Upscayl
Free open-source AI image upscaler for desktop.
Free open-source AI image upscaler for desktop.
Upscayl is Free open-source AI image upscaler for desktop. Free to use.
About Upscayl
Upscayl is a free, open-source AI image upscaler available for Windows, macOS and Linux. It runs entirely locally using GPU acceleration and bundles a selection of upscaling models including Real-ESRGAN, REMACRI and others tuned for different content types such as photographs, line art, anime and digital paintings. Features include 2x to 16x upscaling, batch processing, custom model loading and a simple before/after viewer. Because it works offline, Upscayl is popular with privacy-conscious users, archivists restoring old photos, indie game developers upscaling assets, and anyone who wants free local upscaling without uploading images to a cloud service. A paid Upscayl Pro version adds extra models, faster updates and commercial use rights while the core app remains free under the AGPL license.
Upscayl pros and cons
Hand-derived from the catalog data, strengths and trade-offs to weigh before signing up.
- Completely free to use, no paid tier required
- Open source
- Runs offline
- Multiple models
- No autonomous agent, handles single prompts, not multi-step workflows
- Competition is strong in this space, see Nano Banana and AIChangeHair for comparison
2 plans from Upscayl
Pulled from Upscayl’s public pricing page. Prices may change, verify on the vendor’s site before purchasing.
Free (Open Source)
Free desktop AI upscaler
- Open source app
- Runs locally on your machine
- No internet required
- Batch processing
Upscayl Cloud
Cloud-powered upscaling
- Faster cloud processing
- No GPU required
- Higher resolution outputs
- Priority queue
Upscayl vs Image Editing & Enhancement
Side-by-side with the top 3 other image editing & enhancement in this category.
| Picked from the top tools in image editing & enhancement | Free open-source AI image upscaler for desktop. | Google's viral image model, best-in-class character consistency and edits. | AI hair color and hairstyle changer for realistic portrait previews. | AI upscaler and enhancer that hallucinates realistic detail. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STARTS AT | Free | Free in Gemini; $0.09 / image (Pro) | , | $39/mo |
| PRICING | Free | Freemium | Freemium | Paid |
| AI AGENT | No | No | No | No |
| EDITOR'S PICK | No | No | No | No |
| KEY FEATURES | Open source, Runs offline, Multiple models | Best-in-class character consistency, Natural-language editing, Multi-image blending | Preview many hairstyles on your own photo, Try different hair colors, Keeps face, clothing, and background unchanged | Up to 16x upscale, Creativity slider, HDR |
| BEST FOR | Photo upscaling, Old photo restoration, Game asset upscaling | Consistent character edits, Product mockups & lifestyle shots, Natural-language photo edits | Previewing a new haircut before the salon, Testing hair colors on your own photo, Stylists showing clients style options | Photo upscaling, 3D render enhancement, Restoring old photos |
| WORKS WITH | #upscale#open-source#offline | #image#image-editing#google#character-consistency | , | #upscale#enhance#photo |
Upscayl, frequently asked questions
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Related tools
Google's viral image model, best-in-class character consistency and edits.
AI hair color and hairstyle changer for realistic portrait previews.
AI upscaler and enhancer that hallucinates realistic detail.
Erase unwanted objects, people, or text from photos.