Best AI Video Upscalers (2026): 9 Tools for Soft Footage

Soft footage usually comes from one of four places: old family tapes digitised years ago, early uploads at 480p or 720p, screen recordings that blur when you zoom, and client clips shot on a phone in poor light. Each asks something different of an upscaler. The bigger choice, though, is where the work happens: on your own computer, in a browser, or with a service built for broadcasters. The nine tools below are in no particular order, grouped by that choice.

What you're starting with matters more than the target resolution

A digitised tape has noise and soft edges baked in, so the job is restoration as much as resolution. An early upload has been compressed at least once, which leaves blocky artefacts that an AI model may sharpen along with the detail. Screen recordings are mostly text and flat colour, where over-sharpening shows straight away. Faces are the hardest test, because viewers notice an odd eye or mouth long before they notice a soft wall.

So be honest about the target. Taking 480p to 1080p is a modest ask. Going to 4K or 8K means the software is inventing most of the pixels, and the result is only as believable as its guesses. If the clip's heading for social media, 1080p is often all you'll need, and it'll export much faster. If you're cutting the clip into something new as well, that's an editing job, and my guide to AI video editors covers the tools built for it.

Ways of working at a glance

Tool	Way of working	Good for
Aiarty Video Enhancer	Desktop suite	Video and image enhancing from one suite
AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI	Desktop enhancer	Restoring old video, faces and colours locally
HitPaw VikPea	Desktop enhancer	Blurry phone clips and older footage taken to 4K or 8K
neural.love	Browser tool	Enhancing video without installing anything
Pixop	Broadcast service	Media teams moving HD pipelines to UHD HDR
Topaz Video	Desktop enhancer	Upscaling, stabilising and smoothing footage in one app
UniFab	Desktop suite	Upscaling, HDR conversion and denoising in one pack
Video2X	Open source	Command-line super resolution and frame interpolation
Winxvideo AI	Desktop toolkit	Enhancing plus converting and compressing big files

Desktop apps on your own computer

Six of the nine are desktop software. They run on your machine, so the footage never leaves it, which matters for client work and private family video. The trade is that your graphics card does the heavy lifting, and a long 4K export can tie up a computer for a good while.

Within this group, some are single-purpose enhancers and some are suites that bundle extras such as image enhancement, background removal, HDR conversion, denoising, subtitles or file conversion. A suite makes sense if you'd use the other tools in it. If you only ever upscale video, a dedicated enhancer keeps things simpler. One maker pitches models that treat frames as a sequence rather than one picture at a time, which is aimed at the flicker you can get when each frame is sharpened separately. For stills and photos rather than moving footage, see my list of AI image upscalers.

The open-source route

One option is an open-source framework for video super resolution and frame interpolation. You'll need to be comfortable with a command line, and there's no polished interface or support desk to call. The project page points to a Google Colab route that gives you a free NVIDIA GPU for up to 12 hours a session, as of Nov 2026, which is handy if your own computer hasn't got a strong graphics card.

Browser and broadcast services

If you'd rather not install anything, there's a browser tool here where the same account also covers image generation and editing. Uploading means your footage sits on someone else's servers for a while, so read the terms before you send client or family video.

At the other end is a service for broadcasters and media companies, built to slot into existing workflows and move HD pipelines to UHD HDR. It isn't aimed at someone with a shoebox of old tapes. If you run a media archive or a channel, it's the kind of tool to put through a pilot rather than a quick try.

Each tool A to Z

Listed alphabetically, with one line on who each one is for.

Aiarty Video Enhancer

Best for: People who also want an image enhancer and a background remover in the same suite as their video upscaler.

AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI

Best for: Anyone restoring old 480p, 720p or 1080p video on Windows or Mac who'd rather the work ran locally than in the cloud.

HitPaw VikPea

Best for: Creators with blurry phone or older footage who want upscaling to 4K or 8K, less noise, restored detail and colourising.

neural.love

Best for: Anyone who'd rather work in a browser than install software, with image generation and editing on the same account.

