Alternatives · Last reviewed October 20, 2026
Upscayl alternatives for upscaling online, on a phone or with repair tools
Upscayl is a free, open source (AGPL-3.0) desktop AI image upscaler for Linux, macOS and Windows, built on Real-ESRGAN and Vulkan, with a paid hosted Upscayl Cloud from the same maintainer. People look for an alternative mainly because the desktop app needs a Vulkan compatible GPU (most integrated graphics will not work) and does upscaling only, with no phone app. Let's Enhance and Deep-Image.ai fit upscaling in the browser, VanceAI fits a fuller repair suite, Remini fits phones, and Topaz Photo fits photographers who want professional desktop repair. ImageQuarry is for changing an image by describing it, not for upscaling.
We make ImageQuarry, one of the alternatives below. Upscayl and each alternative were compared on upscaling and repair tools, hardware needed, where it runs, how you pay and editing in words, using each vendor's public pages, checked October 20, 2026.
Last updated October 20, 2026
Upscayl alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Price from | How it differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Let's Enhance | Upscaling and repairing photos in a browser, with no graphics card needed | 10 credits at sign-up; Starter $12 a month billed monthly (as of 2026-10) | Browser upscaler to 512 MP with restoration, denoising and face tools |
| Deep-Image.ai | Browser upscaling with editing tools and credits that do not expire | Credits from $0.04 each on subscriptions; named plan prices were not readable (as of 2026-10) | Web upscaler to 300 MP plus prompt editing with history and branching |
| VanceAI | People who want a full repair suite in the browser, with a Windows app as a backup | 200 credits $20 a month billed monthly; 10 credits to try (as of 2026-10) | Web suite for upscaling, denoising, restoration and colorizing |
| Remini | Sharpening and restoring old or blurry photos on an Android phone or iPhone | Its App Store listing shows Remini Pro Weekly $9.99 and 1 Month $9.99 (as of 2026-10) | Phone and web photo enhancer from Bending Spoons |
| Topaz Photo | Photographers who want professional desktop repair and editor plugins | Topaz Photo Personal from $39 a month (monthly billing) (as of 2026-10) | Desktop upscale, denoise, sharpen and face recovery, with editor plugins |
| ImageQuarry | Changing what an image shows, such as its background or color, over several rounds | $9 a month on Starter; $29 on Pro (as of 2026-10) | Describe a change in words and keep each version |
What is Upscayl?
The Upscayl repository describes it as a "Free and Open Source AI Image Upscaler for Linux, MacOS and Windows". It "uses AI models to enhance your images by guessing what the details could be", ships models such as High Fidelity, Remacri, UltraSharp and Ultramix Balanced, and lets you add your own. The desktop app upscales up to 16x, in batches or twice in a row. Upscayl Cloud, labelled Beta, runs in any browser and adds text to image and an editor that takes typed instructions.
The free desktop app and the paid Upscayl Cloud are different products: only Cloud generates images or edits them from typed instructions.
Upscayl pricing
The desktop app is free to download. The prices below are for Upscayl Cloud. Credit tiers of 100, 300, 500, 1,000, 2,500 and 5,000 credits a month can be selected on the Pro plan. The page offers an annual toggle labelled "Up to 40% Off!" and a one-time purchase, but those amounts were not in the page text. Prices as of October 2026, from upscayl.org. Check the vendor for current pricing.
| Product | Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upscayl | Desktop app | $0 per download, open source | Upscaling up to 16x, Batch Upscayl, Double Upscayl, custom models |
| Upscayl | Cloud trial | $0 per one time, after a trial application | 10 credits |
| Upscayl | Cloud Pro (300 credits) | $24.99 per month, billed monthly | 300 credits a month with rollover, upscaling up to 256MP, AI image generation, 6 months of storage |
| Upscayl | Cloud Business | Custom per contact for pricing | Up to 512MP |
Prices as of 2026-10
What Upscayl does well
Free and open source
The desktop app is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and the official site says "Download once, forever yours."
Runs on all three desktop systems
The latest release has builds for Linux (AppImage, deb, rpm, zip), macOS and Windows, and it also installs from Flathub, the Snap Store and Homebrew.
Bring your own models
Besides its bundled models (High Fidelity, Remacri, UltraSharp, Ultramix Balanced), you can add custom models and convert PyTorch models to NCNN.
Batch and double upscaling
The site lists upscaling up to 16x, Batch Upscayl and Double Upscayl, which upscales an image twice.
A hosted option with an API
Upscayl Cloud works in a browser on a phone, tablet or computer, and the docs include an API reference with task and upload endpoints.
