VideoUpscaler Desktop
VideoUpscaler Desktop download: the AI video upscaler for Mac
Upscale footage to 4K and beyond on your own Mac. Your videos are never uploaded, and you can preview every model before you export.
macOS 12+ · Apple Silicon · 7-day free trial
Mac with Apple Silicon only (macOS 12+)
Intel Mac and Windows are on the way. Tell us which one you need
360p (compressed)AI 4× · AnimeDownload
VideoUpscaler Desktop download
One license works on whichever Mac you sign in on. The VideoUpscaler Desktop download always gets the latest build, and new platforms appear here as soon as they ship.
Mac with Apple Silicon
M1, M2, M3, M4 and later
Requires macOS 12+ · Version 0.1.0
Mac with Intel processor
Intel Mac build in progress
Windows PC
Windows build in progress
What it does
What VideoUpscaler Desktop does
This AI video upscaler software runs its upscaling models on your Mac with Apple's Core ML, so long videos never wait for an upload.
Auto picks the model
Auto looks at each clip: Anime for line art and text, Ultra for everything else.
2×, 4× and presets up to 8K
Upscale 2× or 4×, or pick an output preset from 1080p up to 8K.
Face recovery
Finds the faces in every frame and restores the detail that upscaling alone leaves soft.
Frame interpolation
Raise the frame rate or create slow motion with the Flow model, which draws the in-between frames.
Stabilize and deinterlace
Smooth out shaky handheld footage and clean up interlaced video from old tapes and broadcasts.
Preview before you export
Render a 2-second preview and compare it with the original side by side before you commit to a full export.
Models and speed
Models, speed and the Mac you need
Six AI models, each tuned for a kind of footage. Each one downloads on first use, so the app stays small.
- UltraMost detail, fast
- Landscapes, animals and textures: most detail, to 4K
- FacesNatural faces
- Faces and people: natural skin, no added grain
- StandardSharp edges, slowest
- Classic Real-ESRGAN: crisp, sharp edges
- AnimeClean lines, medium speed
- Line art, text graphics and anime
- Standard FastFastest, less detail
- Camera footage, much faster than Standard; good on noisy video
- Anime FastVery fast, less detail than Anime
- Clean anime and cartoons, fastest
How fast it is
Measured on an Apple M5 Pro (15-core CPU, 48 GB) with the released app. Speeds include encoding the output.
| Model | Scale | Input (output 4K) | 1-minute clip (min) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ultra | 2× | 1080p | 8.5 |
| Ultra | 4× | 540p | 5 |
| Standard | 2× | 1080p | 24 |
| Standard | 4× | 540p | 34 |
| Anime | 4× | 540p | 13 |
| Standard Fast | 4× | 540p | 2.5 |
| Anime Fast | 2× | 1080p | 4.5 |
1-minute clip = 1,800 frames (60 s at 30 fps); time = 1,800 ÷ speed. Faces was not measured separately.
Heaviest job: 8K output with Standard 4× runs at about 0.27 frames/s and peaks at about 1.8 GB, so a 1-minute clip takes about 1 hr 51 min.
On other Macs, speed grows mostly with the number of GPU cores: Pro, Max and Ultra chips are faster, and base chips such as M1 or M2 are slower. We only publish speeds we measured.
System requirements
- Operating system
- macOS 12 Monterey or later
- Chip
- Apple Silicon (M1 or later). Intel Macs and Windows are not supported yet.
- Memory
- 8 GB works for 1080p and 4K output. 16 GB or more is recommended for 8K output or for Standard and Anime at 4× (measured peak: 500 MB–1.1 GB for 4K, about 1.8 GB for 8K).
- Disk space
- Installer 44 MB. Each AI model downloads on first use: Ultra 112 MB, Faces 62 MB (shares Ultra's files), Standard 68 MB, Anime 9 MB, Standard Fast 2.4 MB, Anime Fast 3.8 MB; face recovery 340 MB and frame interpolation 24 MB when you first open those tools. About 560 MB with everything installed, plus room for your exports.
