Best AI Video Upscalers in 2026: Enhance Video Resolution with AI

AI video upscaling has revolutionized how we enhance video resolution, turning standard-definition footage into stunning 4K and 8K content. As we move through 2026, the technology has matured significantly, offering unprecedented quality and speed. This comprehensive guide explores the best AI video upscalers available today, with a special focus on API-based solutions for developers and businesses.

What is AI Video Upscaling?

AI video upscaling uses machine learning algorithms to increase video resolution while intelligently reconstructing missing details. Unlike traditional upscaling that simply stretches pixels, AI-powered solutions analyze patterns, textures, and motion to generate new pixel data that looks natural and sharp.

The technology leverages deep neural networks trained on millions of video frames to understand how low-resolution content should appear at higher resolutions. This enables transformative results: 720p footage can be upscaled to 4K with remarkable clarity, and even vintage SD content can be brought to modern standards.

Top AI Video Upscalers in 2026

1. WaveSpeedAI - Best for API-Based Video Upscaling

WaveSpeedAI stands out as the premier choice for developers, businesses, and platforms requiring programmatic video upscaling. Its robust API infrastructure enables seamless integration into existing workflows, making it ideal for:

• Video streaming platforms enhancing legacy content libraries
• Content creators automating their post-production pipeline
• E-commerce platforms improving product video quality
• Media companies batch-processing archival footage
• SaaS applications adding video enhancement features

Key Features:

• RESTful API with comprehensive documentation and SDKs in multiple languages
• Scalable infrastructure handling from single videos to thousands of concurrent jobs
• Up to 8K upscaling with multiple quality presets (fast, balanced, maximum quality)
• Real-time progress tracking via webhooks and API polling
• Frame interpolation options for smooth motion at higher frame rates
• Noise reduction and artifact removal built into the upscaling pipeline
• Batch processing capabilities for large-scale projects
• 99.9% uptime SLA with global CDN delivery

Performance:

• Average processing time: 1-2 minutes per minute of 1080p to 4K upscaling
• Supports all common formats: MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, WebM
• Maximum input resolution: 8K
• Frame rate preservation up to 120fps

Pricing: WaveSpeedAI offers flexible, usage-based pricing:

• Starter: $29/month - 100 minutes of upscaling
• Professional: $99/month - 500 minutes with priority processing
• Business: $299/month - 2,000 minutes with dedicated support
• Enterprise: Custom pricing for unlimited usage, SLAs, and on-premise deployment

All plans include API access, webhook support, and no watermarks.

Why WaveSpeedAI Leads: The API-first approach makes WaveSpeedAI uniquely positioned for modern video workflows. Instead of manually uploading videos to a desktop application, developers can integrate upscaling directly into their applications. A video uploaded by a user can automatically trigger upscaling, with the enhanced version delivered without human intervention.

The infrastructure is built for scale - whether you process 10 videos a month or 10,000, the system handles it reliably. Combined with competitive pricing and excellent quality, WaveSpeedAI is the clear choice for programmatic video enhancement.

2. Topaz Video AI - Best Desktop Application

Topaz Video AI remains the gold standard for desktop-based video upscaling, offering professional-grade results with local processing.

Key Features:

• Industry-leading AI models trained on diverse video content
• Standalone desktop application for Windows and macOS
• Advanced motion interpolation and deinterlacing
• No cloud processing - all work done locally
• Batch processing with customizable presets

Pros:

• Exceptional quality, especially for film and vintage footage
• One-time purchase with free updates for a year
• Complete privacy - no uploads required
• GPU acceleration with NVIDIA and AMD support

Cons:

• No API or programmatic access
• Requires powerful hardware for acceptable speeds
• Steep learning curve for optimal settings
• Not suitable for automated workflows

Pricing: $299 one-time purchase

Best For: Professional editors and colorists who need maximum quality and work with limited quantities of footage.

3. CapCut Video Upscaler - Best Free Option

CapCut, owned by ByteDance, offers surprisingly capable free AI upscaling through its desktop and mobile applications.

Key Features:

• Free unlimited upscaling up to 4K
• Simple, user-friendly interface
• Mobile app for on-the-go editing
• Integrated video editor with effects and transitions

Pros:

• Completely free with no watermarks
• Fast processing on cloud infrastructure
• Great for social media content creators
• Automatic quality enhancement

Cons:

• Limited control over upscaling parameters
• Requires internet connection
• No API access
• Quality slightly below paid competitors

Pricing: Free

Best For: Casual creators and social media influencers on a budget.

