Upscayl
Enlarges low-resolution images with AI models running on your own GPU, in a plain drag-and-drop window.
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6 more ways to get Upscayl
Other download sites
Run by third parties, not by Upscayl. Prefer the official page above when it works.
Package managers
- winget
winget install --id Upscayl.Upscayl - Chocolatey
choco install upscayl - Homebrew
brew install --cask upscayl - Flathub
flatpak install flathub org.upscayl.Upscayl - Snap Store
snap install upscayl
About Upscayl
Upscayl wraps the Real-ESRGAN family of upscaling models in a desktop app. You drop an image in, pick a model, and get a larger version with detail reconstructed rather than simply interpolated. Batch processing handles a whole folder at once.
Everything runs locally, so nothing is uploaded. The catch is hardware: it needs a Vulkan-compatible GPU, and the project warns that many integrated graphics chips will not work. Results also vary sharply by content, with photographs generally faring better than text or line art.
Strengths
- Runs entirely on your own machine, so no images are uploaded anywhere
- Batch processing for whole folders
- Several models to choose from, including ones tuned for different image types
- Packaged for Windows, macOS and Linux including Flatpak and Snap
Limitations
- Needs a Vulkan-compatible GPU; the project warns many integrated chips will not work
- Slow on weaker hardware, and memory-hungry on large images
- Results vary a lot by image; text and line art often come out worse
- It invents plausible detail rather than recovering real detail
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source under the AGPL. There is no paid tier and no per-image cost.
- License
- AGPL-3.0
- Developer
- Upscayl
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Enlarging photos or old images locally without sending them to a web service
- Categories
- Image editors
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Selected from the TechWalrus downloads catalog (Graphics); facts checked against the developer's own pages, 2 sources on file.
Alternatives to Upscayl
Compare allSoftware that can replace Upscayl for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
Real-ESRGAN
Open source AI model for upscaling and restoring images and video.
Real-ESRGAN is the BSD-licensed upscaling model used inside many tools, run as a command-line library rather than a drag-and-drop app.
chaiNNer
Build reusable image-processing workflows by connecting nodes.
chaiNNer is a GPL node-based app that chains AI upscaling with other image operations into reusable workflows, though some operations need extra models.
Topaz Photo
Desktop image enhancement software that uses AI models to sharpen, denoise, unblur and upscale photos.
Topaz Photo is paid Windows and macOS software adding denoise, sharpen and face enhancement, with models that can run locally or in the cloud.
Magnific
An online AI creative platform for generating and upscaling images, video and audio, formerly Freepik.
Magnific is a paid web platform offering image and video upscaling up to 4K, so images are uploaded and an account is required.
Clipdrop
A set of web-based AI image tools for background removal, cleanup, upscaling, relighting and generation.
Clipdrop provides free browser-based upscaling alongside background removal and cleanup, but processes images online instead of on your GPU.
Pixelcut
An AI photo and video editor for product images, with background removal, upscaling and generated scenes.
Pixelcut offers upscaling up to 16x on web, iOS and Android, focused on product imagery and dependent on online AI services.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
NMKD Stable Diffusion GUI
A Windows program for generating images with Stable Diffusion locally on your own GPU.
Cleanup.pictures
A web tool that removes unwanted objects, people, text and defects from photos using AI inpainting.
GIMP
The long-running free image editor for photo retouching, compositing and general pixel work.
Squoosh
Browser tool for comparing and compressing images with different codecs.
