Topaz Upscale Video Review (2026): Models, Speed, Quality & a Best Alternative

What Is Topaz Upscale and How Does It Work?

Topaz Upscale is the upscaling capability built into Topaz Video AI from Topaz Labs. Unlike conventional scalers that simply stretch pixels, the Topaz ai video upscaler analyzes motion vectors, edges, textures, and noise patterns frame-by-frame, then uses trained AI models to predict and reconstruct missing detail at the target resolution.

Each Topaz upscale model is trained for a specific footage type — Proteus for general live-action, Rhea for texture-heavy 4× upscales, Gaia for anime/CGI, Iris for faces, Starlight for severely degraded sources. That model-per-content-type approach is what separates Topaz from simple bicubic or Lanczos upscalers.

Platforms: Windows 10/11 (64-bit) and macOS 12+ (Intel + Apple Silicon M1/M2/M3/M4) 

Required GPU: NVIDIA RTX 30-series or newer with ≥ 8 GB VRAM recommended

Topaz Upscale Models Explained

Before testing performance, here's what each Topaz video upscaler model does and when to use it.

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 system: 

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

Proteus Model (General Live-Action)

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

• Source: 30-second urban landscape, 360 × 640, 30 fps
• Target: 4K
• Processing time: 1 min 47 s (~7.85 fps)

Result: Sharp, artifact-controlled output. Foliage and skyline edges stay clean. Good edge definition without over-sharpening. Proteus is the model you should reach for when you don't know which one to pick.

Rhea Model (Texture Detail)

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

• Source: 30-second cityscape, 720 × 1280, 30 fps
• Target: 4× upscale
• Processing time: 13 min 30 s (~1.10 fps)

Result: Excellent brickwork and surface reconstruction. Trade-off: Rhea is ~7× slower than Proteus — not a practical pick for long-form or batch jobs unless maximum detail matters.

Gaia Model (Anime & CGI)

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

• Source: 1 min 59 s anime clip, 720 × 720, 30 fps
• Processing time: 9 min 37 s (~6.19 fps)

Result: Clean line work, stable color consistency. Weakness: slight softening around motion edges and occasional shadow flattening during fast action sequences.

Iris Model (Face Enhancement)

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, 25 fps
• Processing time: 1 min 13 s

Result: Clear eye detail, realistic skin texture, subtle facial feature recovery — without the "uncanny smoothness" artifact that can appear in aggressive face models.

Starlight Model (Diffusion Restoration)

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.

Performance Summary

For more details on these models, you can watch this video:

How to Upscale a Video in Topaz (Step-by-Step)

If you’re wondering how to use Topaz Video AI, and you already own a license or are running the watermarked demo, here’s the shortest path to a completed upscale.

1. Install Topaz Video AI from topazlabs.com and launch.
2. Drop your source file into the main timeline (drag-and-drop or File → Open).
3. Pick a model based on content type — Proteus for general clips, Gaia for anime, Iris for faces, Rhea for texture, Starlight for severely damaged sources.
4. Set output resolution — 4K, 8K, or custom — in the right-hand inspector. Leave frame rate matching unless you also want slow motion.
5. Configure export options: container (MP4/MOV/MKV), codec (H.264 / HEVC / ProRes / DNxHR), bitrate, quality preset.
6. Click Export. Topaz queues the job; you can stack additional clips to run overnight.
7. Verify the output in a frame viewer at 100% zoom before celebrating — over-sharpening and color-shift artifacts are easiest to spot paused.

Topaz Upscaler Pricing & Trial (2026 Subscription)

In October 2025, Topaz Labs retired the perpetual license. As of 2026, all new users are on annual subscriptions.

Free Trial — Topaz offers a demo (no credit card required), but every exported clip is watermarked. You can preview output quality and test hardware speed, but you can't ship production work.

Important: the $299 "buy-it-once" license is no longer available for new users. Continued access to the latest AI models requires ongoing subscription payments.

