The short answer
Drop the image onto the upscaler below, choose 2x or 4x under Enlarge, and download the result. A 600 x 400 photo becomes 1200 x 800 at 2x or 2400 x 1600 at 4x, with crisp edges and much of the JPEG noise cleaned up. Use Compare to drag a slider between the original and the result before you save it.
JPG, PNG and WebP keep their format; HEIC and AVIF come out as JPG. PNG files keep their transparency.
Try it here: Image Upscaler
Open the full tool pageWhat AI upscaling can and cannot do
Ordinary resizing, the kind every image editor does, only spreads existing pixels over a larger area. The result is the same picture, softer and blockier. An AI upscaler such as Real-ESRGAN, the model this tool uses, has learned from many pairs of small and large images what real edges, hair, foliage, fabric and text look like. When it enlarges your image it predicts plausible detail, so lines stay sharp and compression blocks fade instead of growing.
That prediction has limits. The model sharpens what is already recognizable, but it cannot reveal what the original never recorded. A face that is ten pixels wide will not become a recognizable portrait, a blurred license plate will not become readable, and text that is a smudge in the original stays a smudge or turns into invented shapes. Treat upscaled images as better looking, not as evidence.
- Works well: small web images, thumbnails, avatars, screenshots, scans of prints, old digital camera photos, product pictures below a marketplace minimum.
- Works partly: heavy JPEG compression, mild softness, noise from low light.
- Does not work: strong motion blur, out of focus shots, tiny faces or text, images that are mostly noise.
2x or 4x: which to choose
2x doubles the width and height, so the image gets four times as many pixels. It looks the most natural on normal photos and is the right first try. 4x makes the image sixteen times larger in pixel count and is meant for really small inputs: icons, avatars, old web graphics and pictures saved from messengers.
The result can be up to 4096 x 4096 pixels. That means the input can be up to 1024 x 1024 for 4x and up to 2048 x 2048 for 2x. If your image is larger, the tool asks you to try 2x or shrink it first. If you need more than double, it is usually better to run 2x on the original than 4x on a cropped copy.
| Original size | 2x result | 4x result |
|---|---|---|
| 256 x 256 (avatar) | 512 x 512 | 1024 x 1024 |
| 480 x 320 (old web image) | 960 x 640 | 1920 x 1280 |
| 800 x 600 (small photo) | 1600 x 1200 | 3200 x 2400 |
| 1024 x 1024 | 2048 x 2048 | 4096 x 4096 (the maximum) |
| 2000 x 1500 | 4000 x 3000 | Too large, use 2x |
Upscaling for print: pixels and DPI
Printers think in dots per inch. A sharp photo print needs about 300 pixels for every inch of paper, a poster viewed from a few steps away can get by with 150. The DPI number stored in the file means little on its own; what counts is the pixel size. Multiply the print size in inches by 300 to get the pixels you need.
If your image falls short, upscale until it reaches the target, then let the print service scale it to the exact paper size. A 1200 x 900 photo is enough for a 4 x 3 inch print at 300 DPI; upscaled 2x to 2400 x 1800 it covers an 8 x 6 inch print.
| Print size | Pixels at 300 DPI | Pixels at 150 DPI |
|---|---|---|
| 4 x 6 in (10 x 15 cm) | 1200 x 1800 | 600 x 900 |
| 5 x 7 in (13 x 18 cm) | 1500 x 2100 | 750 x 1050 |
| 8 x 10 in (20 x 25 cm) | 2400 x 3000 | 1200 x 1500 |
| A4 (8.3 x 11.7 in) | 2480 x 3508 | 1240 x 1754 |
| 12 x 18 in poster | 3600 x 5400 | 1800 x 2700 |
When to find the original instead
Before upscaling, check whether a larger version already exists. It is very often the faster path to a sharp image.
- Messaging apps shrink photos when they send them. Ask the sender to share the photo as a file or document, or to send it by email or a cloud link.
- Social networks store reduced copies. The person who posted it usually still has the full size original on their phone.
- Images saved from websites are often thumbnails. Opening the image in its own tab or on the product page often shows a bigger version.
- Logos are best requested from whoever designed them as SVG or PDF. A vector logo stays sharp at any size and needs no upscaling.
- Old prints are best rescanned at 600 dpi rather than photographed with a phone.
Common problems and tips
- The result looks painted or waxy: the original was too small or too noisy for 4x. Try 2x, or crop less before enlarging.
- Faces look odd: the model is general, not a face restorer. Faces that are recognizable in the original improve, very small ones do not.
- The first image takes a while: the 5 MB model downloads once and is then kept by your browser. With a graphics card a small image takes well under a second; on a processor alone 4x can take several seconds.
- Sharpen and crop in the right order: crop first to the part you need, then upscale, so the size limit is spent on what matters.
- Save as PNG if you plan to edit further. Repeated JPG saves add new compression noise each time.