In many instances, you will find a great image whose resolutions are way too small to be used as intended. An image upscaler, in such cases, can be of great help as they can increase the resolutions of the image while maintaining the image quality. While this image enhancement feature is not a new idea, it is still constantly improving and upgrading, as seen from the introduction of AI image upscaler tools. With that said, this list will provide you with the best image upscaler apps that are cutting-edge and will give you sharpest pictures.
You can experience the latest AI upscaling developments through these apps and get images that are usable anywhere. Almost all of these tools are easy to use as well, and do not require professional users. So, start using AI photo upscaling to get the best photos that have the correct size as well as quality needed for online presence. Tools here are ranked for overall performance, features, and pricing.
AI Technology Behind Image Upscaling
When we talk about image upscaling, the process simply means to make an image bigger. Usually, to upscale image the traditional application merely stretches out the existing pixels of the image. This does make the image bigger technically but it also makes the image quality go down. The solution then is AI upscaling.
What is AI upscaling?
When compared with the normal image upscaling, AI upscaling also has the same goal: make the image bigger. However, AI differs in execution. AI upscaling first reads the image and its pixels in detail. After that, AI simply duplicates the pixels into multiples till the image is at the required resolution. AI upscaling doesn’t stretch any pixels and make them bigger than they should be. Therefore, the image quality loss is avoided.
How does AI upscaling work?
Naturally, AI makes the outside work really simple and automatic. Although, how AI upscaling actually works is a bit complicated. When an image is sent for processing to an AI based application, the AI algorithms are instructed to study the visual or pixel information of the image. This allows the AI upscaling tool to basically multiply them during the upscaling process. The system is also fed many different kinds of images so that the AI is able to detect photo types, aesthetics, realistic colors of real life objects, and more. Thus, even when you upload a different kind of image, the AI will compare the uploaded image with the data it has on similar images and then start filling up the uploaded image with realistic pixels.
The AI systems are also capable of comparing the current image with the 4k or even 8k version of the image. Since the AI tool would know how the sharpened version of the image would look, it doesn’t take much to also convert it. Overall, AI upscaling is a really powerful technology that manages to work quietly behind the scenes to provide the best possible pictures. It has even found its way into gaming, constantly rendering frames to the quality players expect.
Who will benefit from AI upscaling?
Pretty much anyone can benefit from AI upscaling thanks to its wide accessibility. The big selling point of AI upscaling is that it is an automatic process for the user. Thus, whenever you come across an AI based image upscaler product, you can be rest assured that it will process your image automatically and generate results within seconds. You don’t need experience nor have to spend time.
What’s the latest breakthrough in AI image upscaling?
As seen from Google’s research titled High Fidelity Image Generation Using Diffusion Models, there are some really refreshingly new models tested by Google for upscale image processes. The very first model that we see has some sort of a reverse engineering concept. Called Image Super-Resolution, the process involves progressively adding image noise to an image and then distributing the noise in an efficient manner. It takes a low-resolution image, adds noise, and reverses the process for a high-resolution image. It works the best with smaller images. The other method is called conditioning augmentation and it makes use of Gaussian blur during processing for even better quality photos.
How to upscale an image without losing quality？
Now that you are well aware of the capabilities of having an AI based image upscaler application, let’s discuss how to use AI upscaling. The good news is that since AI based image upscaler tools are automatic, users don’t need to do anything really. All users are required to do is upload an image and start processing. The application will display output and users can download it with a single-click. The following list also contains specific steps on how to use them, so read on.
Top 10 AI Image Upscalers Review
Read on for the best AI upscalers and if you want to know more applications, you can refer to this Top 15 AI Image Upscaler for 2021 list as well.
1. ImageUpscaler.com
Price: You can make use of ten free images per month with this online image upscaler application. For more features, you will need to pay $3 minimum.
The Image Upscaler application is a really easy and direct way of increasing image resolution automatically. Other than that, it also offers other useful features such as a background remover, JPEG artifacts remover, deblur tool, etc. It supports the most common file formats, that are JPG, JPEG, and PNG.
- Click on the link given and use the green upload button to upload an image.
- After you upload the image, the application will process the image and display the output.
- Use the download button as shown in the above image to save the image.
2. Icons8
Price: Free users will get a number of free images that they can try. After that, you have to pay either $0.20 per image or $9 per month for more credits and features such as image upscaler 8x.
Icons8 is a really good AI based application that you can have, for it helps in creating enhanced, enlarged images as well as offers amazing features such as making your face anonymous through the use of AI technology. Not to mention that there are illustrative features as well. Overall, you can use this app for many purposes dealing with visuals.
Click on the link and use the Browse button to upload an image.
The application will display the output below after processing.
Use the blue Download button to save the image.
3. Vance AI Image Enlarger
Price: You can use up to three free image credits upon making a free account with Vance AI. The paid plans start from $9.99 per month and offer additional benefits such as extra credits and features.
