Topaz AI Upscale Video Review (2026) and Comparison with UniFab Alternative

W've tested Topaz Upscale across multiple projects—from restoring old 1080p footage to experimenting with AI-powered 4K upscaling for client videos. Over time, we've come to understand both what Topaz AI video upscale does exceptionally well and where it clearly struggles.

If you're wondering whether Topaz video upscale is actually worth your time and money, this review is based on real usage—not just feature lists. we'll walk through how Topaz AI works, its real-world performance, limitations, pricing, and whether a better alternative makes more sense for your workflow.

What Is Topaz Upscale and How Does It Work?

Topaz Upscale refers to the upscaling capability inside Topaz Video AI.It offers specialized AI upscale video models tailored to different content types.

Unlike conventional video upscalers that simply stretch pixels, Topaz AI upscale video technology analyzes motion, edges, textures, and noise patterns frame by frame. The AI model then predicts missing details to reconstruct a higher-resolution version of the original video. This AI-driven approach is what differentiates Topaz video upscaler tools from traditional scaling algorithms.

Topaz Upscale Models Explained

Before testing performance, it‘s important to understand how different Topaz Upscale models are designed. Inside Topaz Video AI, each AI model serves a distinct purpose depending on content type and resolution goals.

Overview of Topaz AI Video Upscale Models

Real-World Performance Tests of Topaz AI Upscale Models

To evaluate how each model performs in real scenarios, we tested Topaz AI video upscale using the following system:

Test Machine:

• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700G with Radeon Graphics

Proteus Model

The default “go-to” for most live-action content, excelling at balancing sharpness with natural textures.

• Source: 30-second urban landscape clip (360×640, 30fps)
• Target: 4K
• Processing Time: 1 minute 47 seconds
• Speed: ~7.85 fps

Visual Results

Proteus produced sharp, artifact-controlled output even when paused on detailed sections such as foliage and skyline structures. The upscale maintained good edge definition without excessive over-sharpening.

Rhea Model

This model specializes in 4x upscaling and detail boosting, ideal for enhancing fine structure and surface fidelity.

• Source: 30-second cityscape clip (720×1280, 30fps)
• Target: 4x upscale
• Processing Time: 13 minutes 30+ seconds
• Speed: ~1.10 fps

Visual Results

Rhea produced strong texture reconstruction across brickwork, street surfaces, and structural details. That said, Rhea is computationally demanding. Processing speed dropped significantly compared to Proteus, making it less suitable for long-form projects unless maximum detail recovery is required.

Gaia Model

This is Topaz anime model, designed for high-quality and animation inputs, ensuring crisp linework, vibrant color, and refined CGI output.

• Source: 1 minute 59 seconds anime clip (720×720, 30fps)
• Processing Time: 9 minutes 37 seconds
• Speed: ~6.19 fps

Visual Results

Gaia preserved clean linework and maintained stable color consistency across frames. However, in fast-moving sequences, we noticed slight softening around motion edges and occasional shadow flattening.

Iris Model

Focused on face enhancement, Iris intelligently restores facial details, particularly in low- to mid-quality or interlaced footage.

• Source: 25-second facial clip (640×360, 25fps)
• Processing Time: 1 minute 13 seconds

Visual Results

Iris successfully enhanced eye clarity, skin texture, and subtle facial features while maintaining natural tones.

Starlight Model

Starlight stands out as Topaz’s most ambitious model. In severely degraded or artifact-heavy clips, it produced excellent temporal consistency and noticeably smoother motion reconstruction. 

However, processing times increased dramatically, and hardware utilization spiked significantly. Rendering was substantially slower than other models.

Key Benefits of Topaz AI Video Upscale

Topaz Video AI offers several benefits:

• High-Quality Results: Topaz AI models excel at restoring fine details, enhancing textures, and ensuring natural-looking upscaling.
• Flexible Models: From live-action to animation, Topaz provides models that cater to different content types.
• Advanced AI Technology: The integration of AI ensures that each video is upscaled intelligently, preserving key details while improving resolution.

However, there are also some drawbacks that users should be aware of.

Drawbacks of Topaz Video AI Upscale

While Topaz Video AI sets a high bar for upscaling and enhancement quality, it does present several challenges for many users:

• Subscription Cost
  At $299 per year, the subscription fee may be prohibitive for creators seeking a long‑term, cost‑effective solution.
• Processing Speed
  Some models—especially advanced ones like Starlight—can be slow to process, making large projects time‑consuming.
• Steep Learning Curve
  Topaz offers many advanced controls and settings—which can benefit power users—but this also means a longer learning curve and greater complexity for beginners. New users may spend significant time learning how to fine‑tune models and settings effectively.