- Internet
- Needed to sign in, download models and check your license at least every 72 hours. Upscaling itself runs offline.
- Account
- A VideoUpscaler account, free to create.
Which Mac do you need?
- 01
Now and then
Any Apple Silicon Mac with 8 GB handles 1080p and 4K clips.
- 02
Regular 4K work
An M-series Pro chip with 16 GB or more.
- 03
Heavy, 8K or long footage
An M-series Max or Ultra chip with 32 GB or more.
Guidance, not a benchmark.
Free trial
Try it on your own videos for 7 days
- 01
Download and install
Install VideoUpscaler like any Mac app.
- 02
Sign in
Use your VideoUpscaler account, with an email code or Google. No account yet? Signing in creates one.
- 03
Start the free trial
Start it here under Pricing or choose a plan in the app, and add a card or PayPal. Nothing is charged for 7 days, and you can cancel any time before the trial ends.
Pricing
Try it free for 7 days, then pick how to pay
Both plans start with the same free trial and include every feature. The only difference is how you pay after it.
7-day free trial. Cancel before day 7 ends and you pay nothing.
Annual
$99/year
Charged $99 on day 8, then every year until you cancel.
Included
- Every video is processed on your Mac and never uploaded, so it stays private
- 6 AI models, up to 8K: Ultra restores detail, Faces repairs people, Anime is built for animation
- Face recovery, frame interpolation for slow motion, and stabilization
- Free updates, including new versions and new models
- Paid plans export without a watermark, with batch export for many videos
- One Mac at a time
- Best value
Perpetual License
$159one-time
Charged $159 once on day 8. No renewals.
Included
- Every video is processed on your Mac and never uploaded, so it stays private
- 6 AI models, up to 8K: Ultra restores detail, Faces repairs people, Anime is built for animation
- Face recovery, frame interpolation for slow motion, and stabilization
- Free updates, including new versions and new models
- Paid plans export without a watermark, with batch export for many videos
- One Mac at a time
The free trial is once per Mac, once per account and once per card or PayPal account. A desktop license is separate from website credits: the app doesn't use credits, and a license adds none. Payments by card (Stripe) or PayPal. See the End User License Agreement.
Desktop or online
Best quality in the cloud, private and unlimited on your Mac: which one?
Two good ways to upscale, for different needs. The online upscaler runs our largest model on data-center GPUs; VideoUpscaler Desktop runs locally with no per-video cost.
| Online | VideoUpscaler Desktop | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Data-center GPUs (NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000, 96 GB of video memory), from your browser | On your own Mac (Apple Silicon) |
| AI model | FlashVSR, a diffusion-based video super-resolution model with about 6.5 GB of weights: far too big for a laptop, and our best quality | 6 local models, from fast to most detailed |
| Output | 1080P, 2K or 4K | 2× or 4×, presets up to 8K |
| Extras | Face restoration, frame interpolation, stabilization, deinterlacing, denoising and a dedicated anime engine | Face recovery, frame interpolation, stabilization and deinterlacing |
| Long videos | Split across several GPUs in parallel | No per-video or monthly limit after purchase |
| Your video | Uploaded for processing | Never leaves your Mac |
| Internet | Needed to upload and download | Upscaling runs offline once the models are downloaded |
| Works on | Any device: Windows, phones, older or Intel Macs. Nothing to install, no GPU needed | Mac with Apple Silicon |
| Batch | Up to 10 videos at once on paid plans | Batch export of a whole queue (paid license) |
| Price | Pay per second of video; 10 free credits for new accounts | $99 / year or $159 one-time, after a free trial |
Which should I choose?
| If you… | Choose |
|---|---|
| want the highest quality | Online |
| are on Windows, a phone or an Intel Mac | Online |
| have a Mac that isn't powerful enough for local AI | Online |
| upscale now and then, or short clips | Online |
| want to try it free without installing anything | Online |
| need your footage to stay private | Desktop |
| process a lot of footage every month | Desktop |
| need to work offline | Desktop |
| prefer a predictable one-time cost | Desktop |
Website credits and the Mac license are separate: credits are not used in the app, and the license adds no credits. One VideoUpscaler account signs in to both.
