In this tutorial, we will show you how to upscale a smaller, low-quality, blurry image into a crisp, high-resolution picture using free apps and websites on your Mac.
- After you upscale an image, its resolution and file size will obviously increase.
- Some services give you the option to upscale the quality two or four times, while others let you enter a specific output resolution.
- Several of the apps mentioned here allow you to upscale images in batch.
- Most apps and websites listed here process images on their servers, so only proceed if you’re comfortable with that.
FreeScaler
This is one of the most simple free Mac apps that allows you to upgrade your photo quality. To get the best results, FreeScaler lets you choose from four AI models depending on what type of image you are working with.
- Download FreeScaler from the Mac App Store and open it.
- Drag and drop the image on its app window.
- Click the AI Model menu at the top and select Anime, Drawing, Photo, or Sharpen Image. For instance, if you are looking to upscale an anime picture, you should select that.
- Choose the Scale from X2, X3, or X4.
- Once everything is in order, click the Upscale button in the upper right corner and wait for it to finish processing.
- After the upscaling is complete, click the Share button and choose Save As.
Note: Even though X4 (or 4x or four times) is the highest quality you can get, sometimes it may result in a noticeable inferior image as the edges may be extra sharp. This fact is true for all apps and websites mentioned in this article.
AI Enhancer Pro
AI Enhancer is a fantastic option if you’re looking for a simple, quick, and free Mac app to upscale your images. The app lets you enter the final image size that you want. So, if you have a tiny, lower resolution 225 by 225 image, you can easily enhance it to 720 by 720 or 1080 by 1080.
- Open AI Enhancer on your Mac and load the photo from a Finder folder or Photos app library.
- Click the tiny enhance button under the photo thumbnail.
- Enter the output resolution in the New Image Size box. You can enter one of the fields, such as the photo height, and the app will automatically adjust the other one (i.e., width).
- Now, click the Enhance button.
- After the upgrade process finishes, click the download icon under the photo thumbnail to save the upscaled picture.
AI Enlarger
Similar to the above two apps, AI Enlarger works reliably and does not add a watermark, even in the free version. Another highlight is that it lets you choose the export format as PNG or JPG.
- Download and open AI Enlarger on your Mac.
- Click Add Files or drag & drop an image on its app window.
- Set the Scale to 2x or 4x. You can also pick the output Format.
- Next, hit the Start Now button and set the destination folder.
- Once the photo is upscaled and enhanced, you will see a green check mark next to the image inside the app window. Go to the destination Finder folder to see your high-quality image.
Upscale.media
I have been using PixelBin’s erase.bg for a long time now to remove background from images. Upscale.media is one of their other services that lets you easily enhance your photo quality for free.
Simply visit upscale.media, drop your image there, and then choose to upscale the file to 1x, 2x, or 4x.
ILoveIMG.com
I use this website almost every day to compress images, and when the need arises, it also lets me upgrade the photo resolution and clarity. While the Upscale image section of iLoveIMG.com shows a premium tag, it currently works for free.
Just drop your image on its website, set the size multiplier to 2x or 4x, hit the Upscale button, and download the enhanced image.
imgupscaler.com
In addition to Upscale.media and ILoveIMG.com, you can also use Smart Image Upscaler to enhance your jpg and png images. Like most tools, you can choose to upgrade your image by 200% (2X) or 400% (4x).
Other Mac apps you can check out
If the above apps and websites don’t meet your needs, you can try the following options. However, they all (except Upsies and Waifu2x) will let you preview the upscaled image, but you will have to pay to export the file or remove the watermark. So, in a sense, they are not completely free services like the ones mentioned above.
Waifu2x: It’s simple, feature-rich, and easy to use. Overall it works very well, but some upscale modes require payment.
Upsies: I found it very simple to use, but the app fails to upscale certain images. For instance, it could not upscale the iDB logo file.
AI Image Upscaler: It lets you choose from 2x and 4x upscale options. However, the free version adds a watermark in the lower right corner of the image.
EnhanceFox: It works great, but you only have three credits for using the app three times. After that, you must purchase a plan to continue.
BiggerPicture: Upscales the image quickly, but the free version is unusable as it adds a huge watermark across the image. Still, you can try it out to see the final results, and then choose to buy its premium plan.
HitPaw Photo AI: This is yet another great app that you can try out. However, the free version is not usable, as you can’t export the image, and even the preview will have a watermark, so you cannot take a meaningful screenshot.
Pictura: The app is almost 5 GB in size and works well for most photo types. However, you need to purchase the pro plan to export upscaled images.
Bonus: Gigapixel: If you are still looking, check out Gigapixel by Topaz Labs, which is available for both Mac and Windows. The app is on the pricey side, but produces impressive results.
These were some of the finest options to upscale and enhance your lower-quality images. Do you have some other apps or websites that you’d like to recommend? Please share them in the comments below.
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