Best AI Image Upscaling Tools in 2026: Topaz vs Others

AI image upscaling in 2026 has moved well beyond the blurry bicubic interpolation of previous years. Modern tools use generative AI to hallucinate realistic detail — sharp edges, coherent textures, and natural noise patterns — rather than simply stretching pixels. The best tools produce results indistinguishable from native high-resolution images. The worst introduce artifacts that look worse than the original. We tested six major platforms with a standardized benchmark set of 200 images across photography, illustration, and UI screenshot categories.