Best AI Video Upscalers in 2026

TL;DR

Short answer: Topaz Video AI, from $39/mo billed annually, is the best AI video upscaler in 2026 for turning old or low-res footage into clean 4K. HitPaw VikPea, from $43.19/mo, and AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI, from $149.90 as a one-time license, are the closest 8K desktop rivals. TensorPix, from $5.50/mo, and Vmake, from $9.99/mo, upscale in the browser with a real free tier. Krea, from $5.25/mo, suits teams cleaning up AI-generated video. CapCut's upscaler is free for short clips, and Filmora bundles one-click upscaling into a timeline editor.

8 tools compared on upscale quality, resolution ceiling, and price, with USD pricing checked on vendor pages in September 2026.

Louis Corneloup Founder, Toolradar & Dupple · 720K+ readers·Updated Sep 2026

As featured in

16 Video AI tools tracked

A buyer typing "best ai video upscalers" usually has one of two problems: old, low-resolution, or compressed footage that needs to look acceptable on a modern screen, or AI-generated video from a model like Sora or Veo that renders soft and needs a resolution boost before publishing. Both jobs use the same underlying technology, but the tools that do them well are not interchangeable, and picking the wrong one wastes a render queue on footage that still looks soft.

This guide ranks 8 AI video upscalers for that job: professional archival and restoration work, consumer desktop upscaling for home movies and social clips, and browser-based upscaling for teams that do not want to install anything. It does not rank the cinematic AI video generators covered in best AI video generators or the timeline editors in best AI video editors; those answer a different buyer question. For still images rather than motion footage, see best AI image upscalers, a related but separate ranking.

Toolradar data: of the 16 AI video tools we track, 38% publish no free tier (6 paid only) and 63% offer a free or freemium door (1 free, 9 freemium). Upscaling specifically skews toward the paid side of the AI video category: a real 4K or 8K export is rarely free anywhere in this guide, even when a browser tool lets you preview the result at no cost.

Methodology: these 8 were ranked for upscale quality, resolution ceiling, and price, from the 16 tools in that category. Prices are USD, checked on vendor pricing pages in September 2026, and no pick here is a paid placement. The method is on how we rate.

Top Picks

Picked by editorial review, informed by G2 and Capterra review volume and rating and by media mentions, the signals behind our category rankings. How we rate

Best AI Video Upscalers compared: starting price, rating and best use, as of September 2026
Tool	Starting price	Rating	Best for
Topaz Video AI	From $39/mo, billed annually	4.256,442 reviews	Editors, archivists, and studios upscaling old, low-res, or damaged footage to 4K and beyond.
HitPaw VikPea	From $43.19/mo	n/a	Home movie restoration and small-business video work that needs desktop-level quality without a studio budget.
AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI	From $149.90, one-time perpetual license	n/a	Occasional users and small studios who prefer a one-time purchase over a monthly subscription.
TensorPix	From $5.50/mo, billed annually	n/a	Teams and solo creators who want browser-based 4K upscaling without installing desktop software.
Vmake	From $9.99/mo (Plus)	n/a	Creators who want video upscaling alongside background removal, noise reduction, and AI video generation in one subscription.
Krea	From $5.25/mo, billed annually	n/a	Teams already generating video with AI models who need the output upscaled before publishing.
CapCut	Free online tool; no fixed Pro price	1.3471 reviews	Creators who need a quick resolution fix on a short clip without paying for a dedicated tool.
Filmora	From $49.99/yr, billed annually	4.01,362 reviews	Editors who want to fix resolution as one step in a project they are already cutting in Filmora.

Topaz Video AI

Top Pick

4.1 on Trustpilot (56,439 reviews)
4.7 on G2 (3 reviews)

Editors, archivists, and studios upscaling old, low-res, or damaged footage to 4K and beyond.

+The entry Personal plan includes over 20 AI enhancement models for upscaling, denoising, sharpening, stabilizing, and frame interpolation, with unlimited local rendering and 25 monthly cloud credits. The Topaz Video AI profile on Toolradar has the full model list.

+Runs as a standalone app or a plugin inside DaVinci Resolve and After Effects, letting a professional editor upscale without breaking an existing timeline workflow.

+Local rendering keeps footage on the user's own machine, the reason archivists and studios handling confidential or licensed material default to it over a cloud-only competitor.

−There is no permanent free plan, only a trial that exports with a visible watermark, so testing real output quality on a full clip requires a paid plan.