Pixop

Best for: Broadcasters and media companies wanting AI enhancement that slots into existing workflows and delivers UHD HDR from HD pipelines, per the vendor.

Topaz Video

Best for: Editors and archivists after a dedicated app that upscales, enhances, stabilises and smooths video, with models the vendor says treat frames as a sequence.

UniFab

Best for: Buyers wanting upscaling, HDR conversion, denoising and subtitle generation sold together as an all-in-one pack.

Video2X

Best for: Technical users comfortable with a command line who want an open-source framework for video super resolution and frame interpolation.

Winxvideo AI

Best for: Those who need to convert and compress 4K or 8K media as well as enhance it, with GPU acceleration the vendor says is full.

What a free trial shows, and what it hides

Trial wording varies more than you'd expect. On the UniFab site, as of Nov 2026, two pages describe the trial differently: one says new users get three trials per feature, the other offers a 30-day free trial with full access. HitPaw's FAQ says its free trial lets you preview the AI result on your own footage, as of Nov 2026.

A preview is useful, but it isn't the file you'll deliver, and the hard parts of a clip, such as a fast pan, a dark corner or a face turning, may fall outside it. Read what a trial lets you export before you spend an evening on it.

Product names shift too. Topaz's old video address now redirects to a page called Topaz Video, so older reviews use a different product name for what's sold today. If you're weighing that brand, here's my explainer on whether Topaz Labs is free. The fair test is simple: run the same 20-second clip through two tools and compare the exported files side by side, not the previews.

My advice on choosing where to upscale

Start with privacy and hardware, not resolution. If the footage is private or belongs to a client and you've got a decent graphics card, a desktop app is the sensible home for it. If you haven't, and you're technical, the open-source route with a free cloud GPU is worth an afternoon. Use a browser tool for the odd clip where convenience beats control, and leave the broadcast end to media teams with HD pipelines to upgrade.

Don't expect miracles from 8K either. Upscaling can't recover detail that was never recorded; it makes a good guess at it. Restored clips often end up as subtitled social posts, so pair your upscaler with one of these auto caption apps, and if you're turning old footage into Shorts or Reels, my round-up of short video generators picks up from there. If you came here from still images, my Magnific alternatives list is the one you want.

A three-clip test routine

1. Pick a dull clip: flat light, little movement, the kind of footage that's merely soft. It shows whether a tool adds detail or just adds sharpening halos.
2. Pick a dark clip with grain or noise in the shadows. Watch whether the tool cleans the noise or turns it into crawling texture.
3. Pick a clip with faces, ideally one turning or talking. Look at eyes, teeth and hairlines frame by frame, because that's where AI guesses go wrong first.
4. Export all three from each shortlisted tool at the resolution you'll use, then compare the files on the screen your audience will watch on.

Do you make an AI video upscaler? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.

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Frequently asked questions

Can an AI upscaler turn 480p footage into 4K?

It can output a 4K file, but most of those pixels are the model's guesses. Results from 480p to 1080p tend to look more natural than jumps to 4K or 8K, so test the target you need on your own clip.

Do I need a powerful computer to upscale video?

For desktop apps, a strong graphics card makes a big difference to export times. If yours is modest, a browser tool or a free cloud GPU through an open-source project's notebook route are the alternatives.

Is it safe to upload family or client video to a browser upscaler?

Your footage goes to the provider's servers, so read their terms on storage and deletion first. For private or client footage, a desktop app that runs locally keeps the files on your own machine.

What's the difference between upscaling and frame interpolation?

Upscaling adds pixels to each frame to raise the resolution. Frame interpolation creates new frames between existing ones to make motion smoother or slow it down without judder.

Will an upscaler fix shaky or out-of-focus footage?

Some desktop apps include stabilising alongside upscaling, which helps with shake. Badly out-of-focus footage is harder: the AI can sharpen edges, but it can't recover detail the camera never captured.