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Test scope & comparison notes
These are recorded facts, not a unified ranking. Tested tiers and scope are not consistently recorded. Read pricing with its date and timing with its conditions. Privacy observations reflect visible flows and statements, not a security audit.
Cross-task capability coverage across selected products
Each product is scored independently per task edge; switch tasks below while keeping shared products selected| Task edge | images-upscale.com | Icons8 | Switch / compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Background removal | Not tested in topic | 73/100 2048 × 2048 · PNG | Compare in task topic → |
| Image upscaling | 92/100 2048 × 2048 · PNG | 66/100 1024 × 1024 · PNG | Active task |
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Browse this task →| Criterion | Images-Upscale.com Image upscaling 92/100 Seven-aspect task score Grants 2 free daily guest credits without login—enough to directly export a true 4x (2048×2048) watermark-free native PNG in 7.49s server time with sharp edge and text restoration (16.23 dB plate PSNR). Tested export 2048 × 2048 · PNG Historical test · 2026-10-26 | Icons8 Smart Upscaler Image upscaling 66/100 Seven-aspect task score 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. Tested export 1024 × 1024 · PNG Historical test · 2026-10-17 |
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| Pricing & rules | ||
| Pricing plans | Images Upscale daily free credits and one-time non-expiring credit packs (USD) · 2026-10-26 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Daily Free Allowance2026-10-26 ↗ Free Free Free 2 free credits daily (no login required): covers two 2× upscales or one 4× upscale per day, up to 25 MB per image, watermark-free export. Starter Pack2026-10-26 ↗ USD 9.99 · one-time payment Usage / one-time Usage / one-time 110 credits (100 + 10 bonus, ~9.1¢/credit), good for 110 2× or 55 4× upscales; credits never expire. Pro Pack2026-10-26 ↗ USD 19.99 · one-time payment Usage / one-time Usage / one-time 360 credits (300 + 60 bonus, ~5.6¢/credit), good for 360 2× or 180 4× upscales; credits never expire. Studio Pack2026-10-26 ↗ USD 49.99 · one-time payment Usage / one-time Usage / one-time 1,300 credits (1,000 + 300 bonus, ~3.8¢/credit), good for 1,300 2× or 650 4× upscales; credits never expire. 4 plan / billing-period records, all listed; — means that period is not recorded. Guests and signed-in users receive 2 free credits daily (1 credit per 2x upscale, 2 credits per 4x upscale); paid packs are one-time purchases with no subscription auto-renewal and credits never expire. Cancellation, sources & verification recordOne-time credit packs only with no recurring subscriptions; support available via support@images-upscale.com. Images Upscale official pricing page and free credit allowance ↗ · 2026-10-26 Capture 1 ↗ · Capture 2 ↗ | Icons8 web background remover: monthly, annual and prepaid, excluding API · 2026-10-20 Plan · source date Monthly / one-time Annual bill / period Quota & limits Minimum prepaid package2026-10-20 ↗ USD 10 · one-time payment Usage / one-time Usage / one-time Minimum charge $10; at the listed $0.20/image this equals 50 images; use anytime Limited2026-10-20 ↗ USD 9/month USD 90/year Monthly 100 images/month; unused credits roll over Annual 100 images/month; unused credits roll over Prepaid $502026-10-20 ↗ USD 50 · one-time payment Usage / one-time Usage / one-time 250 images at the listed $0.20/image; use anytime Prepaid $1002026-10-20 ↗ USD 100 · one-time payment Usage / one-time Usage / one-time 500 images at the listed $0.20/image; use anytime Prepaid $2002026-10-20 ↗ USD 200 · one-time payment Usage / one-time Usage / one-time 1,000 images at the listed $0.20/image; use anytime 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 recordCancellation 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 ↗ |
| Free & trial allowance on the test date | Guests receive 2 free daily credits without login (enough for one free 4x upscale or two 2x upscales); registering a free account grants 5 additional first-month credits | 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 |
| Cancellation & refunds | One-time credit packs only with no recurring subscriptions; support available via support@images-upscale.com. | Cancellation and refund terms follow official checkout and help policies. |
| Disclosure of costs & limits | Upload panel upfront displays remaining free credits (2 free credits remaining today) and credit cost per scale factor | Displays 'Remove watermark' and 'Enlarge to 4x' paid toggles underneath the result card after upload |
| Task quality | ||
| Measured fixture results | Tested scale: 4× | Tested scale: 2× |
| Fixture findings | 4x upscaling of the 512×512 anchor to a native 2048×2048 PNG achieved 27.42 dB PSNR, 0.8876 SSIM, 0.6652 edge_corr, and 16.23 dB calibration plate PSNR with crisp lettering and line pairs. | Colours and facial features looked natural; the free trial output was 2× with a watermark. |
| Original historical observation | Uploading the 512×512 degraded anchor without login and selecting 4x produced a native 2048×2048 watermark-free PNG in 7.49s server time (PSNR = 27.42 dB, SSIM = 0.8876, edge_corr = 0.6652, plate_psnr_db = 16.23 dB) with sharp wooden sign text and micro calibration lines (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). | 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. |
| Suitable uses · historical assessment | Everyday users seeking login-free, true 4x (2048×2048) watermark-free native PNG exports with strong edge sharpness and text restoration | Designers with an Icons8 prepaid pack ($0.20/image) or subscription needing up to 500-image batch upscaling + 1-click background removal |
| Result & output evidence | ||
| Delivery capabilities | ||
