TL;DR: Topaz Gigapixel is a desktop app that runs locally and recovers real detail — up to 6x enlargement in a single pass — with subscriptions from $149/yr. It’s the pick for photographers who need enlargements that stay faithful to the original photo. Magnific is a cloud-based generative upscaler that invents plausible new detail (skin texture, fabric weave), which makes it superb for finishing AI art but risky for photos where accuracy matters. Different tools for different jobs: Gigapixel restores, Magnific imagines.
Topaz Gigapixel vs Magnific at a glance
| Topaz Gigapixel | Magnific | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Desktop AI upscaling app | Cloud generative upscaler |
| Starting price | $149/yr (Personal) or $19/mo annual | ~$14.50/mo billed annually (Premium) |
| Free option | Trial (no export without license) | Limited free tier |
| Max upscale | 6x single pass, 16x iterative | Up to 16x, up to 10,000×10,000 px |
| Runs locally | Yes — unlimited local rendering | No — cloud rendering |
| How it adds detail | Recovers and enhances real detail (9 AI models) | Generatively invents plausible detail |
| Commercial use | Personal allows limited commercial use; Pro is full commercial | Paid plans include commercial license |
| Best for | Photographers enlarging real photos | AI art finishing, creative upscaling |
| Watch out | Perpetual $99 license discontinued Oct 2025 — subscription only now | Now merged into Freepik — check live pricing; invented detail can look wrong on real faces |
Topaz Gigapixel: the photographer’s upscaler
Gigapixel is a desktop application — you install it, and it renders on your own machine with no per-image fees. It ships with nine AI models tuned for different content (Standard, High Fidelity, Text & Shapes, Art & CG, Face Recovery, and the newer generative Redefine models, among others). The philosophy is recovery, not invention: it reconstructs detail that plausibly existed in the original capture.
Pricing is subscription-only since the $99 perpetual license was discontinued in October 2025. The Personal plan is $149/yr (or $19/mo on an annual commitment, $29/mo with no commitment) and covers limited commercial use; Pro is $499/yr with full commercial rights and seat management. Some newer generative models use cloud rendering credits included with the subscription, but the core upscaling runs locally and unlimited.
Magnific: the generative upscaler
Magnific takes the opposite approach: it hallucinates — its term, roughly — new detail into your image. Feed it a blurry 512px AI portrait and it will invent convincing skin texture, fabric weave, and background detail at up to 16x enlargement. Sliders for Creativity, Hallucination, and Resemblance control how much the AI invents versus preserves, and prompt-guided synthesis lets you steer the invented detail.
That makes it extraordinary for finishing AI-generated art and a questionable choice for documentary photos: the invented detail looks real but isn’t. A portrait upscaled in Magnific can come back with a subtly different face. Note that Magnific has been folded into Freepik, and pricing has shifted since — the Premium tier runs roughly $14.50/mo billed annually with a credit-based model, but check magnific.com for the current numbers before buying.
Which should you pick?
Pick Topaz Gigapixel if: you’re a photographer enlarging real captures, you want unlimited local rendering with no per-image metering, or fidelity to the original matters more than wow factor.
Pick Magnific if: you work with AI-generated images that need finishing, you want maximum creative detail at huge sizes (up to 10K output), or you’re comfortable with the AI inventing texture.
The one-line rule: if the detail needs to be true, use Gigapixel. If the detail needs to be beautiful, use Magnific.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still buy Topaz Gigapixel outright?
No. The $99 perpetual license was discontinued in October 2025. Gigapixel is subscription-only now ($149/yr Personal, $499/yr Pro), though legacy perpetual holders keep their last qualifying version.
Is Magnific still a standalone product?
Magnific has been merged into Freepik — “Freepik is now Magnific,” per its site. The upscaler is no longer sold as a fully standalone product, so verify current pricing and plans on magnific.com.
Which is better for old family photos?
Topaz Gigapixel. Its Face Recovery model is built for exactly this, and it won’t invent a different-looking face the way a generative upscaler can.
Which is better for upscaling Midjourney images for print?
Magnific, generally. AI art has no “true” detail to preserve, so generative invention produces richer large-format prints — it’s the tool’s strongest use case.
Research-based comparison. No hands-on testing claimed. Prices and features checked October 7, 2026 — verify on topazlabs.com and magnific.com before buying, as plans change.