Topaz Ended One-Time Purchases. The Math Changed.
For years, the standard advice was simple: if you wanted faithful upscaling and hated subscriptions, you bought Gigapixel once for $99 and were done. That option no longer exists. Topaz Labs has discontinued perpetual licenses, and Gigapixel now costs around $149 per year (or $29 month to month), with new AI models locked to active subscribers. Existing license owners keep their software but stop receiving model updates.
That pivot removed Gigapixel's main pricing advantage while keeping its main constraint: everything still renders on your own hardware. Upsampler now occupies the position Topaz vacated. If you upscale occasionally, a one-time credit pack from $10 sits in your account until you need it, this month or next year. If you upscale constantly, subscriptions start at $15/month and include far more than enlargement.
Same Fidelity, No Local GPU
Gigapixel's reputation rests on faithful enlargement, and any honest alternative has to match that first. Precise Upscale (SeedVR2 / GAN) is Upsampler's fidelity engine: it raises resolution up to 100 megapixels, removes noise and compression artifacts, and treats the original content as untouchable. The difference is where the work happens. Instead of tying up your workstation's GPU for a batch render, processing runs on cloud hardware, identical speed from a gaming rig, an old MacBook, or a phone. Queue a folder of images, close the browser, download the results when they are done.
Where Desktop Software Still Wins
If you work offline, on flights or in a studio without dependable internet, local software is the only option, and Gigapixel remains the best of that category. Its Lightroom and Photoshop plugins also suit photographers who live entirely inside Adobe's ecosystem. And if you already own a legacy perpetual license and its current models satisfy you, keeping it costs nothing. The trade is capability: no creative enhancement, no inpainting, no generation, no API, and full-price renewal every year for model updates.
One Platform Instead of a Software Stack
The workflow argument matters as much as price. A typical Topaz user still needs other tools around it: something to fix artifacts before enlarging, something to retouch afterward, something to generate assets. Upsampler folds those steps into one pipeline. Run a damaged or soft image through face restoration or Creative Upscale, remove an unwanted element with Image Edit, then finish with Precise Upscale for print resolution. Photographers preparing large-format work can follow the portrait upscaling guide or landscape enhancement guide for genre-specific settings, and developers can automate the whole chain through the upscaling API.