| Recorded export specifications | 2048 × 2048 · PNG · No watermark in test | 1024 × 1024 · PNG · Check watermark record |
| Historical specification note · not an official maximum | 2048×2048 (4x watermark-free native PNG, 3.35 MB) | 1024 × 1024 (2x watermarked PNG; 4x 2048×2048 requires payment) |
| Watermark observation | Completely watermark-free (native 2048×2048 PNG export) | Free tier is stamped with an Icons8 watermark via ai-cdn.icons8.com ('Remove watermark' costs $0.20/image or subscription) |
| Batch & API | Supports up to 10x upscaling, portrait restoration, and background removal modes; Pro plan supports up to 20-image batch processing | Batch upload up to 500 images, GoProd Mac desktop app, and REST API |
| Recorded free-tier dimensions | 2048 × 2048 | 1024 × 1024 |
| Attached file dimensions | 2048 × 2048 · PNG | 1024 × 1024 · PNG |
| Speed & reliability | ||
| Timing observation | Network-observed server wait: 7.49s · End-to-end reference: 9.61s | Network-observed server wait: 6.8s · End-to-end reference: 9.5s |
| Date & fixture | 2026-10-26 · anchor_upscale_v1 · US-West (California, AS2914) | 2026-10-17 · anchor_upscale_v1 · US-West (California, AS2914) |
| Repeated tests & reliability | No standardized repetition count, success rate or variability range is recorded. | No standardized repetition count, success rate or variability range is recorded. |
| Interaction experience | ||
| Account requirements | No login in this test | No login in this test |
| Sign-in methods | No login required for 2x and 4x upscaling; also supports Google / Email sign-in | No login required for 3 demo 2x upscales; Email / Google login supported |
| Manual adjustment | Not verified | Not verified |
| Interaction observations | Zero popup ads or forced sign-in walls; once upscaling finishes, an interactive Before/After comparison slider and direct download button appear immediately on the same page. | Allows unauthenticated visitors to download the 1024×1024 watermarked 2x sample for quality inspection and provides a 1-click handoff to Icons8 Background Remover. |
| Background & reputation | ||
| Service lifecycle notice | Not verified | Not verified |
| Operator | Images-Upscale.com (Independent AI Upscaling Team) | Icons8 LLC |
| Recorded origin | Undisclosed jurisdiction (Cloudflare edge + cloud GPU inference) | New York, USA (Global distributed team) |
| Domain history record | 2026–Present | 2012–present |
| Background & reputation assessment | Independent AI image upscaling service launched in 2026 with clear terms, privacy documentation, and support email, though without a disclosed corporate entity name. | Official product by Icons8 LLC (founded 2012, creator of Icons8, Lunacy, Background Remover, Smart Upscaler, and Generated Photos). |
| External reputation record | Not verified | Not verified |
| Engineering & privacy | ||
| Processing location | Uploaded for cloud processing | Uploaded for cloud processing |
| Third-party tracking record | Google Analytics (G-0DP889885P) | Not verified |
| Engineering & privacy assessment | Submits jobs via POST /api/tasks/upscale backed by Cloudflare R2 and cloud Real-ESRGAN GPU inference (7.49s server time, 2.94s upload time); the privacy policy states guest images are retained only temporarily and purged automatically after ~1 hour. | 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. |
| Retention statement | Claims deletion within 1 hours; deletion not independently verified | Explicit retention period unconfirmed; inspect policy record |
| Evaluation basis | ||
| Pricing transparency | 32.5 / 35 The landing page (01_landing.png) and pricing page clearly disclose free quotas (2 daily free guest credits without login, plus 5 bonus credits for new registered accounts) and credit costs (1 credit for 2x, 2 credits for 4x); in our no-login test, selecting 4x on the 512×512 anchor consumed 2 guest credits and exported a 2048×2048 watermark-free native PNG directly (02_workspace.png, 03_download.png). | 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). |
| Interaction restraint | 28 / 30 Zero popup ads or forced sign-in walls; once upscaling finishes, an interactive Before/After comparison slider and direct download button appear immediately on the same page. | 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. |
| Background & reputation | 14.5 / 20 Independent AI image upscaling service launched in 2026 with clear terms, privacy documentation, and support email, though without a disclosed corporate entity name. | 19 / 20 Official product by Icons8 LLC (founded 2012, creator of Icons8, Lunacy, Background Remover, Smart Upscaler, and Generated Photos). |
| Engineering & privacy | 13 / 15 Submits jobs via POST /api/tasks/upscale backed by Cloudflare R2 and cloud Real-ESRGAN GPU inference (7.49s server time, 2.94s upload time); the privacy policy states guest images are retained only temporarily and purged automatically after ~1 hour. | 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. |
| Task quality | 62 / 65 Pixel fidelity (23.5/25: 512×512 anchor upscaled 4x to 2048×2048 with PSNR = 27.42 dB and SSIM = 0.8876) · Edge & high-frequency recovery (24.5/25: edge_corr = 0.6652, hf_ratio = 0.5259, crisp high-frequency edge reconstruction) · Calibration plate & micro-text (14.0/15: plate_psnr_db = 16.23 dB, sharp wooden sign and calibration plate lettering) (62.0/65) | 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). |
| Deliverable specifications | 20 / 20 2 daily free guest credits allow direct 4x selection and export of a native 2048×2048 watermark-free PNG (3,517,417 bytes) without login (20.0/20) | 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). |
| Processing speed | 12 / 15 Verified via task API timestamps: 7.49s server 4x upscaling inference from createdAt (10:25:37.315Z) to completedAt (10:25:44.805Z), with 2.94s upload and 9.61s end-to-end (12.0/15) | |