−Month-to-month billing runs $59/mo, nearly 50% above the annual rate, so a buyer unsure of long-term use pays a real premium for flexibility.

Fair value

Topaz Labs moved to subscription-only in October 2025, ending perpetual licenses.

Watch out

Pro tier exclusive AI models (Starlight Mini, Starlight Sharp, Wonder, Standard MAX) are not available on Personal. If you need the best possible output quality, Personal is insufficient

See Topaz Video AI alternatives →

HitPaw VikPea

Home movie restoration and small-business video work that needs desktop-level quality without a studio budget.

+The 1-year plan, at $99.99, includes 8K video upscaling, AI enhancement models, video repair, colorization, and HDR conversion in one license for a single PC. The HitPaw VikPea profile on Toolradar has the fuller feature breakdown.

+A perpetual license is available at $350.39 for buyers who want to avoid a recurring charge entirely, unusual among the desktop tools in this guide that lean toward subscriptions.

+The model library covers colorization and full video repair alongside upscaling, useful for a home-movie or family-archive project that needs more than a resolution boost.

−The monthly plan, at $43.19, is the most expensive month-to-month option in this guide; a buyer testing before committing pays a steep short-term price.

−Team pricing (5 PCs) runs $459.95 a year, so a small business licensing more than one editor should budget well above the single-PC number.

See HitPaw VikPea alternatives →

AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI

Occasional users and small studios who prefer a one-time purchase over a monthly subscription.

+The perpetual license, currently discounted from $299.90, includes all current AI models, free updates within that version, and upscaling up to 8K with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI profile on Toolradar covers the wider feature set.

+A monthly plan at $39.95 exists for a single short-term project, cheaper up front than committing to the perpetual license for a one-off job.

+Bundling with AVCLabs' Photo Enhancer AI is offered at a discount, useful for a buyer who also needs still-image upscaling, a separate job covered in Toolradar's best AI image upscalers guide.

−The perpetual license is single-PC only; a buyer needing the software on a second machine pays for a second license rather than adding a seat.

−The listed perpetual and yearly prices are promotional and revert to $299.90 and $119.95 respectively once the current offer ends, so the sale price is not guaranteed to hold.

See AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI alternatives →

TensorPix

Teams and solo creators who want browser-based 4K upscaling without installing desktop software.

+The entry Standard plan unlocks 4K video enhancement, 10 GB of storage, and 10 monthly credits with rollover, each credit covering roughly 2 minutes of enhanced video. The TensorPix profile on Toolradar has the wider credit-to-minute detail.

+Premium, at $12.42/mo billed annually, adds Video Enhancer API access, useful for a team automating upscaling inside its own publishing pipeline rather than uploading clips by hand.

+The free plan is genuinely usable for testing: weekly login credits plus pay-as-you-go credits at $3 each, capped at 720p output.

−The free plan caps at 720p, well below the 4K the paid tiers advertise, so evaluating real upscale quality at full resolution requires a paid plan.

−Credits roll over month to month, but TensorPix's plan and pricing pages do not state an unlimited rollover window, so a light user who buys a plan and upscales rarely should confirm current rollover terms before assuming credits bank indefinitely.

See TensorPix alternatives →

Vmake

Creators who want video upscaling alongside background removal, noise reduction, and AI video generation in one subscription.

+Plus, at $9.99/mo, includes 1,000 monthly credits, 10 video-upscaler runs a day, 1080p export, and commercial use rights. The Vmake profile on Toolradar covers the rest of the AI toolkit bundled in.

+Pro, at $29.99/mo, raises the upscaler to 50 runs a day and export to 2K, alongside access to more generative video and image models in the same subscription.

+The video upscaler sits next to a watermark remover, background remover, and noise reducer in the same credit pool, useful for a creator who needs more than resolution fixed on the same clip.

−The free plan's 20 daily credits do not include the video upscaler at all; testing it requires upgrading to Plus first.

−Export tops out at 2K even on the Pro plan, below the 4K or 8K ceiling of the desktop tools in this guide.

See Vmake alternatives →

Krea

Teams already generating video with AI models who need the output upscaled before publishing.

+The entry Basic plan includes 5,000 compute units a month covering video upscaling alongside Krea's image and video generation tools. The Krea profile on Toolradar has the wider platform breakdown.

+Pro, at $21/mo billed annually, adds access to all video models and higher-resolution image upscaling up to 22K, a natural next step for a team scaling past occasional use.

