Upscale.media Review 2026: Twice the Credits, No Refunds

What Upscale.media is and who runs it

Upscale.media is operated by Shopsense Retail Technologies Limited, a company registered in Mumbai, India, and sits under the PixelBin brand alongside erase.bg (background removal) and watermarkremover.io. Fynd is the parent brand. Disputes under its Terms go to the courts in Mumbai.

The core job is simple: increase the resolution of an image by 2x, 4x or 8x while cleaning up blur, noise and JPEG compression artifacts. Around that core the site has grown a set of single-purpose tools: Sharpen Image, Retouch Photo, Enhance Face, Deblur Image, Dehaze Image, Remove Motion Blur, Restore Image, Colourise Image and Face Restoration, plus a newer Video Upscale tab.

You can use it without an account. Guests get one free upscale per day, and signing up unlocks a small credit allowance, bulk processing and the PixelBin console.

Scale factors, formats and size limits

On the web and through the API, Upscale.media offers 2x, 4x and 8x upscaling, with JPEG artifact reduction and quality refinement applied along the way. Not every surface goes that far, though: the iOS app, the Android listing and the Figma plugin all advertise up to 4x.

Maximum input size by scale factor

The bigger the scale factor, the smaller the image you are allowed to upload. Logged-in users get double the guest limits on each side:

• 1x (enhance only): 20,000 x 20,000 px logged in, 10,000 x 10,000 px as a guest
• 2x: 10,000 x 10,000 px logged in, 5,000 x 5,000 px as a guest
• 4x: 5,000 x 5,000 px logged in, 2,500 x 2,500 px as a guest
• 8x: 2,500 x 2,500 px logged in, 1,250 x 1,250 px as a guest

In practice every scale factor tops out at an output of about 20,000 px on the long side for account holders, and about 10,000 px for guests. That is plenty for print and e-commerce, but it means 8x is really a tool for small source images, not a way to turn a 4K photo into a billboard.

Supported files

• Images: PNG, JPEG, JPG, WebP and HEIC
• Video: MP4, MOV and WebM, up to 1 minute long

Pricing after the August 2026 credit change

Upscale.media sells credits. Its own wording is that 'each image upscale generally uses 1 credit, though this may vary by complexity of the transformation', and the upload page simply says '1 credit = 1 image'. The exceptions are spelled out in the credit table on the pricing page: the premium third-party models (Recraft Crisp Upscale, Recraft Creative Upscale and Ideogram Upscale) cost 12 credits each, and the video upscaler costs 25.

Monthly plans

• 200 credits: $9.99 per month (about $0.05 per credit)
• 600 credits: $12.99 per month (about $0.022 per credit)
• 1,000 credits: $17.99 per month (about $0.018 per credit)
• 2,500 credits: $25.99 per month (about $0.010 per credit)

Yearly plans

• 3,000 credits: $44.99 per year (about $0.015 per credit)
• 7,500 credits: $69.99 per year (about $0.0093 per credit) - the plan the page shows by default
• 15,000 credits: $99.99 per year (about $0.0067 per credit)
• 30,000 credits: $120 per year (about $0.004 per credit)

Yearly plans are 'billed annually (auto-renews yearly)' and can be cancelled at any time. The toggle is labelled 'Yearly 70% off'. By our arithmetic the per-credit saving against the nearest monthly tier ranges from roughly 57% to 70%, so the label is accurate for the smallest tier and generous for the others.

Pay-as-you-go credit packs

• 60 credits: $5.99
• 125 credits: $9.99
• 500 credits: $24.99
• 1,200 credits: $54.99

Packs are 'valid for 1 year from purchase and are non-refundable'. Larger 2,500 and 5,000 credit packs exist in the plan data but are not shown on the page; enterprise buyers are pointed to [email protected].

How far the free tier goes

Without an account you can upscale one image per day. With an account, the pricing card promises '3 free credits and 3 free downloads every month to try the platform', while the FAQ says 'You get 3 free credits when you sign up'. Treat it as a small trial allowance either way.

Running out of free credits does not trigger a charge: the FAQ answers 'Will I be charged automatically when my free credits run out?' with a plain 'No'. Because there are no refunds on paid plans, the free allowance is the only safe way to test the output on your own images, and the company says as much: 'Please try the free plan before upgrading'.

Output quality and user feedback

Upscale.media's own samples are clean: portraits gain crisp edges and skin texture, and product shots lose the soft, smeared look of a low-resolution JPEG. Face enhancement is included on every plan, which helps with portraits where generic upscalers tend to produce waxy skin.

Independent feedback is limited. Trustpilot lists a TrustScore of 2.7 from only four reviews on an unclaimed profile, and one June 2026 review describes an output that 'contained a large horizontal stripe across the image, making it completely unusable'. Four reviews are not a verdict, but they are a reminder to test with the free allowance first. The '4.7 out of 5 based on 100 ratings' figure on the homepage comes from testimonials the site hosts itself.

The mobile apps fare better on volume. The Android app 'AI Photo Enhancer UpscaleMedia' has 3.7 stars from about 6,510 reviews and more than 500,000 downloads, and the iOS app 'Upscale: AI Photo Enhancer' holds 4.26 stars from 130 ratings.

API, bulk processing and integrations

Bulk work needs an account: 'Sign-up is required for bulk transformations and full access to the console.' Bulk jobs run through the PixelBin console rather than the upscale.media upload page.

