Overview
Topaz Labs builds AI enhancement software for photographers, retouchers and video editors, and its defining choice is that the heavy work runs locally on your own hardware rather than in a credit-metered cloud. The lineup splits into focused apps: Gigapixel for upscaling stills up to 6x, Topaz Photo for denoise, sharpening, face recovery and dust removal, Topaz Video for deinterlacing, frame interpolation and 4K/8K upscaling, Bloom for generative editing, Mosaic for stitching, and Astra as a cloud pipeline for generative 4K video enhancement. Each app ships multiple purpose-built models - High Fidelity, Low Res, Text & Shapes, Art & CG, Redefine - so you pick the one that matches your source rather than accepting a single generic upscaler. This specialisation is why the suite shows up in broadcast, archival and film restoration workflows where inventing plausible detail is unacceptable. Practical strengths include unlimited local rendering with no per-file charge, batch processing, an Autopilot preset system, and plugin round-trips with Lightroom, Photoshop and Resolve. The trade-offs are real: you need a decent discrete GPU, the eight-app catalogue overlaps in confusing ways, and the 2026 move away from perpetual licences toward the Topaz Studio subscription bundle was unpopular with owners who had bought outright.
Key Features
- Gigapixel upscaling to 6x with selectable models for photos, text, art and low-resolution sources
- Topaz Video denoise, deinterlace, frame interpolation and upscaling to 4K or 8K
- Unlimited local GPU rendering on desktop apps with no per-file credit charge
- Face recovery, dust and scratch removal, and colourisation for archival restoration
- Batch processing and Autopilot presets for repeatable high-volume jobs
- Astra cloud pipeline for generative 4K video enhancement when local hardware is not enough
- Plugin round-trips with Lightroom, Photoshop and DaVinci Resolve
Pricing
| Plan | Price | For |
|---|---|---|
| Topaz Gigapixel | $12/mo ($149/yr) | Image upscaling only |
| Topaz Photo | $17/mo ($199/yr) | Photo restoration and enhancement |
| Topaz Video | $25/mo ($299/yr) | Video denoise, upscale and interpolation |
| Topaz Studio | $34/mo ($399/yr) | All apps plus 300 cloud video credits/mo |
| Topaz Studio Pro | $799/yr | Full commercial use, 600 credits/mo, seat management |
Comparison
Compared to Magnific AI, the philosophies are opposite: Magnific hallucinates new detail for a stylised, high-impact result, while Topaz tries to recover what the sensor actually captured - pick Magnific for creative work, Topaz for restoration and delivery. Compared to Remini, Topaz is a professional desktop pipeline with batch control rather than a one-tap mobile face fixer. Krea bundles an upscaler alongside generation, which is convenient for AI-native images but weaker on real photographic and video source.