Key Benefits of Topaz AI Video Upscale

• Industry-leading quality on heavy restoration. Rhea, Starlight, and Iris are genuinely best-in-class for their specific niches.
• Deep model library. Five dedicated upscaling models plus supporting frame interpolation and enhancement engines — more fine-grained control than any competitor.
• Granular parameter tuning. Power users can adjust sharpening, dehalo, anti-aliasing, and denoise independently.
• Batch queue. Load multiple clips with different models; Topaz processes overnight without supervision.
• Apple Silicon support. Topaz Video AI runs natively on M-series chips (M1 through M4).

Drawbacks of Topaz Video AI Upscale

• $299/year subscription forever. After October 2025 there's no one-time buy; stop paying and you lose the app.
• Slow on complex models. Rhea drops to ~1 fps on RTX 4070; Starlight is even slower. Long-form restoration takes hours.
• Demanding hardware. Topaz recommends NVIDIA RTX 30-series+ with 8 GB VRAM minimum. Mid-range and integrated GPUs struggle.
• Steep learning curve. Five upscaling models (plus eight more enhancement / frame-interp / HDR models) is a lot to learn for a first-time user.
• Watermarked trial. You can't evaluate finished-quality output without paying.
• No built-in editor. Pure upscaling engine; you still need a separate NLE for trimming and finishing.

Best Alternative to Topaz Upscaler: UniFab Video Upscaler AI

If you want a Topaz ai video upscaler alternative that delivers comparable quality at faster speed, lower long-term cost, and simpler UX, UniFab Video Upscaler AI is the most direct replacement in 2026.

UniFab Video Upscaler AI is part of UniFab All-In-One — a $319.99 lifetime-license suite containing 22 AI tools (19 paid modules plus 3 forever-free tools: Video Converter, Background Remover, Vocal Remover). It runs on both Windows and macOS (Intel + Apple Silicon) and falls back to FabCloud cloud processing when your GPU can't keep up.

Core Model Matchup: UniFab vs Topaz Upscale

Topaz Upscale Video vs UniFab Upscale Video — Head-to-Head

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

Source: 30-second urban landscape, 360 × 640, 30 fps → target 4K

Verdict: Equinox is ~70% faster with identical visual output. For batch work, the efficiency edge is material.

Rhea vs Vellum — Texture & Detail Enhancement

Source: 30-second cityscape, 720 × 1280, 30 fps

Verdict: Vellum wraps a texture-heavy 4× job ~33% faster than Rhea. Quality is virtually indistinguishable to the naked eye. Trade-off: Vellum is fixed at 4×; Rhea lets you choose any scale factor.

Gaia vs Kairo — Animation / Cartoon Upscaling

Source: 1 min 59 s anime clip, 720 × 720, 30 fps

Verdict: Kairo is over 2× faster AND visibly sharper than Gaia on anime sources — the clearest win in this comparison.

Starlight vs Titanus — Cinematic Restoration

Topaz Starlight remains the gold standard for VHS / 360p-era restoration — diffusion AI produces temporal consistency nothing else matches today. But render times explode and output caps at HD. 

UniFab's Titanus (Ultra-Fast / Fast / HQ) delivers 4K output significantly faster on film & TV sources, and runs on lower-tier hardware, but doesn't match Starlight on the most degraded sources.

Head-to-Head Summary

• Animation / cartoon — Kairo beats Gaia on speed AND quality ✨
• Texture / detail — Vellum beats Rhea on speed; quality is a tie
• General live-action — Equinox beats Proteus on speed; quality is a tie
• Face restoration — Iris ≈ UniFab Face Enhancer AI (slight Topaz speed edge)

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

UniFab Video Upscaler AI is bundled inside UniFab All-In-One — so one license covers far more than just upscaling.

Topaz vs UniFab — 5-Year TCO

After the October 2025 subscription switch, total cost of ownership matters more than sticker price. Here's what you pay over time:

UniFab breaks even at month 13. Every month after is pure savings.

My Verdict — Which Tool Should You Buy?

Use Topaz Video AI if you're a professional film restorer leaning heavily on Starlight for damaged sources, you need granular per-parameter tuning, and you already own an RTX 30-series or newer GPU. The $299/year is defensible for working pros.

Use UniFab All-In-One if you upscale anime, restore general live-action, process batches, or work on a Mac / mid-range PC. UniFab matches Topaz on quality for most real-world clips, beats it outright on anime (Kairo > Gaia in our tests), runs faster, adds 15+ tools Topaz doesn't have at all, and costs $319.99 once instead of $299 every year.

