Topaz Video Enhance AI is the tool most people mean when they say “AI video upscaler”. It is also $299 a year, subscription-only since September 2025, and it wants a real GPU. Here is what it actually costs, what it needs to run, where it is genuinely better than anything in a browser — and where a free online tool is enough.
We build VideoEnhancer.app, a free browser-based enhancer — so we are not a neutral party, and we say so plainly. We are not affiliated with Topaz Labs and we do not sell or distribute their software. The comparison below lists the rows where Topaz beats us, because a table where we win everything would not be worth reading.
It is desktop software from Topaz Labs that upscales and restores video using AI models — turning 480p into 1080p, 1080p into 4K, cleaning up noise, deinterlacing old footage, and interpolating frames for slow motion. It renders locally on your own machine rather than in the cloud.
One thing worth knowing before you search further: the product is not called Video Enhance AI any more. Topaz renamed it to Topaz Video AI, and it is now marketed simply as Topaz Video. “Topaz Video Enhance AI” is the legacy name that stuck in everyone’s search habits — if you land on a page selling “Video Enhance AI” as a current, separately-licensed product, treat it with suspicion.
Its strength is depth. It ships 19+ specialised models — Proteus, Iris, Nyx, Artemis, Rhea, Starlight, Chronos and others — each tuned for a different failure mode (compression artefacts, interlacing, low light, motion blur), and it lets you tune them per clip. Nothing browser-based, ours included, comes close on that axis.
The big change: perpetual licences were discontinued in September 2025. You can no longer buy Topaz once and keep it forever — new customers subscribe, and if the subscription lapses you stop getting new models and updates.
| Plan | Annual | Monthly | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | $299 / year | $59 / month | Unlimited local rendering, 25 cloud credits/mo |
| Pro | $699 / year | — | Pro-only models, more cloud credits, full commercial use |
Pricing verified July 2026 against topazlabs.com/pricing. Topaz may have changed it since — check the source before you buy.
| Topaz Video Enhance AI | VideoEnhancer.app (free) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $299/yr Personal · $699/yr Pro · $59/mo monthly | Free credits to start, then $0.01/credit — no subscription |
| Licence model | Subscription only (perpetual licences ended Sept 2025) | Pay only for what you process |
| Setup | Download and install a desktop app (Windows / macOS) | Open a browser tab — nothing to install |
| Hardware needed | A dedicated GPU with several GB of VRAM; slow without one | None — rendering runs on our cloud GPUs |
| Maximum video length | Unlimited | 10 minutes per job |
| Works offline | Yes — renders locally, no upload needed | No — your file is uploaded for processing |
| Manual control | 19+ specialised models (Proteus, Iris, Nyx, Artemis…), tunable per clip | One model, no knobs — upload and go |
| Watermark | None on paid plans (the trial does watermark) | None |
FlashVSR upscaling on cloud GPUs, in your browser. Videos up to 10 minutes, no watermark, no install, free credits to start. If it is not good enough for your footage, you have lost nothing but a few minutes — and you will know Topaz is worth the $299.
Enhance a Video FreeAs of July 2026, Topaz Labs sells it on subscription only: the Personal plan is $299/year (or $59/month billed monthly), and the Pro plan is $699/year. Perpetual “buy once, own forever” licences were discontinued in September 2025, so new customers cannot buy it outright any more.
No. Topaz Labs renamed Video Enhance AI to Topaz Video AI, and it is now marketed simply as Topaz Video. “Topaz Video Enhance AI” is the legacy name — most people still search for it, but the product page you land on will say Topaz Video.
No. Topaz Labs offers a trial that watermarks its output, but there is no free tier. We do not distribute Topaz software, and we would steer you away from “free” or cracked copies on third-party download sites — they are a well-known malware vector. If you want something genuinely free, use a browser-based enhancer instead.
It is desktop software for Windows and macOS and it renders locally, so it leans hard on your GPU. Topaz recommends a dedicated graphics card with several GB of VRAM; on an integrated-GPU laptop it will run, but slowly. This is the main practical reason people look for an online alternative — cloud tools do the work on server GPUs, so your own hardware stops mattering.
If you enhance video regularly, need no length limit, want frame-level control over the model and its parameters, or must work offline, then yes — it is the most capable tool in this category, and nothing browser-based matches its depth. If you have a handful of clips, do not want to install software or pay $299/year, and do not need manual control, a free online enhancer will cover you.
We run FlashVSR super-resolution on cloud GPUs, in your browser, with no install and free credits to start. Topaz beats us on maximum video length (we cap at 10 minutes), offline use, and manual control across its 19+ specialised models. We beat it on cost, setup time, and hardware requirements. They are different tools for different jobs.
No. VideoEnhancer.app is an independent product, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Topaz Labs. Topaz, Topaz Video AI and Video Enhance AI are trademarks of Topaz Labs. This page is an independent comparison; we do not sell or distribute Topaz software.