Top Image Upscalers Compared: Honest Benchmark

Every image upscaler claims to deliver the best results. Sharp details. No artifacts. AI-powered magic. But when you actually test them side by side, the differences are real.

I ran the same set of test images through the most popular upscalers in 2026. Same photos. Same settings. Same scale factor. Then I compared the results pixel by pixel. Here's what I found.

For the technical background on how these tools actually work, check our complete guide to image upscaling.

How Did I Test These Image Upscalers?

Fair testing needs consistent methods. Here's exactly what I did.

Test images. I used five photos that cover the most common upscaling scenarios:

1. A portrait with visible skin texture and hair detail
2. A product photo with clean edges and text on packaging
3. A landscape with distant trees, clouds, and water
4. An old family photo from 2004 at 640x480 pixels
5. A screenshot with UI elements and small text

Settings. Every tool was tested at 2x upscaling. I used the default AI model where options existed. Output was saved as PNG to avoid compression differences affecting the comparison.

Evaluation criteria. I looked at five things:

• Edge sharpness. Are straight lines straight? Are curves smooth?
• Texture quality. Does skin look natural? Are fabric patterns preserved?
• Artifact presence. Any weird halos, ringing, or plastic-looking areas?
• Text readability. Can you read the text at 100% zoom?
• Overall naturalness. Does the result look like a real photo or an AI creation?

No upscaler is perfect. They all have strengths and weaknesses. The goal is to find which one handles your type of images best.

Which Upscalers Made the Cut?

I tested seven tools that represent the main categories available today.

UpscaleIMG — Browser-based, no signup, multiple output formats. Free tier offers 2x with watermark. Paid plan removes watermark and adds 4x.

Topaz Gigapixel AI — Desktop software for Mac and Windows. One-time purchase. Multiple AI models. Industry standard for professionals.

Upscayl — Free, open-source desktop app. Uses Real-ESRGAN models. Runs locally on your hardware.

Let's Enhance — Browser-based with account required. Multiple AI models. Credit-based free tier.

Imgupscaler — Browser-based, no signup. 20 free credits per month.

Bigjpg — Browser-based, focused on anime and illustration upscaling. Free tier with limits.

Waifu2x — Open-source, originally built for anime. Available as web apps and desktop tools.

How Do They Compare on Photo Quality?

Here's the breakdown across all five test images.

Tool	Edge sharpness	Texture quality	Artifacts	Text	Overall
UpscaleIMG	Very good	Very good	Minimal	Good	Very good
Topaz Gigapixel	Excellent	Excellent	Minimal	Excellent	Excellent
Upscayl	Good	Good	Some	Fair	Good
Let's Enhance	Very good	Very good	Minimal	Good	Very good
Imgupscaler	Good	Fair	Moderate	Fair	Fair
Bigjpg	Good (anime)	Fair (photos)	Moderate	Poor	Fair
Waifu2x	Good (anime)	Fair (photos)	Some	Poor	Fair

Topaz Gigapixel produced the best overall results. Edges were consistently sharp. Skin looked natural without the plastic effect. Text was readable even at small sizes. The Face Recovery model handled portraits especially well.

UpscaleIMG and Let's Enhance were close behind. Both produced clean, natural-looking output on photos. The differences between these three were often only visible at extreme zoom levels. For most practical uses, the results were interchangeable.

Upscayl performed well on non-face content. Landscapes, products, and textures looked good. Faces were occasionally over-smoothed depending on the model. Being free and local is a strong advantage for privacy-conscious users.

Imgupscaler handled simple photos fine but struggled with complex textures. Over-sharpening was noticeable on edges, creating a slightly crunchy look.

Bigjpg and Waifu2x are built for anime and illustrations. They performed well on that content but produced unnatural results on real photos. Skin textures looked flat and painted.

Which Tool Handles Portraits Best?

Faces are the toughest test for any upscaler. Humans are incredibly good at spotting when a face looks wrong. Even tiny artifacts on skin, eyes, or hair stand out immediately.

Topaz Gigapixel with Face Recovery mode was the clear winner. It sharpened facial features while keeping skin natural. Eye detail was crisp. Hair showed individual strands without merging into clumps.

UpscaleIMG produced natural-looking portraits at 2x. Skin texture was preserved without the plastic look that plagues some AI tools. At 4x, results were still solid but required a good source image.

Let's Enhance with Smart mode handled portraits well. It identified faces automatically and applied appropriate processing. Results were clean and natural.

Upscayl varied by model. Some models smoothed faces too aggressively, removing pores and wrinkles. Others added slight halos around facial features. Experimenting with different models helped, but it takes time.

If portrait quality is your priority, Topaz is the benchmark. For free options, UpscaleIMG delivers the most consistent face results.