4. DVDFab Video Enhancer AI - Best for DVD/Blu-ray Upscaling

DVDFab specializes in enhancing physical media, making it ideal for digitizing DVD and Blu-ray collections.

Key Features:

• Optimized for interlaced and compressed video from discs
• Upscale to 1080p, 4K, or 8K
• Integrated with DVDFab’s ripping and conversion suite
• Denoising and sharpening specifically tuned for optical media

Pros:

• Excellent results with older, compressed source material
• Handles interlacing and telecine patterns intelligently
• All-in-one solution for disc archiving

Cons:

• Windows only
• Expensive for full suite
• Slower processing compared to modern alternatives
• Desktop-only, no API

Pricing: $69.99/year or $109.99 lifetime

Best For: Film enthusiasts digitizing physical media collections.

5. HitPaw Video Enhancer - Best for Beginners

HitPaw focuses on simplicity, offering one-click enhancement for users who want results without complexity.

Key Features:

• Four AI models: General Denoise, Animation, Face, and Colorize
• Drag-and-drop interface
• Preview before processing
• GPU acceleration

Pros:

• Extremely easy to use
• Good results for common use cases
• Affordable pricing
• Fast processing

Cons:

• Limited advanced controls
• Windows and Mac only
• No API or automation
• Lower quality ceiling than professional tools

Pricing: $35.99/month or $119.99/year

Best For: Home users wanting simple enhancement without technical knowledge.

6. AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI - Best Multi-Purpose Enhancer

AVCLabs combines upscaling with comprehensive video restoration features.

Key Features:

• AI upscaling to 4K and 8K
• Face refinement for portrait videos
• Colorization for black-and-white footage
• Stabilization and frame interpolation

Pros:

• Multiple enhancement types in one tool
• Good balance of quality and speed
• Batch processing support
• Regular model updates

Cons:

• Mid-tier quality compared to leaders
• Desktop only
• No cloud or API options
• Occasional artifacts on complex scenes

Pricing: $39.95/month or $119.85/year

Best For: Users needing multiple video enhancement capabilities beyond upscaling.

Feature Comparison Table

Feature	WaveSpeedAI	Topaz Video AI	CapCut	DVDFab	HitPaw	AVCLabs
API Access	✓ Full REST API	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Max Resolution	8K	8K	4K	8K	4K	8K
Processing Speed	Fast (cloud)	Medium (local)	Fast (cloud)	Slow	Medium	Medium
Batch Processing	✓ Unlimited	✓ Limited	✗	✓	✓	✓
Frame Interpolation	✓	✓	✗	✗	✗	✓
Noise Reduction	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Webhooks	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Platform	Cloud/API	Desktop	Desktop/Mobile	Desktop	Desktop	Desktop
Starting Price	$29/month	$299 one-time	Free	$70/year	$36/month	$40/month
Quality Rating	9/10	10/10	7/10	8/10	7/10	8/10

Use Cases and Recommendations

For Developers and Businesses: WaveSpeedAI

If you’re building an application, managing a content platform, or need automated video enhancement at scale, WaveSpeedAI is the obvious choice. The API enables:

• Automated workflows: Videos uploaded by users automatically enhanced
• Scalability: Handle spikes in demand without infrastructure changes
• Integration: Drop video enhancement into existing applications with a few API calls
• Cost efficiency: Pay only for what you process, no hardware investment

Example use case: A stock footage platform automatically upscales all HD content to 4K, increasing value and competitiveness without manual work.

For Professional Editors: Topaz Video AI

When working on high-budget projects where every pixel matters and you process limited volumes of footage, Topaz Video AI delivers unmatched quality. The local processing also ensures complete confidentiality for unreleased content.

For Content Creators on a Budget: CapCut

Social media creators publishing to YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram will find CapCut perfectly adequate. The free tier and simple interface let you enhance content quickly without subscription costs.

For Film Archivists: DVDFab Video Enhancer AI

Digitizing DVD and Blu-ray collections requires tools optimized for the quirks of optical media. DVDFab’s specialized algorithms handle interlacing, compression artifacts, and telecine patterns better than general-purpose tools.

