Table Of Content
Whether you want to upscale anime to 4K or higher, improve the quality of older anime, or just get better visuals for your personal collection, anime upscalers are a must-have. In this guide, we'll walk you through the best anime upscalers for Windows, Mac, and online platforms. From deep-learning-based tools like UniFab and ESRGAN to free online options like Waifu2x, you'll find the right anime video upscaler or anime image upscaler for your needs.
Anime upscaling is different from typical video enhancement due to its unique art style—sharp lines, flat shading, and detailed backgrounds. That’s why AI anime upscalers are trained on thousands of anime frames to recognize and restore details specific to animation.
Here's how these tools improve anime visuals:
These AI anime video upscaler tools ensure a smoother, cleaner, and more immersive anime experience—perfect for collectors, streamers, and fans alike.
The right anime upscalers can transform low-resolution content into stunning 4K quality, revitalizing older series and highlighting details in newer releases. Here are two AI anime upscalers that use advanced AI algorithms to analyze each frame, enhancing clarity while preserving the original art style.
| Tools | UniFab Video Upscaler AI | Waifu2x |
| Platforms | Windows,Mac | Web-based |
| Max Output | Up to 16K | Up to 4K |
| AI Model | Four AI Models: Anime Optimized; Texture Enhanced; Speed Optimized; Quality Optimized | Deep CNN |
| Batch Processing | Supported | Supported |
| GPU Acceleration | Supported | Not Supported |
Below, we've rounded up 4 of the best AI-powered anime upscalers available for Windows, Mac, and even online. Whether you're looking for desktop performance or browser-based convenience, these tools can help you breathe new life into your favorite anime scenes.
Best for: Anime collectors, editors, and fans who want top-tier video quality with minimal effort.
Platforms: Windows & macOS
UniFab Video Upscaler AI is a powerful desktop tool that uses advanced AI to upscale anime videos from SD to 720p, 1080p, 4K, 8K, or even 16K. Its dedicated Anime-Optimized Model ensures sharp lines, rich colors, and original style preservation. It also removes noise, artifacts, jagged edges, and blur—restoring clear, vibrant visuals in just a few clicks.
Professional AI-Powered Anime Upscaler
30-day Free Trial with full feature access!
Launch UniFab, pick the 'Upscaler' mode from the menu, import your anime video.
Select Anime Optimized Model, and fine-tune output settings like resolution, format, quality, and more.
Click 'Start' to begin editing your anime video, utilizing GPU acceleration technology for up to 50 times faster processing.
Best For: Casual users who want to quickly upscale anime without installing software.
Platforms: Web-based
Waifu2x is a free online anime upscaling and noise reduction tool for anime-style art and various photo types.Users can effortlessly upload their images to the official website and select upscaling options of up to 4x. Powered by deep convolutional neural networks, it enhances and enlarges anime photos effectively and offers customizable noise reduction levels.
Pros
A simple interface makes this tool well-suited for users of all skill levels.
You can choose among nineteen supported languages while using this tool.
Users can upscale both photos and artwork using Waifu2x.
It is possible to select the output image format between PNG & WebP.
Cons
You need to possess some technical skills to use this tool.
Best For: Developers and advanced users who want full control over anime video upscaling.
Platforms: Windows
ESRGAN is a cutting-edge AI-based upscaling algorithm renowned for producing highly detailed and sharp anime videos. Harnessing the capabilities of generative adversarial networks elevates resolution while preserving the essence of anime art styles. ESRGAN eliminates low-resolution artifacts, strengthens lines, and enhances colors, ensuring exceptional visual quality.
Pros
It generates incredibly sharp and detailed videos.
Compatible with a variety of anime art styles.
Users can customize the settings for better results.
Banks on AI algorithms to deliver superb results.
Cons
The processing time is longer compared to peer anime upscaler tools.
Best For: Users who want flexibility and engine options in one package.
Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, Ubuntu
Video2x is a user-friendly upscaling software that merges the capabilities of various upscaling engines like Waifu2x and Anime4K. It features an intuitive interface for effortless anime video upscaling with customization options for refining results. Written in Python, Video2X can enhance resolution and frame rate with state-of-the-art algorithms.
Pros
Intuitive interface designed for effortless upscaling, 1080p to 4K.
It offers a range of upscaling engines, such as Waifu2x and Anime4K.
Batch processing capability to handle multiple videos concurrently.
Adjustable settings for precise customization of output.
Cons
It may lack some advanced features found in dedicated upscaling software
While AI-powered tools offer stunning visual upgrades, they may not be ideal for everyone due to system requirements or processing time. If you prefer a lightweight, fast, and non-AI solution, the following anime upscaler might be a better fit.
Best For: Real-time anime upscaling with minimal system impact.
Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac & Linux
Anime4K is a lightweight and efficient anime upscaler designed specifically for anime videos, using a blend of algorithms to enhance resolution while preserving details and the authentic anime appearance. It's an open-source set of high-quality, real-time upscaling and denoising algorithms that can be integrated into any programming language. Anime4K prioritizes simplicity and speed, advocating for original content preservation and freedom of choice for anime fans. It offers various settings and parameters and supports multiple formats, making it an ideal choice for anime enthusiasts.
Pros
Lightweight tool that will not weigh down your system while delivering super fast processing.
Delivers optimal results in upscaling anime videos by using a combination of algorithms.
The software is bug-free & doesn't crash while operating.
Compatible with most codecs & formats.
Cons
You need to possess technical know-how for launching & configuring this program.
If you're looking to upscale anime-style images rather than full videos, the tools below are tailored for that purpose. These anime image upscalers work well for enhancing illustrations, character designs, wallpapers, and more — with support for both online platforms and desktop apps.
Supported Platform: Web-based
Pricing: Free credits upon account creation with premium features starting at $2.50/month
YouCam Online Editor’s AI Image Upscaler offers fast, high-quality photo enhancement with just a few taps. It combines advanced AI with an intuitive design, eliminating the need for manual adjustments common with other sharpening tools.
Pros
High-quality results using advanced AI
Easy-to-use interface for quick enhancements
Includes a variety of AI tools, from color correction to object removal
Cons
Some features require a premium upgrade
Supported Platforms: Web-based
Price: Start for free and upgrade to the Starter plan at $29/year, Premium plan at $49/year, or Advanced plan at $69/year.
Imglarger is an AI image upscaler software designed to enhance images online without compromising quality. With its one-click AI solution, you can make your photos sharper, crisper, and cleaner, increasing resolution to 8K without losing quality. Specifically tailored for anime and cartoon lovers, AI Image Upscaler provides smoother image upscaling than traditional methods. Imglarger's advanced AI system, trained on various images, including human faces and animal features, utilizes its "Guess" process to add new pixels to the original image, ensuring top-notch quality is maintained.
Pros
It guarantees the complete safety of user information, as all uploaded images are automatically deleted after 24 hours.
The tool removes defects caused by compression while preserving the detailing in images.
Advanced algorithms can optimize minute details in the images to deliver 8K visuals.
The super-fast image enhancer supports batch processing of files to increase your productivity.
Cons
There is no option to customize the upscaling ratio of anime images.
Supported Platforms: Web-based
Price: Free to use
PhotoEnlarger is a free online tool for upscaling and enhancing images. Users can customize image enlargement with four factors, ensuring the perfect result. PhotoEnlarger specializes in anime image upscaling, enlarging photos by up to 546% without compromising quality. It utilizes six different enlargement algorithms, including an AI-based one, to offer users various options for enhanced and upscaled photos. With PhotoEnlarger, you can quickly improve your images, achieving professional-quality results for free.
Pros
A clutter-free interface makes it easy to navigate this anime upscaler tool.
It guarantees complete privacy to users in terms of pictures uploaded.
There is no sign-up requirement allowing users to upscale anime images instantly.
A completely free tool doesn't limit the number of upscaling.