These factors raise a common question among creators:

Is there a Topaz Video AI alternative that delivers comparable upscaling quality, but with faster performance, simpler usability, and better value?

Best Alternative to Topaz Upscaler: UniFab Video Upscaler AI

If you're looking for a Topaz upscale video alternative that delivers professional-grade results but with faster processing speeds, simpler user experience, and a more affordable, lifetime licensing model, then UniFab Video Upscaler AI might be exactly what you need.

In this section, we’ll compare UniFab Video Upscaler AI with Topaz Video AI across several critical aspects, including core models, pricing, features, and performance, to help you decide which is the best choice for your video enhancement needs.

Core Model Matchup: UniFab Video Upscaler AI and Topaz Upscale Models

UniFab Video Upscaler AI offers a suite of enhancement models that directly compete with Topaz AI upscale video models. Below is a comparison of their key models and use cases:

Full Feature Comparison: UniFab All-In-One vs. Topaz Video AI

While UniFab Video Upscaler AI is a standout product on its own, it is part of the broader UniFab All-In-One suite, which offers even more features than Topaz Video AI at a more affordable price point. Here’s a comprehensive comparison of the features included in both products:

UniFab All-In-One Advantage: Not only does UniFab match Topaz in core upscaling and face restoration, but it also provides a broader range of features—such as video colorization, subtitle generation, and frame interpolation—at no extra charge.

Topaz Upscale Video vs. UniFab Upscale Video (Speed, Quality, Practicality)

To move beyond the spec sheets, we conducted a series of hands-on, real-world comparisons—using the exact same footage, hardware, and settings—between Topaz and UniFab’s key models. This approach ensured that our findings reflect practical performance and user experience, not just theoretical benchmarks. What follows are objective observations on speed, output quality, and workflow efficiency for both platforms.

Test Environment & Methodology

To ensure a fair, repeatable assessment, we ran all upscaling tests on the same hardware—NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU and AMD Ryzen 7 5700G CPU—with standardized sample clips. This approach allowed us to isolate the true differences between Topaz and UniFab, free from hardware or software version bias.

Proteus vs. Equinox: Everyday 4K Upscaling

In our test with a 30-second urban landscape clip (360×640, 30fps), both Topaz’s Proteus and UniFab’s Equinox models were put to the test. UniFab-Equinox delivered its 4K upscale in just 1 minute 3 seconds—translating to an impressive 13.33 frames per second—while Topaz-Proteus required almost twice as long at 1 minute 47 seconds (about 7.85 fps).

When we scrutinized the actual output, the difference was almost imperceptible: both models produced sharp, artifact-free results without over-sharpening or loss of detail, even when pausing on intricate foliage and skyline sections. If you’re processing larger batches or value turnaround time, Equinox offers a tangible efficiency edge—without sacrificing visual fidelity.

Rhea vs. Vellum: Texture and Detail Enhancement

Switching to a 30-second cityscape video (720×1280, 30fps), we compared Topaz Rhea and UniFab Vellum, each targeting texture and detail for challenging scenes. Here, Rhea required over 13 and a half minutes (1.10 fps), whereas Vellum completed the same task in just over 9 minutes (1.65 fps).

Visual outcomes were, once again, practically identical—both produced natural brickwork, clean street textures, and well-controlled lighting. The only noticeable distinction: Rhea lets you choose any upscale factor, granting more flexibility, while Vellum currently focuses on a 4x enhancement workflow. For the majority of texture-driven restoration jobs, Vellum’s faster pace may give it an edge, with little trade-off in result quality.

Gaia vs. Kairo: Animation and Cartoon Upscaling

When upscaling animation (specifically, a 1-minute-59-second 720×720 anime clip at 30fps), the difference between the two models became striking. UniFab-Kairo finished processing in 4 minutes 42 seconds (12.66 fps)—over twice as fast as Topaz-Gaia’s 9 minutes 37 seconds (6.19 fps).

But speed wasn’t the only winner here. The Kairo-enhanced frames consistently exhibited sharper line work, richer color saturation, and finer layer separation—making dynamic scenes look crisper and more faithful to the original art. In comparison, Gaia’s output, while generally solid, occasionally lost some shadow nuance and suffered slight blurring around fast-moving edges. For dedicated anime fans or professional restoration, Kairo is the clear performance and quality leader.

Face Enhancement: Iris vs. UniFab Face Enhancer AI

For face-focused scenes (tested with a 25-second 640×360 clip at 25fps), Topaz-Iris edged slightly ahead in speed (1 minute 13 seconds vs. UniFab’s 1 minute 20 seconds), but both achieved highly realistic, clean, and natural skin textures at 4x upscaling.