For Home Users: HitPaw Video Enhancer

Family videos and personal projects benefit from HitPaw’s simplicity. Select your video, click enhance, and get improved results without learning complex software.

How to Choose the Right AI Video Upscaler

Consider these factors when selecting an upscaler:

1. Workflow Integration

• Need API access? WaveSpeedAI only
• Standalone desktop work? Topaz, DVDFab, HitPaw, AVCLabs
• Mobile editing? CapCut

2. Volume

• Large-scale processing? WaveSpeedAI (cloud), Topaz (powerful local hardware)
• Occasional use? Any tool works
• Continuous processing? Cloud-based solutions (WaveSpeedAI, CapCut)

3. Quality Requirements

• Broadcast/cinema? Topaz Video AI or WaveSpeedAI maximum quality preset
• Web/social media? CapCut or HitPaw sufficient
• Professional but not critical? WaveSpeedAI balanced preset, DVDFab, AVCLabs

4. Budget

• Free: CapCut
• Under $100/year: DVDFab
• Professional budget: WaveSpeedAI, Topaz
• Enterprise: WaveSpeedAI Enterprise plan

5. Technical Expertise

• Beginners: HitPaw, CapCut
• Intermediate: WaveSpeedAI, AVCLabs
• Advanced: Topaz, DVDFab

The Technology Behind AI Video Upscaling

Modern AI upscalers employ several sophisticated techniques:

Super-Resolution Neural Networks: These models learn the relationship between low and high-resolution versions of the same content. During training, the network studies thousands of video pairs, learning to predict missing high-resolution details.

Temporal Consistency: Video upscaling must maintain consistency across frames to avoid flickering. Advanced models analyze multiple frames simultaneously, ensuring smooth temporal transitions.

Perceptual Loss Functions: Instead of just minimizing pixel-level differences, modern upscalers optimize for perceptual quality - how the video looks to human eyes. This produces more natural results than mathematical accuracy alone.

Motion Compensation: Understanding motion vectors allows upscalers to leverage information from adjacent frames, improving quality and reducing artifacts around moving objects.

Domain-Specific Models: Some upscalers train separate models for different content types - anime, live-action film, CGI, vintage footage - recognizing that optimal algorithms vary by source material.

Tips for Best Upscaling Results

Regardless of which tool you choose, follow these practices for optimal results:

1. Start with the highest quality source available: Upscaling can’t recover information that never existed, but it works better with less compression and higher bitrates.

2. Match the AI model to your content: Use specialized models when available (animation, face-focused, etc.).

3. Don’t over-upscale: Going from 720p to 4K works well; jumping from 360p to 8K will show limitations.

4. Consider frame interpolation separately: Combining upscaling with frame rate conversion can compound artifacts - tackle one at a time for critical projects.

5. Test with samples first: Process 10-30 seconds before committing to upscaling entire projects, especially when learning a new tool.

6. Adjust compression settings: Upscaling increases detail, requiring higher output bitrates to avoid re-compressing the enhanced result.

7. Use denoising conservatively: Aggressive noise reduction can smooth away legitimate texture detail.

Future of AI Video Upscaling

The AI upscaling landscape continues to evolve rapidly:

Real-time upscaling: Hardware acceleration and model optimization are bringing real-time 4K upscaling to consumer GPUs, enabling live video enhancement.

Hybrid models: Combining multiple AI approaches - transformer architectures, diffusion models, GANs - produces better results than single-method approaches.

Personalized models: Fine-tuning upscaling models on specific content types (a company’s video library, a creator’s style) yields superior results for that niche.

Edge processing: On-device upscaling in cameras and smartphones will enhance footage at capture time, before compression artifacts are introduced.

API ecosystems: More tools will offer API access, following WaveSpeedAI’s lead in enabling programmatic workflows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can AI upscaling really make low-resolution video look good?

A: AI upscaling produces impressive results, but it works best as enhancement rather than magic. A clean 720p source can upscale beautifully to 4K. A heavily compressed 480p video will improve but show limitations. The technology reconstructs plausible detail based on patterns it’s learned, which looks remarkably good but isn’t the same as having captured the footage at higher resolution originally.

Q: How long does AI video upscaling take?

A: Processing time varies dramatically by tool, source resolution, target resolution, and hardware. Cloud services like WaveSpeedAI typically process 1 minute of 1080p to 4K content in 1-2 minutes. Desktop applications depend on your GPU - a high-end NVIDIA RTX 4090 might process 1 minute of footage in 3-5 minutes, while a modest GPU could take 15-30 minutes per minute of footage.

