Icons8 Smart Upscaler · Image upscaling
Login-free trials are available, but only three uses at 2× with a watermark; limits are not clear upfront, so usable final output generally needs payment.
US-West (California, AS2914)
1024 × 1024 · PNG · Open native file ↗
Subsequent pricing and service checks are shown separately without altering historical scores.
One run does not establish all complex scenes, untested paid maxima or long-term uptime.
Plans & historical pricing
Icons8 web background remover: monthly, annual and prepaid, excluding API · 2026-10-20
9 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded.
Prepaid entry confirms a $10 minimum and $50/$100/$200/custom choices. Displayed discounted prices are retained. Reviewed general terms assign applicable taxes to the user but do not specify background-remover subscription refund/cancellation details, which remain unconfirmed.
Verification has gaps; unknown prices and quotas are not inferred.
Cancellation, sources & verification record
Cancellation and refund terms follow official checkout and help policies.
Official plans and usage terms ↗ · 2026-10-20 Capture 1 ↗ · Capture 2 ↗
Minimum prepaid charge and amount choices ↗ · 2026-10-20 Capture 1 ↗
Relevant official terms excerpts ↗ · 2026-10-20 Capture 1 ↗
Pricing recorded on the test date · 2026-10-17
Prepaid pack $0.20/image; Limited subscription $9/mo (100 images/mo with rollover); Unlimited $99/mo
3 watermarked guest demos + pay-per-image pack + monthly/annual subscriptions
Historical context only; not current purchase guidance.
Delivery & access
- Free delivery record
- 1024 × 1024 (2x watermarked PNG; 4x 2048×2048 requires payment)
- Attached file dimensions
- 1024 × 1024 · PNG
Read directly from the attached file; this does not establish free download availability at that size.
- Watermark
- Free tier is stamped with an Icons8 watermark via ai-cdn.icons8.com ('Remove watermark' costs $0.20/image or subscription)
- Free allowance
- Guests get 3 demo upscales ('2 demo upscales left'), but unlike Icons8's unwatermarked Background Remover, Smart Upscaler watermarks free exports and locks 4x enlargement
- Account requirements
- No login required for 3 demo 2x upscales; Email / Google login supported
- Maximum specification record
- 1024 × 1024 (2x watermarked PNG; 4x 2048×2048 requires payment)
May include advertised capabilities; this does not establish a tested paid tier.
- Batch & API
- Batch upload up to 500 images, GoProd Mac desktop app, and REST API
- Manual refinement
- Not recorded or not verified
Tested result & sample
Smart Upscaler 3 delivers natural skin and hair tone fidelity (PSNR=26.21 dB, SSIM=0.9644) without harsh oversharpening halos, but restricts free demos to 2x (1024×1024) with a watermark—contrasting sharply with Icons8 Background Remover's unwatermarked 2048×2048 free demos.
- Fixture
- anchor_upscale_v1
- Recorded environment
- US-West (California, AS2914)
- Network-observed server wait
- 6.8 s
- End-to-end reference
- 9.5 s
Network wait includes round trips, queuing and polling error, not pure inference time. Local timings depend on the device; repetition counts are not standardized in legacy records.
Experience, rules & trust
- Disclosure
- Displays 'Remove watermark' and 'Enlarge to 4x' paid toggles underneath the result card after upload
- Interaction
- Allows unauthenticated visitors to download the 1024×1024 watermarked 2x sample for quality inspection and provides a 1-click handoff to Icons8 Background Remover.
- Entity record
- Icons8 LLC
- Origin
- New York, USA (Global distributed team)
- Domain history record
- 2012–present
- Third-party tracking record
- Not recorded or not verified
- External information
- Not recorded or not verified
- Processing
- Cloud async GPU super-resolution pipeline + imgproxy dynamic watermarking (ai-cdn.icons8.com)
- Retention statement
- Paid plans include 30-day cloud storage
A recorded statement does not verify deletion or all data-processing behavior.
Verifiable audit trail & evidence
Four SHA-256-verified stages link the benchmark fixture, same-run interface screenshots, native exported artifact and archived pricing sources.
anchor_upscale_v1 · Inspect fixture & file inspector →
Captures entry rules, result view and export disclosure.
Official plans and usage terms (snapshot ↗) · Minimum prepaid charge and amount choices (snapshot ↗) · Relevant official terms excerpts (snapshot ↗)
Screenshots, native output and official claims support different conclusions. Evidence grades are not product safety certifications.
Evaluation basis & full scores · Overall 65.9/100
Overall = honesty & reputation × 30% + capability × 70%. Component maxima follow this report’s rubric. List scores are rounded for display; original precision is retained here.
Scoring version 2.3.1 · Test fixture anchor_upscale_v1
Honesty & reputation · 68/100 · 30%
| Criterion | Score | Rationale | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing transparency | 18 / 35 | Landing page (01_landing.png) advertises 'Images can be upscaled up to 7680x7680px' without upfront notice that free trials are capped at 2x and watermarked. Uploading the 512×512 anchor grants 3 guest demo upscales ('2 demo upscales left'), but caps free output at 2x (1024×1024) with a server-side imgproxy watermark (02_workspace.png); clicking 'Enlarge to 4x' or 'Remove watermark' opens the '$0.20 per image / $9 per month' Upgrade modal (03_download.png). | Evidence A → |
| Interaction restraint | 20 / 30 | Allows unauthenticated visitors to download the 1024×1024 watermarked 2x sample for quality inspection and provides a 1-click handoff to Icons8 Background Remover. | Evidence A → |
| Background & reputation | 19 / 20 | Official product by Icons8 LLC (founded 2012, creator of Icons8, Lunacy, Background Remover, Smart Upscaler, and Generated Photos). | Evidence A → |
| Engineering & privacy | 11 / 15 | Supports batch drag-and-drop of up to 500 images (up to 5MB each) and offers the GoProd Mac desktop app and commercial REST API. | Evidence A → |
Capability · 65/100 · 70%
| Criterion | Score | Rationale | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Task quality | 44 / 65 | Smart Upscaler 3 preserves facial and curly hair structure well at 2x (PSNR=26.21 dB, SSIM=0.9644, edge_corr=0.4670), though overall score is constrained by the 2x (1024×1024) free cap and watermark overlay (44.0/65). | Evidence A → |
| Deliverable specifications | 10.5 / 20 | 3 guest demo upscales allow downloading a 1024×1024 PNG, but include an imgproxy brand watermark (wmid:upscaler2) and lock 4x (2048×2048) behind a paywall (10.5/20). | Evidence A → |
| Processing speed | 10.5 / 15 | Cloud async 2x super-resolution completes in ~6.80s (10.5/15). | Evidence A → |
Legacy scores may include advertised maximum capabilities. Read tested output separately from paid capabilities. Records without matching tiers and scope are not ranked together.
Revisions & corrections
- 2026-10-17
Completed real-machine benchmark evaluation and 3-node screenshot verification under RealTest Protocol v2.3. - 2026-10-19
Completed real-machine benchmark evaluation and 3-node screenshot verification under RealTest Protocol v2.3.