--- title: "Topaz Gigapixel AI" type: "AI Tool" url: "https://aidemos.com/tools/topaz-gigapixel-ai" description: "Hands-on Topaz Gigapixel AI review based on real testing. Explore portrait upscaling quality, Preserve Face feature, sharpening controls, and editorial use performance." category: "image-editing" website: "https://www.topazlabs.com/?via=aidemos" authors: - "Athulya Jaikish" lastVerified: "April 2026" published: "2026-04-30T11:25:00.366Z" updated: "2026-05-19T21:05:57.104Z" --- # Topaz Gigapixel AI Topaz Gigapixel AI Review: Image Upscaling & Portrait Enhancement Tested (2026) `Tested Hands-On` · `AI Image Upscaling` · `Portrait Enhancement` · `Professional Editorial` **Website:** [Visit Topaz Gigapixel AI](https://www.topazlabs.com/?via=aidemos) ## Testing History | Use Case | Tested | Verdict | | --- | --- | --- | | | April 2026 | Best / Works well | > **Our take** > > Topaz Gigapixel AI is the industry-standard tool for professional editorial upscaling, referenced directly in photography workflows and publishing use cases. The Preserve face toggle and adjustable Sharpen/Denoise sliders give editors more control than any other tested tool. It requires more configuration than fully automatic tools, which adds steps under deadline pressure, but the output quality on portraits justifies it. ## Demo Recording [Video: Topaz Gigapixel AI demo recording (download MP4)](https://d3epheqghktydj.cloudfront.net/Demo%20Video-3.mp4) [▶️ Watch (streaming)](https://stream.futuresmart.ai/embed/1fa974e4-2a2f-4f31-b8f3-2a85f868f457) ## Feature-by-Feature Breakdown ### Standard V2 Model — 8/10 Claims to deliver balanced enhancement of detail, sharpness, and denoising across all image types. **Input:** ![Input 1 - Headshot-9.png](https://d3epheqghktydj.cloudfront.net/Input%201%20-%20Headshot-9.png) *Image: Input 1 - Headshot-9.png* **Output:** ![Screenshot 2026-04-23 150022-2.png](https://d3epheqghktydj.cloudfront.net/Screenshot%202026-04-23%20150022-2.png) *Image: Screenshot 2026-04-23 150022-2.png* **Input:** ![Input 1 - Headshot-12.png](https://d3epheqghktydj.cloudfront.net/Input%201%20-%20Headshot-12.png) *Image: Input 1 - Headshot-12.png* **Output:** ![image (1)-5.png](https://d3epheqghktydj.cloudfront.net/image%20(1)-5.png) *Image: image (1)-5.png* **Bottom line:** Standard V2 is the best default choice for clean portrait and product inputs. Consistent, natural output with no hallucination. ### Archival Image Upscaling (Standard V2) — 7.5/10 No dedicated archival model available. Standard V2 used for degraded greyscale inputs. **Input:** ![Input 2 - Historic_photo-8.png](https://d3epheqghktydj.cloudfront.net/Input%202%20-%20Historic_photo-8.png) *Image: Input 2 - Historic_photo-8.png* **Output:** ![Screenshot 2026-04-23 150138-2.png](https://d3epheqghktydj.cloudfront.net/Screenshot%202026-04-23%20150138-2.png) *Image: Screenshot 2026-04-23 150138-2.png* **Input:** ![Input 2 - Historic_photo-7.png](https://d3epheqghktydj.cloudfront.net/Input%202%20-%20Historic_photo-7.png) *Image: Input 2 - Historic_photo-7.png* **Output:** ![image (2)-8.png](https://d3epheqghktydj.cloudfront.net/image%20(2)-8.png) *Image: image (2)-8.png* **Bottom line:** Strong structural detail recovery without dedicated archival model. Grain managed conservatively. Lacks the purpose-built archival restoration capability of LetsEnhance's Old photo model. ### Product Image Upscaling — 8/10 Claims to upscale product photography with preserved edge sharpness, surface texture fidelity, and label text legibility using the Standard V2 model. **Input:** ![Input 3 - Product_image-4.png](https://d3epheqghktydj.cloudfront.net/Input%203%20-%20Product_image-4.png) *Image: Input 3 - Product_image-4.png* **Output:** ![Screenshot (230)-1.png](https://d3epheqghktydj.cloudfront.net/Screenshot%20(230)-1.png) *Image: Screenshot (230)-1.png* **Bottom line:** Strong product upscaling result. Full label text — "MĀRY & MAY", "Idebenone + Blackberry complex", "Serum", ingredient list, and volume — all legible on the right side of the fullscreen comparison. Clean white background preserved with no noise. Bottle edges and glass surface reflections rendered cleanly with no haloing. 