Q: Is API-based upscaling expensive?

A: WaveSpeedAI’s pricing is competitive with desktop alternatives when you factor in infrastructure costs. At $29/month for 100 minutes, you pay $0.29 per minute of upscaled content. This includes cloud processing, storage, and delivery - no hardware investment needed. For high-volume users, the Business and Enterprise tiers offer better per-minute economics than purchasing and maintaining local GPU infrastructure.

Q: Does upscaling work with all video types?

A: AI upscalers handle most content well, but some types present challenges:

• Modern digital footage: Excellent results
• Film scans: Very good with proper tools (Topaz, DVDFab excel here)
• Anime/animation: Good with specialized models
• Screen recordings: Good for content, can struggle with UI text
• Low-light/noisy footage: Moderate results, combine with denoising
• Heavily compressed video: Limited improvement, artifacts may be enhanced

Q: Can I upscale copyrighted content?

A: The technical capability exists, but legality depends on your usage rights. Upscaling content you own or have license to modify is fine. Upscaling copyrighted material for redistribution without permission violates copyright law. Personal archiving exists in a legal gray area that varies by jurisdiction.

Q: What’s the difference between AI upscaling and traditional upscaling?

A: Traditional upscaling (bilinear, bicubic, Lanczos) uses mathematical interpolation to estimate new pixels based on surrounding pixels. This creates smooth but soft results without genuine detail. AI upscaling analyzes the content contextually, recognizing patterns (edges, textures, faces) and reconstructing appropriate high-resolution details based on what it learned during training. The result contains plausible detail rather than just smoothed pixels.

Q: Do I need a powerful GPU for AI upscaling?

A: Only if using desktop applications locally. Cloud-based services like WaveSpeedAI and CapCut handle processing remotely, so your device just uploads/downloads videos. For local processing with Topaz, DVDFab, or similar tools, a modern NVIDIA GPU (RTX 3060 or better) dramatically improves speed. CPU-only processing is possible but painfully slow - expect 10x longer processing times.

Q: Can upscaling improve AI-generated videos?

A: Yes, though with caveats. Many AI video generators produce 720p or 1080p output. Upscaling to 4K can improve sharpness and detail. However, if the generated video contains artifacts or temporal inconsistencies, upscaling may make these more visible. Best practice is to generate at the highest resolution the model supports, then upscale if needed.

Q: How do I integrate WaveSpeedAI’s API into my application?

A: WaveSpeedAI provides RESTful API endpoints with SDKs for Python, JavaScript, PHP, and Ruby. The basic workflow:

1. Upload video or provide URL
2. Specify upscaling parameters (target resolution, quality preset)
3. Receive job ID
4. Poll status endpoint or receive webhook notification when complete
5. Download enhanced video from provided URL

Complete documentation, code examples, and sandbox environment available at the WaveSpeedAI developer portal.

Q: What video formats are supported?

A: All major upscalers support common formats: MP4 (H.264/H.265), MOV, AVI, MKV, WebM. WaveSpeedAI additionally supports MPG, FLV, and WMV. Some desktop tools support more esoteric formats. Most tools output to MP4 (H.265/HEVC) by default for best quality-to-size ratio, with customizable codec options.

Conclusion

AI video upscaling has matured into an essential tool for content creators, businesses, and developers. The best choice depends entirely on your use case:

• API integration and scale: WaveSpeedAI is unmatched
• Maximum quality, desktop workflow: Topaz Video AI leads
• Budget-conscious creators: CapCut delivers free quality
• DVD/Blu-ray archiving: DVDFab specializes in this niche
• Simplicity for home users: HitPaw makes enhancement accessible
• Multi-purpose enhancement: AVCLabs bundles several tools

For modern video workflows requiring automation, integration, or processing at scale, WaveSpeedAI’s API-first approach represents the future of video enhancement. Rather than treating upscaling as a manual post-production step, it becomes an invisible part of your infrastructure - every video automatically enhanced to its full potential.

The combination of excellent quality, competitive pricing, robust infrastructure, and developer-friendly APIs makes WaveSpeedAI the clear winner for programmatic video upscaling in 2026.

Ready to enhance your videos with AI? Explore WaveSpeedAI’s API documentation and start upscaling with a free trial today.