Notably, UniFab currently provides preset enhancement at 1x, 2x, and 4x, offering strategic batch control, whereas Topaz’s Iris enables fully custom scaling. To the naked eye, differences were minimal: both models adeptly balanced pore clarity, eye sharpness, and subtle facial features, with no distracting artifacts or “uncanny” smoothness.

Topaz Starlight: Diffusion Innovation—But With a Caveat

Starlight stands out as Topaz’s most ambitious model, utilizing diffusion AI to elevate extremely degraded or low-res footage to HD. In our evaluation, the level of temporal consistency and motion smoothness was indeed industry-leading, especially when working with jumpy, artifact-ridden clips.

However, this came at a significant cost: processing times were markedly longer, and hardware demands shot up. For most creators, Starlight is best reserved for top-priority, short-run restoration tasks rather than high-volume projects.

Key takeaways:

• UniFab's speed advantage was clear in nearly every category, with identical or superior quality for animation and standard upscaling.
• Topaz retains an edge with model flexibility—especially Starlight’s unmatched results and Rhea’s custom scaling—at the expense of processing speed.
• For face enhancement, both solutions are highly effective; user choice comes down to batch convenience versus total resolution control.
• In our tests, “faster” never meant “worse”—if anything, UniFab’s models delivered professional results at breakneck pace, particularly for animation.

Topaz AI Upscale vs. UniFab Video Upscaler AI: Which is Better?

When comparing UniFab vs Topaz on video upscaling, there are several factors to consider, including speed, quality, and price.

1. Quality

Topaz: Known for superior detail enhancement with models like Rhea and Starlight, providing professional-grade results for advanced users.

UniFab: Delivers excellent quality for most use cases, on par with Topaz in terms of detail and sharpness.

2. Speed

• UniFab: Models are significantly faster, especially for batch processing or larger projects, providing quicker results with no compromise on quality.
• Topaz: Some models, especially Starlight, can be slow, requiring more time and hardware resources for processing.

3. Pricing

• UniFab: $299 one-time lifetime purchase, with free 30-day trial and no watermark. More cost-effective in the long run.
• Topaz: $299/year subscription, requiring ongoing payments for continued access and updates. The trial version includes a watermark.

4. Functionality

UniFab: Offers a broader range of functions, including video colorization, subtitle generation, and more, making it a comprehensive solution for all video enhancement needs.

Topaz: Focuses more on core upscaling models like Proteus, Gaia, and Rhea, but lacks some of the extra features available in UniFab.

5. Usability

• UniFab: Offers a simple, one-click interface, making it easier to use for beginners and those seeking quick results.
• Topaz: Provides advanced control for expert users but has a steeper learning curve, which may be overwhelming for newcomers.

Conclusion

After rigorous, side-by-side testing, UniFab Video Upscaler AI stands out as the most efficient and accessible choice for most users, especially for animation and bulk upscaling tasks. Topaz Video AI, however, remains a strong contender for advanced users who need deep manual control or industry-specific restoration features. Ultimately, choose the tool that best fits your workflow and content priorities—both deliver high-quality results, but UniFab leads in speed and everyday usability.

FAQs about Topaz Upscale

Can Topaz upscale video?

Yes, Topaz Video AI is specifically designed for video upscaling. With its specialized models like Proteus, Gaia, and Starlight, you can use Topaz AI upscale video workflows to convert low-resolution footage into high-quality 4K, improve detail, and enhance both live-action and animated content.

What is upscale in Topaz?

In Topaz Video AI, “upscale” refers to the process of using AI-powered models to increase your video’s resolution—such as turning old 480p or 1080p files into crisp 4K. Each Topaz upscale model is optimized for different content types, ensuring the best balance of detail, clarity, and natural texture for your source.

Is Topaz upscaler free?

No, Topaz upscaler is not free. Topaz Video AI requires a paid subscription, currently priced at $299 per year. The free trial version leaves a watermark on output videos, so if you want watermark-free exports, you need to purchase a license. If you’re seeking a Topaz upscale video alternative with a free full trial and no watermark, consider UniFab Video Upscaler AI.

Is Topaz still the best upscaler?

Topaz Video AI remains one of the most advanced and popular choices for professional AI video upscaling, especially with its range of models and customization options. However, new alternatives like UniFab Video Upscaler AI now offer comparable quality, greater speed, and more budget-friendly lifetime licensing, making the definition of “best AI video upscaler” more dependent on your workflow and cost preferences.

How to upscale a video in Topaz?

To upscale a video in Topaz, simply install Topaz Video AI, import your footage, choose the appropriate enhancement model (such as Proteus for general video, Gaia for animation, or Starlight for degraded clips), set your desired output resolution (like 4K), and click to process. The software will use its Topaz AI upscale engine to automatically improve the video. For step-by-step guides, see this article: how to use Topaz Video AI. For visual comparisons, see our model matchup section above.