+Video upscaling sits in the same workspace as the generation tools, so a clip made with Sora or Veo inside Krea can be upscaled without exporting to a separate app.

−Krea is built around AI-generated content workflows first; it is a weaker fit than Topaz Video AI or HitPaw VikPea for restoring old camera footage or removing analog noise.

−Compute units are shared across image generation, video generation, and upscaling, so heavy generation use in the same month can leave less budget for upscaling passes.

Good value

Krea AI's pricing is generally fair, offering a good progression from a free tier to more robust options.

Visit Krea → See Krea alternatives →

CapCut

1.3 on Trustpilot (471 reviews)

Creators who need a quick resolution fix on a short clip without paying for a dedicated tool.

+The AI video upscaler tool is free to use online, sharpening, deblurring, and upscaling footage up to 4K for short clips without a CapCut Pro subscription.

+Upscaling sits inside the same editor used for cutting, captions, and export, so a creator finishing a social video does not need to round-trip through a second app.

+CapCut's free plan separately covers core editing with watermark-free exports up to 1080p, useful beyond just the upscale tool itself.

−CapCut Pro publishes no fixed USD list price; its own help page states cost varies by region, device, and active promotion, so a buyer should check the in-app price before assuming a number from a search result.

−The free upscaler is built for short clips, not a batch archival job; there is no queued local rendering the way Topaz Video AI or AVCLabs offer.

Great value

This pricing structure is best for individual creators and small teams looking for powerful video editing without breaking the bank.

See CapCut alternatives →

Filmora

4.5 on Capterra (736 reviews)
4.4 on G2 (612 reviews)
2.1 on SourceForge (14 reviews)

Editors who want to fix resolution as one step in a project they are already cutting in Filmora.

+The Annual plan removes the export watermark and includes a month of the AI Portrait add-on alongside the AI video enhancer's one-click upscale. The Filmora profile on Toolradar covers the wider editor.

+A Perpetual plan is available at $79.99 for the current version, a one-time alternative to the annual subscription for a buyer who upgrades software infrequently.

+Upscaling happens inside the same timeline used for cutting and effects, so a creator does not need to export, upscale in a separate tool, and reimport.

−The free version keeps a watermark on every export, including upscaled clips, so a usable file requires a paid plan.

−Filmora's upscale model is a lighter, faster approximation built for real-time preview, not the frame-by-frame model depth Topaz Video AI or HitPaw VikPea apply for archival-quality restoration.

Good value

Filmora is the oddball on this list, it's not an AI video generator, it's a full video editor with generative AI features bolted on.

Watch out

Perpetual license does NOT include major version upgrades, Filmora 15 → 16 is a new purchase.

See Filmora alternatives →

What an AI video upscaler does

An AI video upscaler increases a video's resolution, from 480p to 1080p, or 1080p to 4K and beyond, using a trained model that reconstructs detail frame by frame instead of just stretching pixels. Simple resizing blurs footage; an AI model infers texture, edges, and motion so the enlarged frame looks sharper rather than softer.

Topaz Video AI, HitPaw VikPea, and AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI are desktop applications built specifically for this job, with dedicated models for denoising, deinterlacing, and frame interpolation alongside the upscale itself. TensorPix, Vmake, and Krea do the same work in a browser with no install, trading some fine control for convenience and a lower entry price. CapCut and Filmora take a third approach: upscaling is one feature inside a broader video editor, useful when a creator is already cutting a project and wants to fix resolution without leaving the timeline.

A buyer who confuses the two ends up disappointed: a dedicated upscaler bought to fix a two-minute social clip that a free editor tool would have handled, or an editor's built-in upscaler pushed on a full archival restoration project it was never built to carry.

Why 4K on the label rarely means 4K on export

Every tool in this guide advertises 4K or 8K upscaling on its homepage, but the plan that actually exports at that resolution is frequently one or two tiers above the entry price. TensorPix's free plan caps out at 720p; 4K needs the paid Standard tier. Vmake's free plan does not include the video upscaler at all, only the paid Plus and Pro tiers do, and even Pro tops out at 2K export rather than the 4K shown in marketing screenshots.

The desktop tools split differently: Topaz Video AI, HitPaw VikPea, and AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI all render locally at full resolution once purchased, but a free trial typically exports with a visible watermark or a length cap, so the "free" upscale is a quality preview, not a usable file. Reading the export resolution and watermark policy on the specific plan being priced, not the hero image on the homepage, is what separates a real budget from a screenshot.