The API is URL-based. You store an image in PixelBin and request it through a transformation URL, so upscaling is a matter of adding the transformation to the path:

https://cdn.pixelbin.io/v2/[YOUR_CLOUD_NAME]/[YOUR_ZONE_SLUG]/sr.upscale()/[YOUR_FILE_PATH]

SDKs are available for React, JavaScript, Python, Node, Kotlin, Go, C# and PHP. 'Easy API integration' is listed as included on every upscale.media plan. Note that PixelBin also sells its own platform plans separately (Creator at $15 per month for 250 credits, Lite at $25 for 600 and Pro at $60 for 1,500), where an image upscale also costs 1 credit; for upscaling alone, the upscale.media plans are the cheaper route.

Plugins and apps

• Figma plugin: upscales up to 4x inside Figma projects
• ChatGPT and Photoshop plugins
• iOS and Android apps, both advertising up to 4x
• No WordPress, Shopify or desktop apps

Refunds, credit expiry, privacy and your content licence

No refunds

The pricing page is blunt: 'Due to the high cost of AI, we don't offer refunds.' There is no separate refund policy page, and the Terms add that 'we shall owe no liability for any refunds.' That covers monthly plans, yearly plans and credit packs.

Credits expire

'Unused monthly credits expire at the end of each billing cycle.' Credit packs last one year from purchase. If your usage is irregular, a pack is the safer buy even though it costs more per credit.

Privacy and the content licence

The privacy policy lists images as sensitive data and says they are 'anonymously stored with us', kept 'for the period necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy'. No concrete retention or deletion window is given. Neither the privacy policy nor the Terms say anything about using uploads to train AI models, in either direction.

The clause to read before uploading anything confidential is Terms section 9.1. It grants the company 'a royalty-free, worldwide, non-exclusive, sub-licensable and transferable license to use that Content including to reproduce, distribute, create derivative works', and adds that 'this license is perpetual'. Broad licences like this are common in online tools, but this one is wider than most, so keep unreleased product shots and client work in mind.

Verdict: who should use Upscale.media

After the August change, Upscale.media is one of the cheaper ways to upscale images in volume. At the top yearly tier a standard upscale works out to well under half a cent, and even the entry monthly plan buys 200 images for $9.99. The 8x mode, HEIC support and a simple URL-based API make it practical for e-commerce catalogues and content teams.

Pros

• Roughly double the credits per dollar since 18 August 2026
• 2x, 4x and 8x on the web and API, with no watermark
• Free daily upscale without an account, and no surprise charges when free credits run out
• URL-based API with SDKs in eight languages, plus Figma, ChatGPT and Photoshop plugins
• Short video upscaling (up to 1 minute) on the same credits

Cons

• No refunds under any circumstances
• Monthly credits expire at the end of each cycle
• Input size limits shrink sharply at 8x
• Premium models cost 12 credits and video costs 25
• Perpetual, sub-licensable licence over uploaded content
• Very few independent reviews of the web product

Buy it if you process a steady stream of product photos or web images and have tested the output on your own files. Look elsewhere, or at least use a credit pack, if you only need the occasional upscale, if you handle confidential client images, or if you need a refund safety net.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Upscale.media cost?

Monthly plans start at $9.99 for 200 credits, and yearly plans start at $44.99 for 3,000 credits (US list prices, October 2026). One-time packs start at $5.99 for 60 credits. A standard upscale costs 1 credit.

Is Upscale.media free?

Partly. Guests can upscale one image per day without signing up, and accounts get 3 free credits to try the platform. You are not charged automatically when the free credits run out.

Can I get a refund?

No. Upscale.media does not offer refunds on any plan or credit pack, citing the cost of AI processing. Test with the free allowance before paying.

Do unused credits roll over?

No for subscriptions. Unused monthly credits expire at the end of each billing cycle. Pay-as-you-go packs stay valid for one year from purchase.

What is the maximum resolution?

About 20,000 px on the long side for logged-in users. The input limit depends on the scale: 10,000 px at 2x, 5,000 px at 4x and 2,500 px at 8x. Guest limits are half of that.

Does 8x cost more credits than 2x?

Upscale.media does not publish a separate price for 8x. It says a standard upscale 'generally uses 1 credit' but may vary with complexity; the premium Recraft and Ideogram models cost 12 credits and video upscaling costs 25.

What happens to the images I upload?

They are stored for as long as the company considers necessary, with no fixed deletion period stated. The Terms also grant the company a perpetual, worldwide, sub-licensable licence to uploaded content, so avoid uploading confidential material.

Is there an API?

Yes. Upscaling works through PixelBin transformation URLs, with SDKs for React, JavaScript, Python, Node, Kotlin, Go, C# and PHP. API access is included on all upscale.media plans.

Key takeaways

• Since 18 August 2026 most Upscale.media plans carry about twice the credits for the same price; $9.99 a month now buys 200 standard upscales.
• 2x, 4x and 8x are available on the web and API, but the apps and Figma plugin stop at 4x, and input limits shrink as the scale grows.
• There are no refunds, and monthly credits expire each cycle; packs last a year.
• The Terms grant a perpetual, sub-licensable licence over uploads, so keep confidential images out.
• Use the free daily upscale to test your own files before buying.