FAQ
VideoUpscaler Desktop: questions and answers
Here on this page: the Download for Mac button at the top always gets the latest VideoUpscaler Desktop download, a 44 MB installer for Macs with Apple Silicon and macOS 12 or later. AI models download when you first use them. Open the installer, then sign in with your VideoUpscaler account to start the free trial.
It starts with a 7-day free trial. Start it here on this page or in the app and add a card or PayPal; nothing is charged until the trial ends. Cancel before then in the app (VideoUpscaler › Account › Cancel free trial) or in Settings › Desktop on the website and you pay nothing. We email you a reminder about three days before the trial ends. The trial is available once per Mac, once per account and once per card or PayPal account. If any of them has already had a trial, the app offers the plans without one.
Both are good options for different needs. Use the online upscaler for the highest quality: it runs FlashVSR, a diffusion-based video super-resolution model with about 6.5 GB of weights, on data-center GPUs (NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000, 96 GB of video memory), far too big to run on a laptop. It also does face restoration, frame interpolation, stabilization, deinterlacing and denoising, has a dedicated anime engine, and splits long videos across several GPUs. It works on any device (Windows, phones, older or Intel Macs) with nothing to install, you pay per second, and new accounts get 10 free credits. Use VideoUpscaler Desktop if you have an Apple Silicon Mac and want privacy or volume: videos never leave your Mac, there is no per-video or monthly limit after purchase ($159 one-time or $99 a year), it works offline once the models are downloaded, and it has batch export, six local models including fast ones, face recovery, frame interpolation and stabilization.
No. Credits and the Mac license are separate: credits pay for cloud upscaling on the website, the license unlocks VideoUpscaler Desktop, and buying one does not add the other. You sign in to both with the same VideoUpscaler account.
Yes, any time before the trial ends: in the app (VideoUpscaler › Account › Cancel free trial) or in Settings › Desktop on the website. You pay nothing, and the app keeps working until the trial's last day.
Every feature and every AI model works. Exported videos carry a VideoUpscaler watermark, and batch export (exporting several videos in one queue) unlocks once the trial converts into a paid license.
No. Decoding, upscaling and encoding all run on your Mac. The app only talks to videoupscaler.co to sign you in, download AI models and check your license.
Upscaling runs offline. The app needs an internet connection to sign in, to download a model the first time you use it, and to check your license at least once every 72 hours.
Not yet. Both are in progress, and the online upscaler works in any browser in the meantime. To hear when they ship, click "I need this" on the Intel Mac or Windows card in the Download section of the Mac app page: every vote shows us how many people are waiting, and you can leave your email.
The installer is 44 MB. Each AI model downloads on first use, from 2.4 MB for Standard Fast to 112 MB for Ultra, plus 340 MB for face recovery: about 560 MB with everything installed. 8 GB of memory works for 1080p and 4K output; 16 GB or more is recommended for 8K or for Standard and Anime at 4×.
Measured on an Apple M5 Pro (15-core CPU, 48 GB): a 1-minute 30 fps clip takes about 2.5 min with Standard Fast (540p → 4K), about 5 min with Ultra (540p → 4K) and about 24 min with Standard (1080p → 4K). Speed depends mostly on your Mac's GPU: Pro, Max and Ultra chips are faster, base chips slower.
You can install the app on any number of Macs, and your account is active on one Mac at a time. Signing in on another Mac moves the license there, up to 5 times in any 30 days.
Leave it on Auto. It uses Anime for line art and text and Ultra for everything else. You can still pick any model yourself and compare them with a 2-second preview.
Yes. New versions and new AI models are free with both the annual plan and the Perpetual License, and the app checks for updates itself.
Purchases are not refundable, so the 7-day trial is there to check the app on your own Mac and with your own videos first. The details are in the End User License Agreement.
Get VideoUpscaler Desktop for your Mac
Install it, sign in and try every feature free for 7 days.
macOS 12+ · Apple Silicon
Mac with Apple Silicon only (macOS 12+)