Cons
Several users have complained about the quality of upscaled images.
Supported Platforms: Web-based
Price: Free to use
Image Resizer is an online tool that allows users to enlarge anime images by increasing their pixel size while minimizing quality loss. With core algorithms optimized to preserve image quality, Image Resizer delivers excellent results for anime image resizing. After uploading your image or entering a URL, you can choose how much you want to scale up your photos by percentage or dimensions. Image Resizer displays the result with details such as the new size in pixels.
Pros
This free image enlarger also supports bulk resizing, making it convenient to resize multiple images simultaneously.
With Image Resizer, you can enlarge photos within seconds.
Users can choose to compress or convert the images to PNG or PDF.
Thanks to HTML5 canvas technology, it's free and secure and ensures your images are never uploaded to servers.
Cons
If you wish to make the images twice as big as the original, the image quality is often hampered.
Supported Platforms: Windows, Mac, Android & iOS
Price: Free with limited features
Bigjpg is an AI-powered anime picture upscaler that utilizes Deep Convolutional Neural Networks. It offers simple and efficient processing, allowing users to upload photos, apply noise reduction, and choose scaling options up to 16x. Bigjpg supports batch processing, multiple languages, and API integration, making it a versatile tool for efficiently enhancing anime images.
Pros
It uses deep convolutional neural networks to intelligently reduce serration and noise in images.
It supports API, which can be accessed after logging in.
A special algorithm adjusts the lines and colors of images so that the final results are not blurry.
It supports regular images alongside illustrations and anime images.
Cons
Users have often complained of prolonged processing times in the free account.
Supported Platforms: Web-based
Price: You can start with ten free credits, & buy 100 credits for $12/month, 300 credits for $29/month & 500 credits for $39/month. (On annual billing)
Letsenhance is a powerful image upscaling tool that uses advanced AI technology to increase image resolution without losing quality. Whether you need to upscale anime images for printing, web use, or creative projects, this tool covers you as it increases image size up to 500MP alongside 300+ DPI density. Perfect for creative professionals, it allows for the precision and efficiency of resizing images for various formats, saving valuable time for other tasks.
Pros
Users can upload & edit multiple anime images at once.
It takes seconds to enhance your anime photos.
Users can convert small anime photos to HD, 4K, 8K, or more.
The AI-backed tool can fix saturation and white balance with an HDR filter.
Cons
You need to create an account for processing the uploaded images.
With anime's global popularity skyrocketing, fans always look for ways to enhance their viewing experience. If you're eager to take your anime-watching to the next level by upscaling your favorite movies to crystal-clear resolutions, you've landed in the perfect spot. Discover our range of anime upscaler softwares to enjoy your cherished shows in stunning ultra-high quality. While each tool listed above offers exceptional results, UniFab's Video Enhancer shines by effortlessly upscaling anime video from SD to 4K/8K/16K, ensuring you can immerse yourself in your favorite anime with breathtaking high definition.
One of the best anime upscalers available is UniFab Video Upscaler, which uses advanced AI upscale anime to 4K or even 8K while preserving fine details, vibrant colors, and line clarity. It's especially effective for old or low-resolution anime, making them look sharp and cinematic without introducing artifacts or distortion.
If you want to upscale anime for free, you can start with tools like Anime4K or YouCam Online Editor. Anime4K is a lightweight, open-source anime enhancer that runs through video players like MPV or VLC. It doesn’t require a powerful GPU and works well for basic upscaling. For images, YouCam’s free online AI upscaler can improve anime stills quickly and easily without installation. These free options are a great way to test anime upscaling before investing in premium tools.
An AI anime video upscaler offers hassle-free usage and quick results without the need for any editing skills. It efficiently upscales your anime videos in seconds or minutes!
If you're looking for an anime enhancer that delivers sharp details and vibrant visuals, I highly recommend UniFab Video Enhancer AI. It offers specialized Anime Optimized model tailored for anime, upscaling resolution, enhaning details, and restoring original clarity—all without compromising the unique art style.