Our take
Pick Topaz Photo if photographers who will pay the live Personal promo (about $19.50/mo for the first 3 months, then $39/mo) while they sharpen a first Texas-style still — not Studio $199.50 first-year unless they need the suite, and not a free forever editor (there isn’t one). Pick Upscayl if photographers and illustrators who will stay on Desktop at $0 (local GPU, AGPL-3.0) while they Double Upscayl a first
Best for
Topaz Photo A noisy or soft photo you start at a public $
Upscayl An upscale you start at a public $
Free plan
Topaz Photo No free plan
Upscayl $0 · linux / macOS / Windows. AGPL-3.0 at upscayl/upscayl. “Download once, forever yours.”
Lowest paid
Topaz Photo Web Image $12/mo
Upscayl Cloud Pro Plan $24.99/mo
Next step up
Topaz Photo Topaz Photo Personal $19.50/mo
Upscayl
Watch out
Topaz Photo There is no permanent $0 export
Upscayl Desktop needs a compatible GPU
Last checked
Topaz Photo 2026-10-23 · topazlabs.com/pricing
Upscayl 2026-10-23 · upscayl.org/pricing
photographers who will pay the live Personal promo (about $19.50/mo for the first 3 months, then $39/mo) while they sharpen a first Texas-style still — not Studio $199.50 first-year unless they need the suite, and not a free forever editor (there isn’t one).
Read the Topaz Photo pagephotographers and illustrators who will stay on Desktop at $0 (local GPU, AGPL-3.0) while they Double Upscayl a first Digital Art still, then Cloud Pro at $24.99/month when they need 300 credits/mo — not Business first unless they need a custom credit contract.
Read the Upscayl page
