Topaz Video AI is a powerful, paid tool for professionals. If you mainly want to upscale and smooth your own videos for free, AI Video Upscaler+ may be all you need. Here is an honest comparison.
Short answer
Yes. AI Video Upscaler+ is free, with no watermark, for the most common upscaling jobs.
AI Video Upscaler+ covers the three things most people want from an AI video enhancer: upscaling (Real-ESRGAN, up to 8K), smoother motion (RIFE frame interpolation to 45 or 60 fps) and face restoration (GFPGAN). It is free with no watermark and runs locally on Windows. Topaz Video AI is a paid, professional tool with many more models and controls.
Side by side
| AI Video Upscaler+ | Topaz Video AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, no subscription, no watermark | Paid (see topazlabs.com for current pricing) |
| Platforms | Windows 10 and 11 | Windows and macOS |
| Upscaling | Real-ESRGAN, up to 2K, 4K or 8K | Several specialised upscaling and enhancement models |
| Frame rate | RIFE interpolation to 45 or 60 fps | Frame interpolation, including slow motion |
| Face restoration | GFPGAN with a strength slider | Handled within its enhancement models |
| GPUs | Any DirectX 12 GPU via DirectML: NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, including integrated | See Topaz's system requirements |
| Controls | Simple: pick size, fps and face strength; sensible defaults | Detailed professional controls |
| Where it runs | Locally on your PC, offline, nothing uploaded | Locally on your computer |
Which one?
Try it on your own video
Every clip on our before & after samples page was made with the free AI Video Upscaler+ on an ordinary laptop with an Intel Core i7-11800H, Intel UHD integrated graphics and 16 GB RAM, with no dedicated graphics card: 720p to 4K, 30 to 60 fps, face restoration on and off, and an old phone video upscaled and smoothed in one pass.
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