Credits compound this for the browser tools. TensorPix and Krea meter usage in credits that convert to minutes of video differently by plan, and Vmake caps daily upscale runs by tier. A team pricing one of these tools for a real production volume should convert the credit allowance into minutes of finished 4K video before comparing the sticker price to a competitor's flat rate.

Key Features to Look For

Resolution ceiling (Essential)
Topaz Video AI, HitPaw VikPea, and AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI all upscale past 4K to 8K on their desktop apps; the browser tools cap lower, TensorPix and Vmake at 4K and 2K respectively depending on plan, and CapCut's free online upscaler tops out at 4K on a short clip.
AI model selection (Essential)
Topaz Video AI ships over 20 named enhancement models for upscaling, denoising, sharpening, and frame interpolation, letting an editor pick a model suited to old film grain versus a compressed social video. HitPaw VikPea and AVCLabs offer a smaller but still multi-model library; Filmora and CapCut apply one general-purpose model with fewer manual controls.
Local versus cloud rendering (Essential)
Topaz Video AI, HitPaw VikPea, AVCLabs, and Filmora render locally on the user's own hardware, which keeps confidential footage off a third-party server but ties output speed to the GPU installed. TensorPix, Vmake, Krea, and CapCut's browser upscaler render in the cloud, which is faster to start but meters usage by credits or a daily cap instead of hardware.
Batch processing (Important)
Topaz Video AI and AVCLabs both support queuing multiple clips for unattended overnight rendering, the feature an archivist digitizing a tape collection actually needs. The browser tools process one upload at a time on their entry tiers, which is fine for a single social clip but slow for a full archive.
Denoise and deinterlace (Important)
Old VHS or broadcast footage carries interlacing artifacts and analog noise that a plain upscale sharpens instead of removing. Topaz Video AI and HitPaw VikPea both ship dedicated denoise and deinterlace models built for this footage; the lighter browser tools and editor-bundled upscalers do not separate the two steps as cleanly.
Plugin and timeline integration (Nice to have)
Topaz Video AI runs as a plugin inside DaVinci Resolve and Adobe After Effects as well as standalone, letting a professional editor upscale without leaving their existing project. Filmora and CapCut build the upscale directly into their own timeline instead, which suits a creator already cutting in that specific app.
AI-generated video cleanup (Important)
Krea markets its video upscaler specifically at output from generative models like Sora, Veo, and Kling, which render at a native resolution most publishing platforms consider soft. A buyer whose footage started as an AI-generated clip rather than a camera recording fits this use case better than a restoration-focused tool.
Free preview versus usable export (Essential)
A free trial or free plan across every tool in this guide either watermarks the export, caps the resolution well below the plan's advertised ceiling, or limits daily runs. Confirming what a specific free tier actually exports, not just whether one exists, avoids a wasted render on a file that cannot be published.

Before you buy an upscaler

Name the source footage first: old or compressed camera video needs denoise and deinterlace models, while AI-generated clips need a sharpening pass tuned for synthetic artifacts, not film grain.
Check the free tier's actual export, not the plan's advertised ceiling; TensorPix's free plan caps at 720p and Vmake's free plan excludes the video upscaler entirely.
For a large archive, price by volume: desktop tools with unlimited local rendering (Topaz Video AI, HitPaw VikPea, AVCLabs) beat credit-metered cloud tools once monthly footage exceeds a few clips.
If the workflow already lives inside an editor's timeline, a bundled upscaler (Filmora, CapCut) skips an export-reimport step that a dedicated tool adds.
Confirm whether pricing is a subscription or a one-time perpetual license; AVCLabs sells both, and a one-time buyer doing occasional projects can save against a monthly plan over a year.

Evaluation Checklist

Upscale a real, representative clip on the free trial or plan being priced, and check the actual export resolution and watermark status, not the plan's advertised ceiling.
Match the tool to the source: denoise and deinterlace models for old camera or VHS footage, a generation-aware model like Krea's for AI-generated clips.
For volume work, price desktop tools with unlimited local rendering against cloud credit costs at the clip count actually expected per month.
Confirm whether the license is a subscription or a one-time perpetual purchase, and run the math on a year of use before choosing.
If the workflow already lives inside an editor's timeline, weigh the convenience of a bundled upscaler (Filmora, CapCut) against the deeper model control of a dedicated tool.

