repeats no verdict from it, because it predates the acquisition.

Scenarios

Wall print from a clean, full-frame image. The enlargement is moderate, so try the tool inside your plan first; a separate subscription is only justified if the result disappoints on a print.

A tight crop of a ceremony moment for a canvas. A crop leaves few pixels and the enlargement factor is high. This is where either tool would be stretched, and where a print test matters most. Run the exact crop at final size through each tool.

A mixed print order across a year. Frequency decides cost. Example (arithmetic): Gigapixel Personal at US$149 per year is about US$12.42 per month; Adobe's Lightroom plan at US$11.99 per month is similar in monthly size but includes the whole editor, and any limit on Super Resolution: source inaccessible.

Where upscaling sits in your workflow

Judgement, not a source finding: upscale at the end, per print, after crop and edit, and keep the enlarged master out of your client gallery. Denoise before enlargement is a judgement-based instinct, not a documented rule: Topaz's Gigapixel plugin page warns that sending RAW locks RAW noise into the returned TIFF, but no source read tests the order, so try both. The two routes differ in what they send. Adobe's Super Resolution takes a RAW (its recommended input) and returns a DNG you keep editing, so it can sit before final tone work. Topaz's Lightroom Classic plugin converts the file to TIFF and advises against sending RAW, so it sits after the edit and returns a flat file. A Photoshop route that uses Topaz technology could change where the step sits (inside a layered document rather than a catalogue); how it works: not found in sources reviewed.

What happens when a licence stops

For Gigapixel, behaviour after cancellation: not found in sources reviewed; Topaz is subscription only and its Photo licence is one computer at a time with monthly authentication. For Adobe's plan, lapse behaviour: not found in sources reviewed. Keep each delivered enlargement and a note of tool, version and settings, so a reprint order in two years does not depend on a licence you no longer hold.

Decision aid

Already on Lightroom, occasional prints

try Super Resolution first.

Large or frequent enlargements, dedicated tool

trial Gigapixel; see best AI image upscalers.

Photoshop user wanting Topaz-powered features

read Adobe's current release notes, since scope could not be confirmed here.

Several Topaz apps

Studio vs single apps.

Check this in your trial

1. Enlarge the same RAW to your largest sold print size in each tool and view prints at normal distance.
2. Compare faces, fabric, hair and lettering.
3. Note output format, file size and whether it returns to your catalogue.
4. Check hardware requirements against your machine.
5. In your installed Photoshop, find out which feature, if any, is Topaz-powered and what it does.
6. Confirm whether either tool sends images off your computer.
7. Calculate your target pixel dimensions from the print size and your lab's resolution advice before you start.
8. Test the enlargement in one pass and in two steps, and compare faces and fabric.
9. Check the returned file type, size and whether it opens cleanly in your layout or album software.

Original test pending: we would enlarge a shared RAW set at 2x and 4x with Gigapixel and Adobe's tools, including the Photoshop Topaz-powered feature once its scope is documented, because a separate subscription is only justified if the gap shows at print size.