Topaz Labs is a US company that makes AI photo and video enhancement software, and it was well known among photographers and editors years before the generative AI wave. Its main products are Gigapixel for enlarging photos, Topaz Photo for denoising and fixing blur, and Topaz Video for increasing resolution, smoothing motion and restoring footage. Its main difference from tools like Magnific is that it runs on your own computer and aims to stay faithful to the original image rather than invent imaginary detail.

What is Topaz good for?#

  • Upscaling photos for print: a photographer enlarges a phone photo several times for a large canvas print.
  • Denoising night photos: clean up event and low-light photos without losing detail.
  • Restoring old photos and footage: make scanned family photos or old home videos clearer and better.
  • Increasing video resolution: an editor raises low-quality footage to higher resolution so it can be used in a new project.
  • Slow motion and smoothing: by generating in-between frames, turn ordinary video into smooth slow motion and reduce shake.
  • Improving AI images: a designer enlarges the low-resolution output of image generators for professional use.

Strengths and weaknesses#

Strengths:

  • High quality that stays faithful to the original in upscaling and denoising
  • Processing on your own system, suitable for confidential and large files
  • Specialized video tools rarely found in online tools
  • Plugins for Photoshop and Lightroom

Weaknesses:

  • Subscription only, and expensive for an occasional user
  • Needs a strong graphics card, and video processing is very slow
  • Can give artificial-looking results on very small or blurry faces

Free plan and pricing#

Topaz has no truly free version; a trial is available for checking quality, but it saves output with a watermark. Products are sold as separate subscriptions or a full bundle, and perpetual purchase is no longer offered; owners of older licenses keep the version they bought. Some heavy features run in the cloud and use credits. Check the official site for current prices.

Language#

Topaz is not a language tool, so language support does not matter here; the interface is in English, but using it requires no language skills. Stick to licensed copies, since cracked versions are a common source of malware.

Topaz Labs alternatives#

  • Magnific AI: creative online upscaling that adds new detail.
  • Photoshop: generative upscaling and denoising alongside full editing tools.
  • Krea: online upscaling with a limited free plan.

To learn about the limits of video, read making and editing video with AI: what is possible and what is not, and for the hardware needed for local processing, running AI on a personal computer.