Upscale an Image for Free

How to Upscale an Image. Key Steps.

1. Upload one or more images

There’s no need to wait - you can upscale photos as soon as you open the app. You don’t need to install anything, because Watermarkly is a browser-based app that works online. Import your files from your device, Google Drive, Google Photos, Dropbox or provide a direct link to the images.

Please note that :

• Your pictures should be in the formats that are supported by our app - JPEG, PNG, WEBP, HEIC, GIF or BMP.
• The free version of our photo upscaler allows you to upload only up to 10 files per day. Make sure that you’re not exceeding this limit.

2. Enter a new image size

If you need to upscale the entire picture, while the original aspect ratio and all the details stay intact, there are a couple of options that can help you achieve that. You will get amazing results no matter which one you choose. Go to Settings > Resize images > Select “Exact width”, “Exact height” or “Percentage”.

Let’s take a closer look at what each option can give you:

• Exact width. Here you’ll be able to change only the width of your image. For instance, if you have a photo with the width of 400 px and you need to increase its image size 4x times, you’ll need to enter “1600” in the input area. The height will be increased automatically, based on the aspect ratio. There’s a live preview in the settings that will show you what pixel dimensions your new image will have. It should be 4x times bigger.
• Exact height. This option works in the same way; except that here you’ll need to change the height. After you upload an image, enter the necessary number of pixels for the new height. Based on the aspect ratio, the width will be increased automatically.
• Percentage. This is an excellent option if you simply need to upscale a photo and your resized image doesn’t need to have specific pixel dimensions. By default, your original image is 100%. Thus, to upscale an image 2x times, you’ll need to enter “200” in the input area. If the image size needs to be 4x bigger, type in “400” and so on. Check the preview to make sure that you will get the necessary image size.

It’s worth noting that these aren’t the only options that you will find in the settings. You can increase the size of an image in any way you want. It all depends on your goals and preferences.

If you choose either “Exact Width & Height” or “No more than”, you will be able to change both the width and the height of your image. Thus, you will have more control over the new pixel dimensions.

In our app it’s possible to change the aspect ratio of your picture – this can be done by generating new pixels around the original image or by cropping it. Please note, though, that the cropping is automatic, and you won’t be able to adjust the cropping area.

Remember to enable the “High quality resize” option. The image upscaler will try to do everything in its power to produce an image of the highest possible quality. However, please, keep in mind that this will slightly slow down the upscaling process.

3. Download your upscaled images

Once you’re done with the settings, click “Resize Images” and wait for the app to finish the upscaling process. Your images can be downloaded to your device or saved to Google Photos or DropBox.

Don’t worry, your original images won’t get overwritten. You will get upscaled copies.

Now, you can compare your original photo with its upscaled copy. Check if the quality of the processed image meets your needs and expectations.

Upscale Image: How Long It Takes

Watermarkly’s image upscaler works right in your browser and doesn’t send your pictures to our servers for processing. Depending on the capabilities and performance of your device, it can take from 1 to 60 seconds to upscale a single image. It will surely take a bit of time, if your device is quite old, so, please, be patient.

Is it possible to speed up the upscaling process? Yes! A good graphics card can help you with that. Chrome-based browsers (e.g. Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera) allow us to use your graphics card during image processing, which makes the upscaling faster.

FAQs

How to upscale an image without losing quality?

Technically, it’s impossible for a computer to take a small image and turn it into a large one while image quality remains to be impeccably good. However, thanks to recent advances in AI, upscaling a photo isn’t as challenging as it’s used to.

To get a sharp, clear, and detailed high-resolution image, you need to:

• Choose the right interpolation method. Lanczos is the best option.
• Increase the image size gradually. Three steps of 1.5× each will usually produce a much sharper image than one dramatic 4× enlargement.

You can find more examples and techniques here:

How to upscale an image to 4k?

For most screens and video standards, 4K resolution refers to 3840 × 2160 pixels. This means that all you need to do is upload your photo to Watermarkly’s photo upscaler, select Exact Width & Height, enter the required pixel values, decide whether you want to crop the image or generate additional pixels during upscaling, and enable High quality resize for better results. Now you have a 4K image!

How to upscale an image for free?

Using Watermarkly’s online tool. You can upscale up to 10 photos per day with no limits on image size. The free app delivers high-quality results even if you change the image’s aspect ratio or increase the photo several times.