Upscaling makes an image larger in pixels. The key truth: enlarging cannot add detail that was never captured — it can only estimate new pixels.

Plain resizing vs AI upscaling

  • Plain resizing (interpolation) stretches the image and softens edges — fine for small increases.
  • AI upscalers predict plausible detail and look sharper, but can invent textures that weren't there.

Get the best result

  1. Always start from the highest-resolution original you have — re-export from the source rather than upscaling a small copy.
  2. Keep enlargement modest; 2× looks far better than 4×.
  3. If you only need a slightly bigger image, the Resize Image tool is enough.

Background

Read image upscaling algorithms compared and why printed photos look blurry to understand resolution limits.