For a deeper head-to-head comparison, see our UniFab vs Topaz review. 

🎁 Ready to Test a Lifetime-License Alternative?

FAQs about Topaz Upscale

Can Topaz upscale video?

Yes. Topaz Video AI is a dedicated topaz video upscaler designed specifically for AI-based video upscaling. Five models (Proteus, Rhea, Gaia, Iris, Starlight) handle different content types — live-action, anime, faces, degraded footage — and output up to 4K or 8K from SD/HD sources. Workflow: drop a file, pick a model, click Export.

Is Topaz upscaler free?

No. Topaz Video AI requires a $299/year subscription as of October 2025 (the one-time perpetual license was retired). A free demo is available, but every exported clip is watermarked, so you can't use the output for finished projects. If you need a free full trial, UniFab Video Upscaler AI offers a 30-day no-watermark trial.

Is Topaz still the best video upscaler in 2026?

For severely degraded sources (VHS, 360p) and professional restoration workflows, Starlight still leads. For everyday topaz ai video upscaler use cases — anime, texture-heavy 4K, general live-action, face enhancement — UniFab Video Upscaler AI now delivers comparable or better quality at 1.5-2× the speed, and costs a flat $319.99 instead of $299 every year.

What are the system requirements for the Topaz video upscaler?

Windows 10/11 (64-bit) or macOS 12+ with Apple Silicon support. Topaz officially recommends an NVIDIA RTX 30-series or newer GPU with ≥ 8 GB VRAM, 16 GB RAM (32 GB recommended), and a modern CPU with AVX2 support. Lower-tier GPUs will crash or slow to a crawl on Rhea, Gaia, and Starlight.

How long does Topaz take to upscale a video?

Depends heavily on model and source resolution. On an RTX 4070, Proteus runs at ~7-8 fps (1 min of 720p source → ~4 min processing). Rhea drops to ~1 fps (~13 min for the same clip). Starlight is slower still (30-45 min per source minute). UniFab's equivalent models run about 1.5-2× faster on the same hardware.

Does Topaz Video AI work on Mac (Apple Silicon)?

Yes. Topaz Video AI is compatible with macOS 12+ and optimized for M1/M2/M3/M4 chips — often running cooler than on comparable Intel Macs. However, Apple Silicon performance still lags high-end NVIDIA GPUs on heavy 4K+ restoration. UniFab's FabCloud sidesteps the hardware limit entirely for Mac users.

Is Topaz Video AI safe to use?

Yes. Topaz Video AI is a legitimate desktop application from Topaz Labs with no malware or spyware. Downloads from the official Topaz site are safe. Avoid "cracked" versions from third-party sites — they often carry trojans, and cracked builds can't receive model updates anyway.

How does UniFab Video Upscaler AI compare to Topaz?

UniFab matches Topaz quality on general live-action (Equinox vs Proteus), texture (Vellum vs Rhea), and face restoration (UniFab Face Enhancer vs Iris). UniFab beats Topaz on anime (Kairo delivers sharper line art than Gaia, ~2× faster). Topaz still leads on Starlight-grade diffusion restoration. Pricing: $319.99 lifetime vs $299/year — UniFab wins long-term.

Who should actually buy Topaz Video AI in 2026?

Professional film restorers using Starlight on VHS/360p archives; studios with RTX 30/40 workstations and teams comfortable tuning parameters; users whose workflow specifically needs Rhea's custom scale factor or Topaz-exclusive models (Themis, Theia). Most other creators — YouTubers, anime fans, hobby restorers, Mac users — will get better value from UniFab.

How do I upscale a video without paying for Topaz?

You have three options: (1) UniFab Video Upscaler AI — free 30-day trial with full features and no watermark, $319.99 lifetime after; (2) Video2X — free and open-source, uses waifu2x and Anime4K models (steeper learning curve, slower on live-action); (3) DaVinci Resolve's Super Scale — included in the free version, decent for moderate upscales. For a full shortlist, see our 10 best Topaz Video AI alternatives.