Pricing Overview

Free or trial door

Testing upscale quality on a real clip before paying; rarely a usable final export.

$0, resolution or watermark capped

Cloud subscription

TensorPix, Vmake, or Krea for occasional 4K exports metered by monthly credits.

$5-13/month billed annually

Consumer desktop

Topaz Video AI, HitPaw VikPea, or AVCLabs for unlimited local rendering and 8K output.

$20-75/month or a one-time license

Bundled in an editor

CapCut or Filmora when upscaling is one step in a project already being cut in that app.

$0-20/month

Pricing Comparison

Best AI Video Upscalers pricing comparison, as of September 2026
Tool	Best for	Entry price	Free plan	Rendering
Topaz Video AI	Professional archival and film restoration upscaling	$39/mo Personal, billed annually	No, trial only	Local + cloud credits
HitPaw VikPea	Consumer desktop upscaling with a deep AI model library	$43.19/mo	No, trial only	Local
AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI	One-time buyers who want 8K without a subscription	$149.90 perpetual license	No, trial only	Local
TensorPix	Cloud upscaling with an API for teams	$5.50/mo Standard, billed annually	Yes, 720p max	Cloud
Vmake	Credit-based online upscaling bundled with other AI video tools	$9.99/mo Plus	Yes, no upscaler included	Cloud
Krea	Cleaning up AI-generated video from Sora, Veo, or Kling	$5.25/mo Basic, billed annually	Yes, no video upscale included	Cloud
CapCut	Free upscaling for short social clips inside a full editor	Free online tool; Pro price not published in fixed USD	Yes, limited length/resolution	Cloud
Filmora	One-click upscale inside a timeline editor	$19.99/mo, or $49.99/yr billed annually	No, watermarked free version only	Local

Verified September 24, 2026 on vendor pages: Topaz Video AI pricing, HitPaw VikPea pricing, AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI pricing, TensorPix pricing, Vmake pricing, Krea pricing, CapCut Pro cost, Filmora pricing.

Mistakes to Avoid

×
Buying Topaz Video AI's month-to-month plan for ongoing work, when the annual rate is nearly 40% cheaper for the same features.
×
Assuming a cloud tool's credit allowance covers a full month of upscaling without converting credits to actual minutes of finished video first.
×
Choosing a desktop tool with unlimited local rendering for a single occasional clip, when a cheaper cloud plan or CapCut's free tool would cover it.
×
Skipping the denoise or deinterlace step on old analog footage and expecting a plain upscale model to fix noise it was never built to remove.
×
Pricing AVCLabs or HitPaw VikPea off a search result rather than the current promotional price on the vendor's own purchase page.

Expert Tips

→
Run the same short clip through two or three shortlisted tools' free trials before paying; upscale quality on real footage varies more between vendors than feature lists suggest.
→
For archival or film-grade work, budget for Topaz Video AI's annual plan from the start; the monthly rate is priced as a short-term option, not a sustainable ongoing cost.
→
If footage originated from an AI video generator rather than a camera, try Krea before a restoration-focused tool; the models are tuned for different kinds of softness.
→
Convert every cloud tool's credit allowance into minutes of 4K output before comparing sticker prices; a cheaper monthly number can still cost more per finished minute.
→
Keep a perpetual-license desktop tool (AVCLabs) as the fallback for a buyer who upscales rarely and does not want a recurring subscription for occasional use.

Red Flags to Watch For

!
A free trial's watermarked or length-capped export mistaken for proof the paid plan's full-resolution output will look the same.
!
A browser tool's advertised 4K or 8K ceiling actually gated to a higher paid tier than the one being priced (TensorPix free at 720p, Vmake free with no upscaler at all).
!
A promotional perpetual-license price (AVCLabs) budgeted as permanent when the page states it reverts to a higher regular price once the offer ends.
!
CapCut Pro's cost assumed from a third-party estimate rather than checked in-app, since CapCut's own help page states the price varies by region and device.
!
An editor-bundled upscaler (Filmora, CapCut) used for a full archival restoration project it was not built to carry, instead of a dedicated tool with denoise and deinterlace models.

The Bottom Line

Buy Topaz Video AI when the job is professional archival restoration or film-grade upscaling and the model library and plugin support justify the entry price. Choose HitPaw VikPea or AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI for consumer desktop upscaling with 8K output, and pick AVCLabs specifically if a one-time perpetual license beats a subscription for the buyer's usage pattern.