Where Upscayl falls short
Needs a Vulkan compatible GPU
The README says you need a Vulkan compatible graphics card, that many integrated GPUs do not work, and the FAQ adds that it "won't work with most iGPUs or CPUs".
The desktop app only upscales
No text to image is described for the desktop app, and denoising, face repair and restoration are not on its feature list; Face Enhancement is listed for Cloud.
No new desktop release since December 2024
The latest GitHub release is v2.15.0, published December 25, 2024, although the repository was last pushed in October 2026.
Cloud is a beta, and history ends after you cancel
The Cloud page calls it "Upscayl Cloud Beta", and cancelling a plan means your history is lost after 1 month and unused credits do not roll over.
Annual Cloud prices are not shown
The pricing page has an annual toggle and a one-time purchase option, but their amounts were not in the page text on October 20, 2026.
Why people look for a Upscayl alternative
- Your laptop has integrated graphics, and Upscayl's desktop app needs a Vulkan compatible GPU.
- You want to fix noise, blur, faces or old photos, not only enlarge them, and the desktop feature list covers upscaling only.
- You want to upscale from an Android phone, and Upscayl's desktop builds are for Linux, macOS and Windows only.
- You want a hosted tool that is past beta, and Upscayl's own page calls its Cloud "Upscayl Cloud Beta".
The 6 Upscayl alternatives
Ordered by how well each answers the reasons above: browser upscalers that need no GPU and add repair tools first, then a phone app, then a paid desktop app for professional repair, and last a workspace that edits images in words but does not upscale.
1. Let's Enhance
Best for: Upscaling and repairing photos in a browser, with no graphics card needed
How it differs from Upscayl: Let's Enhance runs in the browser, so it does not depend on your GPU. Beyond upscaling up to 16x it lists Restoration, a Face Enhancer, an Unblur tool, a Denoiser and a Text Enhancer, the repair jobs Upscayl's desktop app leaves out.
Price: 10 credits at sign-up; Starter $12 a month billed monthly (as of 2026-10)
Limitation: Free results are watermarked and upscale only up to 8 megapixels, and remaining credits are lost when you cancel.
2. Deep-Image.ai
Best for: Browser upscaling with editing tools and credits that do not expire
How it differs from Upscayl: Deep-Image.ai upscales up to 300 megapixels in the browser and adds background tools, uncrop and inpainting. Its Prompt Based Edit keeps a full history you can jump back through and branch from, and pay as you go credits have no expiration date.
Price: Credits from $0.04 each on subscriptions; named plan prices were not readable (as of 2026-10)
Limitation: Plan prices load by script and could not be read, and the plans page states two different free credit counts (10 and 5).
3. VanceAI
Best for: People who want a full repair suite in the browser, with a Windows app as a backup
How it differs from Upscayl: VanceAI's web tools cover upscaling, sharpening, denoising, restoration, colorizing, portrait retouching and anime upscaling in one place. It also sells VanceAI for PC, a Windows app that batch processes locally.
Price: 200 credits $20 a month billed monthly; 10 credits to try (as of 2026-10)
Limitation: Web uploads are capped at 10MB and 34MP, and its user agreement does not address ownership or commercial use of outputs.
4. Remini
Best for: Sharpening and restoring old or blurry photos on an Android phone or iPhone
How it differs from Upscayl: Remini is a photo enhancer on the web, iOS and Android, with Unblur, a Denoiser, an Old Photos Restorer and a Video Enhancer. Its enlarger makes photos up to 2x larger, up to 4096x4096px.
Price: Its App Store listing shows Remini Pro Weekly $9.99 and 1 Month $9.99 (as of 2026-10)
Limitation: No public pricing page was found, and its Terms of Service grant use for personal and non-commercial purposes only.
5. Topaz Photo
Best for: Photographers who want professional desktop repair and editor plugins
How it differs from Upscayl: Topaz Photo, the successor to Topaz Photo AI, adds what Upscayl does not: Denoise, Sharpen, Recover Faces, Preserve Text, Dust & Scratch and a Healing Brush next to Upscale. It works inside Photoshop, Lightroom Classic and Capture One and exports TIFF and DNG.
Price: Topaz Photo Personal from $39 a month (monthly billing) (as of 2026-10)
Limitation: It is subscription only, does not run on Linux, and Windows needs 16GB of RAM and a GPU with 6GB of VRAM.
6. ImageQuarry
Best for: Changing what an image shows, such as its background or color, over several rounds
How it differs from Upscayl: Upscayl Cloud's editor changes an image when you type what you want. ImageQuarry is organized around repeating that: each request makes a new version from the one you selected, earlier versions stay in the workspace, and you can branch from any of them or choose among four models (Nano Banana 2.1 by default).