4x recommended for print catalogue use. ### Preserve Face Toggle, Sharpen and Denoise Sliders — 7/10 Claims to prevent face distortion during upscaling by applying face-specific processing to portrait regions. Allows the editor to adjust sharpening intensity and noise reduction independently. Both default to 50, adjustable per image. **Input:** ![Input 1 - Headshot-11.png](https://d3epheqghktydj.cloudfront.net/Input%201%20-%20Headshot-11.png) *Image: Input 1 - Headshot-11.png* **Output:** ![Screenshot (229)-2.png](https://d3epheqghktydj.cloudfront.net/Screenshot%20(229)-2.png) *Image: Screenshot (229)-2.png* **Bottom line:** Preserve face is the strongest portrait-specific feature of any tool tested. Directly prevents the plastic skin effect common in AI upscaling. Recommended on for all portrait editorial inputs. The most granular enhancement controls of any tool tested. Requires manual judgment per image type but gives editors direct control over output quality ### Scale Factor (Up to 8x) — 7/10 Offers 1x, 2x, 4x, 6x, and 8x scale options. **Input:** Three low resolution input images. **Output:** ![Screenshot (226)-1.png](https://d3epheqghktydj.cloudfront.net/Screenshot%20(226)-1.png) *Image: Screenshot (226)-1.png* ## Pricing & Access | Plan | Price | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | | Free credits ★ (tested) | $ 0 | 10 crefits available in free trial | | Topaz Studio | $37 /month | All the apps, Unlimited local rendering, Unlimited cloud image rendering, 300 monthly video cloud credits, 2—image cloud concurrency, 32MP cloud export limit*, Limited commercial use*, | | Topaz Studio Pro | $ 75 / month | All the apps (Pro licenses) Unlimited local rendering Unlimited cloud image rendering 600 monthly video cloud credits 4—Image cloud concurrency 100MP cloud export limit* Full commercial use Seat management | ** Pricing as of April 2026. We re-check quarterly* ## Is This Right For You? A side-by-side guide based on our hands-on testing. **✓ Use This If** - Portrait detail fidelity is a priority — you need natural skin, eye, and hair recovery - You want fine-grained control over sharpening and denoising per image - You work with a mix of portrait, archival, and product inputs - You need scale factors up to 8x for large format print - You are comfortable with a semi-manual configuration workflow **✕ Skip This If** - You need a fully automatic one-click workflow with no configuration - You work primarily with archival or degraded historical images and need a dedicated restoration model - You need DPI explicitly confirmed in the interface - You need TIFF input confirmed as supported - You are on a tight free tier credit budget ## Classification - **Category:** image-editing - **Subcategory:** text-to-image - **Type:** text - **Built for:** Editors ## Frequently Asked Questions **Q: Does Topaz Gigapixel AI have a dedicated model for archival photographs?** No dedicated archival or Old photo model was available during testing. Standard V2 was used for the archival scan input and produced clean results, but it does not apply the conservative grain management of a purpose-built restoration model. **Q: What does the Preserve face toggle do?** Preserve face applies face-specific processing to portrait regions during upscaling, preventing distortion of facial features. In our testing, it produced noticeably more natural skin texture and eye detail compared to upscaling without it. **Q: What are the default Sharpen and Denoise settings?** Both default to 50 on a 0–100 scale. Both are fully adjustable. For archival inputs, lowering Sharpen and increasing Denoise produced cleaner grain management. For clean portraits, the defaults gave natural results. **Q: What scale factor is best for editorial print?** 4x is recommended for most editorial print use cases. 2x is sufficient for web publishing and large-format digital display. For very large print formats, 6x or 8x is available. **Q: Is there a plugin for Lightroom or Photoshop?** Topaz Labs offers desktop apps and plugins for Lightroom and Photoshop as part of the Topaz Photo AI suite. The web app tested here does not require software installation but the plugin offers tighter workflow integration for editors already in Lightroom or Photoshop. ## Similar Tools AI tools similar to Topaz Gigapixel AI: - [AVC Labs](https://aidemos.com/tools/avc-labs) — AVC Labs Review: AI Image Upscaling & Face Refinement Tested (2026)