TensorPix and Vmake cover browser-based upscaling without an install, TensorPix the cheaper choice for real 4K output and an API, Vmake the pick when video upscaling needs to sit alongside other AI video tools in one subscription. Krea fits a narrower but real job: cleaning up AI-generated video from Sora, Veo, or Kling rather than restoring camera footage. CapCut and Filmora suit a creator who wants upscaling as one step inside an editor they are already using, CapCut free for short social clips and Filmora for a one-click pass inside a paid timeline.

Prices above were checked on vendor pages in September 2026, against the 16 tools in the AI video category, with no paid placement in the ranking. Cite this: Toolradar, "Best AI video upscalers 2026", September 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best AI video upscaler in 2026?

Topaz Video AI is the best overall pick in 2026 for turning old, low-res, or damaged footage into clean 4K, starting at $39/mo on the Personal plan billed annually with over 20 AI enhancement models and unlimited local rendering. It is the default choice for professional editors and archivists.

For a cheaper consumer desktop alternative, HitPaw VikPea and AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI both push output to 8K; for browser-based upscaling with no install, TensorPix and Vmake are the strongest budget picks. See the full ranking above for pricing and feature detail behind each.

How much does an AI video upscaler cost?

Published USD entry points in September 2026 range from free (CapCut's browser upscaler and TensorPix's 720p-capped free plan) to $5.25-13/mo for cloud tools like Krea, TensorPix, and Vmake, billed annually. Consumer desktop tools run higher on a subscription, or a one-time perpetual license from $149.90 (AVCLabs) to $350.39 (HitPaw VikPea).

CapCut Pro publishes no fixed USD price; the vendor's own help page states cost varies by region, device, and active promotion.

Is there a free AI video upscaler?

CapCut's AI video upscaler tool is free to use online for short clips up to 4K, with no CapCut Pro subscription required. TensorPix has a genuine free plan too, though it caps output at 720p rather than the 4K its paid tiers advertise.

Vmake's free plan does not include the video upscaler at all, only its paid Plus and Pro tiers do. The desktop tools, Topaz Video AI, HitPaw VikPea, and AVCLabs, offer a trial rather than a free plan, and that trial typically watermarks the export.

Topaz Video AI vs HitPaw VikPea, which is better?

Choose Topaz Video AI for professional or archival-grade restoration; its model library separates denoise, deinterlace, sharpening, and frame interpolation into distinct tools and it runs as a plugin inside DaVinci Resolve and After Effects for editors who want it inside an existing project.

Choose HitPaw VikPea for consumer desktop upscaling with a lower entry commitment and the option of a one-time perpetual license at $350.39, an alternative Topaz does not currently offer at that price point. Both push output to 8K on their top tiers. See Topaz Video AI alternatives or Topaz Video AI vs HitPaw VikPea for a closer side-by-side.

Which AI video upscaler is best for old or VHS footage?

Topaz Video AI and HitPaw VikPea are the strongest fits for old camera or VHS footage, since both ship dedicated denoise and deinterlace models built for analog artifacts rather than a single general-purpose upscale pass. AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI covers similar ground with a one-time license option.

The browser tools and editor-bundled upscalers (TensorPix, Vmake, Krea, CapCut, Filmora) apply a lighter model tuned more for speed or AI-generated content, and generally do less to remove analog noise than the three desktop leaders.

Can I upscale AI-generated video, not just old footage?

Yes. Krea markets its video upscaler specifically at cleaning up output from generative models like Sora, Veo, and Kling, which render softer than most platforms expect at native resolution. Vmake and TensorPix also work on AI-generated clips, since the upscale model does not require the footage to have been shot on a camera.

Restoration-focused tools like Topaz Video AI still work on AI-generated video, but their denoise and deinterlace models are tuned for a different kind of softness than a generative model produces.

What is the cheapest way to upscale video to 4K?

TensorPix's Standard plan, at $5.50/mo billed annually, is the cheapest paid path to real 4K export among the tools in this guide. CapCut's free online upscaler reaches 4K on short clips at no cost at all, though it is built for social-length clips rather than a full archival project.

Both beat the desktop tools on entry price, though neither matches Topaz Video AI, HitPaw VikPea, or AVCLabs on model depth for heavily degraded source footage.

Cite this page: Toolradar, "Best AI Video Upscalers in 2026", updated September 2026, https://toolradar.com/guides/best-ai-video-upscalers

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