The best part about Vance AI is that it offers a multitude of other image editing features that make it a go-to website for a lot of image editing and enhancement solutions. You can enlarge images up to 8x times on the website without losing quality, deblur them, colorize them, and more. Not to mention that Vance AI is completely AI based, providing quick and beautiful results.
Access the tool by using the link given and click on Upload Image.
Use the box to upload an image or drop an image. After that, select Start to Process.
Finally, go to Processed > Preview > Download Image to save the image.
4. Upscaler Free
Price: You get three image credits for free before having to pay for more. The paid plans start from $5, which offers 20 image credits and other advantages.
Upscaler Free is a really simple tool for image upscaling. An advantage of paying for the application is that it allows users to export images in PNG, WebP, and BMP formats as well, other than the usual JPG. Other than that, it also allows specific cropping of images meant to be shared on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Use the link above and upload an image on the website.
Wait as the application processes the image and displays output.
Use any of the download or export options to save the image.
5. BigJPG
Price: You can easily use this image upscaler application for free without paying. It still offers paid versions for users who need even fast processing.
With BigJPG, you don’t have to worry about how to upscale an image because you can very well use it on platforms that you’re comfortable with, such as Windows desktop and iOS or Android. BigJPG is also an AI based application that processes images in depth. Apart from that, you can access BigJPG through its API version as well.
- Click on Select Images and choose an image to upload.
- Click on Start just below the upload button to begin processing.
- Click on Download after it is processed.
6. Vertex Share
Price: You can use this image upscaler online for free.
Vertex Share is another AI based online image enlarger that is really simple to use and offers generally good results. The application also enables users to convert their images to the WebP format, remove background from images, and more. They are all based on AI, so users don’t need to worry about how to use the tool.
- Click on the upload button or drop an image for upload.
- Wait till the tool processes the image and displays output.
- Download the image by using the download option.
7. UpscalePics
Price: You can use this image upscaler for free with a limited amount of uses. For more features and benefits, you can pay $10 per month.
UpscalePics is a complete application similar to Vance AI that offers multiple image enhancement features as well as benefits such as customer service, increased resolutions, batch processing, etc if you decide to pay for a subscription. You can also buy larger plans for enterprises. Other than that, this is an automatic image editing tool that only requires an upload to work.
- When you reach the website, use the upload button to open the image there and select the service. The first one is the image upscaler.
- Click on Start Processing and the tool will process the image.
- Download it by using the download icon just below the image.
8. Aiseesoft
Price: This is a completely free to use online application.
Unlike many of the other online image enlargement applications, this one actually lets you upscale images up to 8x times. The other application that allows 8x image upscaling for free is Vance AI Image Enlarger. You can upload a wide variety of image types, including TIFF, BMP, TIF, etc. Since it is powered by AI, it can process images relatively quickly. It also has other features related to video editing.
- Click on Upload Photo after getting to the website and select the upscale number before that.
- Wait as the application makes the image ready.
- Download the image using the download options.
9. Waifu2x
Price: This image upscaler application online is fully free to use.
Though Waifu2x, as the name suggests, is more optimal for anime or cartoon styled images, it can still process other image types consistently well. By making use of Convolutional Neural Networks, Waifu2x is an automatic and easy to use online tool accessible for all. All you need to do is upload an image and choose settings.
- Type URL or use the upload button to upload an image. Choose settings as per your preference.
- Click on Convert and the tool will open another page which will have the enhanced image.
- Right-click and Save As on the image to save it. Or, use the Download button.
10. Let’s Enhance
Price: The first five image credits are given for free to users. After that, the paid plans start from $9 per month with 100 credits and additional benefits provided.
Let’s Enhance is a pretty useful tool to have if you are always looking for various kinds of image enhancements. This application offers image enlargement for many kinds of images, such as product images, real estate photos, and more. Moreover, you can also get access to the tool as an API by requesting it through the website.
- Click on Try for Free or the circle on the right to upload an image. It will take you to another page.
- Simply click on the button to start processing and wait.
- Download the image after it is displayed below.
Free Image Upscaler for E-commerce Recommendation-Image Upscaler
Want to find an easy and free way to upscale your images? Image Upscaler is exactly what you need. With it, you can easily upscale your image up to 2x without log in or installation. Just drop your images in and wait a second to see the result. And the best part of it is that it is completely free to use.
Final Thoughts
There you go. This list should be helpful in your search for the perfect image upscaler application for you. Many of these online image upscaler applications are straightforward and offer only the upscaling feature, which is great if you want to quickly get some images upscaled. However, if you are looking for an all-round application tied along with an image upscaler, the list has those apps too. Vance AI, Icons8, and Vertex Share are tools that offer many other features as well. Finally, with Google making new advancements in image upscaling, you can expect these applications to upgrade themselves too. Read more at https://medium.com/@topten.ai
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