Price: $9 a month on Starter; $29 on Pro (as of 2026-10)
Limitation: ImageQuarry is not an upscaler, publishes no output specifications, and has no plan you can use without paying.
Who should stay with Upscayl
- You have a Vulkan compatible GPU and only need to enlarge images, which the free desktop app does at up to 16x.
- You work on Linux, where Upscayl ships AppImage, deb, rpm, Flathub and Snap builds.
- You want to load your own upscaling models or convert PyTorch models, which Upscayl supports.
- You want open source software under AGPL-3.0 that you download once and keep.
How to try an alternative alongside Upscayl
- Keep Upscayl installed, since the desktop app has no subscription to end.
- Note which bundled model (High Fidelity, Remacri, UltraSharp or Ultramix Balanced) gives your best results, so you know the look you are comparing against.
- Pick three test images that show the problem you want solved, such as a noisy low-light shot, a blurry face and an old print.
- Run them through the alternative's trial credits and compare at 100% zoom against your Upscayl output.
- If you used Upscayl Cloud, download your upscaled images before cancelling, because history is lost 1 month after you cancel.
Does not carry over: Custom NCNN models you added to Upscayl will not load in hosted tools such as Let's Enhance or VanceAI.
Upscayl alternatives: questions
What is a free online alternative to Upscayl?
Let's Enhance gives 10 credits at sign-up (results are watermarked until you pay), VanceAI offers 10 credits to try, and Deep-Image.ai gives free credits with every account. Upscayl's own Cloud has a $0 trial with 10 credits after a short application. Every ImageQuarry plan is paid.
Is there an Upscayl alternative for Android?
Remini runs on Android (linked from its site to Google Play), on iPhone and on the web, and focuses on unblurring, denoising and restoring photos. Upscayl's desktop app is for Linux, macOS and Windows, while Upscayl Cloud works in a phone's browser.
Can I upscale without a graphics card?
Yes, with a hosted tool. Upscayl's desktop app needs a Vulkan compatible GPU, but Upscayl Cloud, Let's Enhance, Deep-Image.ai and VanceAI's web tools all run in the browser.
Upscayl or Topaz: which should I use?
Upscayl costs nothing and only upscales, on Linux, macOS or Windows. Topaz Photo adds denoising, sharpening, face recovery and editor plugins, but it is subscription only, from $39 a month billed monthly, and does not support Linux.
How does ImageQuarry compare with Upscayl?
They solve different problems. Upscayl enlarges an image and guesses the missing detail. ImageQuarry changes the content of an image from a sentence, such as new lighting or an added object, and keeps every version, with Starter at $9 and Pro at $29 a month.
Sources
Checked October 20, 2026. Recheck public pages before making a buying decision.
Checked October 20, 2026
- Upscayl: docs.upscayl.org/introduction
- Upscayl: github.com/upscayl/upscayl
- Upscayl: github.com/upscayl/upscayl/releases/latest
- Upscayl: upscayl.org
- Upscayl: upscayl.org/cloud
- Upscayl: upscayl.org/pricing
- Deep-Image.ai: deep-image.ai
- Deep-Image.ai: deep-image.ai/app/plans
- Deep-Image.ai: deep-image.ai/app/tools/prompt-based-edit
- Deep-Image.ai: deep-image.ai/blog/prompt-based-edit-ai-powered-image-photo-editing-via-chat-style-prompts
- Let's Enhance: letsenhance.io
- Let's Enhance: letsenhance.io/changelog
- Let's Enhance: letsenhance.io/pricing
- Remini: app.remini.ai
- Remini: apps.apple.com/us/app/remini-ai-photo-enhancer/id1470373330
- Remini: remini.ai/image-enlarger
- Remini: remini.ai/pricing
- Remini: remini.ai/try-remini
- Remini: yourplan.remini.ai/assets/Remini-Terms-Of-Service.pdf
- Topaz Photo: docs.topazlabs.com/topaz-photo/functions/export
- Topaz Photo: docs.topazlabs.com/topaz-photo/system-requirements
- Topaz Photo: docs.topazlabs.com/topaz-photo/tpai-vs-tp
- Topaz Photo: topazlabs.com/topaz-photo
- VanceAI: vanceai.com
- VanceAI: vanceai.com/pricing
- VanceAI: vanceai.com/user-agreement
Related pages
Create an image. Edit it with words. Keep refining.
When the image needs a new direction, not more pixels
Describe the change you want, see it as a new version, and branch from any earlier one.
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