Freemium
waifu2x
Free 2x upscaling and denoise tuned for anime art and drawings.
FreeIntermediateWeb
Overview
waifu2x enlarges anime-style art. It was trained specifically on drawings, so clean line work, flat colors and gradients hold up through its upscaling. It doubles image size, with a 1.6x option, and removes the blocky noise JPEG compression leaves on downloaded art. Modes cover artwork, scanned art and photos, with four noise reduction levels plus off.
It runs in the browser without an account, and it adds no watermark. It is free, carries ads, and takes donations through Patreon. The web version takes files up to 5 MB and tops out at 2x. The same author runs a separate free page that does 4x without uploading anything. The model is open source, so desktop forks run it locally for batches.
Key features
✓Upscales drawings 1.6x or 2x
✓Four levels of JPEG noise reduction, plus off
✓Upscale & denoise in one pass
✓Modes for artwork, scanned art & photos
✓Free with no account, funded by ads & Patreon
✓PNG & WebP output
✓Open-source model with desktop forks
When to use
Use waifu2x if:
- You are enlarging anime art, manga scans, game art or any drawing with clean lines and flat colors.
- Downloaded art is covered in JPEG compression noise and you want it cleaned, with or without enlarging.
- A small illustration needs to work as a wallpaper or print at double size.
- You want a free, no-signup tool for one-off images.
When NOT to use
Skip waifu2x if any of these describe you:
- You are enlarging photographs of people or scenes. Photo-trained image upscalers and photo enhancers handle real-world texture better than its photo mode.
- You need more than 2x. The web page also stops at 5 MB and 1500 pixels a side for upscaling. The same author's separate free page does 4x in your own browser, and the desktop forks go further.
- You have folders of images to process. The website is one image at a time. Desktop forks of the open-source model run batches locally.
- Faces in a low-res photo are your problem. Face-reconstruction tools like Remini target exactly that.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. The web tool is free with no account. The page carries ads, and the author takes donations through Patreon and Fantia. There is a supporter account you can sign into with Patreon, which shows a usage meter, but ordinary use needs no account at all. The author also runs a separate free page that does up to 4x in your own browser.
It works best on them. There is a photo mode, but the model's training and reputation are in drawn art. For real photographs, a photo-trained upscaler gives better texture.
Match it to the image. If the art has visible JPEG blockiness, low or medium usually cleans it. The site itself warns that denoising an already-clean image can have the opposite effect, softening detail.
The page prints them above the uploader: 5 MB per file, up to 3000 by 3000 pixels for noise reduction, and up to 1500 by 1500 pixels for upscaling. For bigger images, use the author's separate free page, which does the work in your browser with nothing uploaded, or run a desktop fork locally.
Not on the website, it works one image at a time. The model is open source, and community desktop versions run it on your own graphics card with folder batch processing.
Alternatives to waifu2x
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VanceAI Image Denoiser
Strips grain and compression noise out of a photo while trying to keep real texture like skin and fabric.
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VanceAI Anime Upscaler
Enlarges anime art and illustrations at 2x, 4x or 8x, with a model VanceAI states is built on the Waifu2x architecture.
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