Best AI Image Upscaler for Photos in 2026: My Top 5 After Testing

I recently tested some of the more popular AI image upscalers on wildlife crops, landscapes, high ISO shots and older JPEGs.

I ran everything on the same setup (a mid-range Windows PC with an RTX GPU) and used identical source images across all tools to keep the comparison fair. I also exported results in full resolution and checked them in Lightroom and Photoshop at 100% zoom to catch artifacts, over-sharpening, and hallucinated details. I mainly wanted to see which tools actually improve real photos without making everything look fake or oversharpened.

Here’s my take.

1. Topaz Photo AI: best for control

Best for: photography, difficult upscaling, large output

Topaz is still one of the strongest options for serious upscaling. It handles fine detail well and gives you plenty of control, especially when the source photo is already decent. The tradeoff is that difficult images usually need some tweaking to get right.

2. Aiarty Image Enhancer: best balance for real photography

Best for: photography, wildlife, landscapes, noisy or cropped photos

Aiarty was probably the biggest surprise for me. I tested it on fur, feathers, foliage, fabric, architecture and noisy backgrounds. It did a good job of combining denoise + detail recovery + upscaling without making textures look overly crunchy. Compared with Topaz, I found it easier to get a natural result quickly. Topaz offers more granular control, while Aiarty feels more straightforward for everyday photography.

They’re also currently running a 36% off lifetime license promotion, which makes it more appealing if you are after a lifetime license instead of a subscription.

3. ON1 Resize AI: best for printing

Best for: print enlargement, photography, batch resizing

ON1 feels more like a traditional photography tool built around enlargement. It works best when you already have a decent photo and need a larger version for printing or export. Results stay fairly close to the original rather than aggressively inventing new detail.

4. Luminar Neo Upscale AI: best all-in-one workflow

Best for: photographers, landscapes, all-in-one editing

Luminar Neo makes sense if you want upscaling inside a larger photo editing workflow. Results were clean on landscapes and wildlife crops, and I liked being able to continue editing noise, sharpness and color in the same app.

5. Upscayl: best free AI image upscaler

Best for: free upscaling

Upscayl is still one of the easiest free AI image upscalers to recommend. It runs locally and works surprisingly well on clean images. It struggles more with noisy photos and complicated textures, but for basic enlargement it’s hard to complain.

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The biggest difference between these tools isn’t how large they can make an image. It’s how believable the added detail looks. For photography, I’d rather keep slightly softer but natural-looking fur, foliage and texture than get something insanely sharp that looks obviously AI-generated.