Real-ESRGAN
The classic free upscaling model behind many apps.
FreeOpen sourceRuns on your PC
- Best for
- Developers and anime upscaling
- On your PC
- Technical
- Works on
- Windows, Mac, Linux
- License
- BSD-3-Clause
What’s good
- Fast and light, runs on modest graphics cards
- Great on anime and drawings
- Engine inside Upscayl and many other apps
Downsides
- No update since 2022; photos can look waxy
- Command line only; use Upscayl for a simple app
The details.
- Version
- v0.3.0Released 2022-09
- Open source
- Yes, BSD-3-Clause
- Made by
- Xintao Wang (Tencent ARC)
- Website
- github.com
Should you use it?
It is #10 of 10. Good for developers and anime upscaling; for most people, Topaz Gigapixel is the better start.
Can I run it myself?
Yes. Technical: command line or python.
Use Command line (realesrgan-ncnn-vulkan), or inside Upscayl and chaiNNer.
- You need
- Any Vulkan graphics card from Intel, AMD or NVIDIA, or Apple Silicon
- Setup
- TechnicalCommand line or Python
- Laptop, 8 GBToo small
- PC, 16 GB+Too small
- Mac, 16 GBRuns
- Mac, 32 GBRuns
- Mac, 64 GB+Runs
- PC, 8 GB GPUToo small
- PC, 12 GB GPUToo small
- PC, 16 GB GPUToo small
- PC, 24 GB GPUToo small
- WorkstationToo small