What is Topaz Labs—and what exactly is Topaz Studio?
Topaz Labs builds AI tools for image and video enhancement—upscaling, denoising, sharpening, and restoration.
In 2025, the company bundled its portfolio into Topaz Studio, a subscription suite that includes 7 apps—Topaz Video, Photo, Gigapixel, Bloom, Astra, Express, plus Mosaic (coming soon)—and access to 100+ AI models across image and video workflows.
Core value of Studio
All apps in one plan (desktop + some web tooling).
Unlimited image rendering (local & cloud) for non-batch workflows.
Video tasks use monthly cloud credits (allowances depend on plan).
Centralized updates and faster delivery of new AI models.
What’s changing and why it matters
On September 17, 2025, Topaz CEO Eric Yang announced the rollout of Topaz Studio and confirmed a licensing shift:
Perpetual licenses will no longer be available for new purchases under the Studio model.
Studio launches with new/expanded models and unlimited image cloud processing (non-batch) alongside local processing.
Recent and upcoming models highlighted in the announcement:
Wonder (Photo & Gigapixel): a “distilled agentic” model that chooses natural-looking corrections.
Standard MAX (Photo & Gigapixel): lightweight diffusion model for cleaner, faster upscaling on lower hardware.
Starlight Sharp (Video): heavyweight restoration for low-quality footage.
Nyx XL (Video): noise reduction with improved temporal consistency.
Coming next: Face Realism (photorealistic skin texture), Subject Preservation (identity-safe enhancement), and Mosaic (family/archive photo restoration).
“Founding customers” transition
If you’ve previously purchased Topaz software and hold active upgrade licenses:
Your existing perpetual licenses remain yours.
You’re grandfathered into your existing upgrade pricing for the corresponding Studio product (a sizable discount).
Maintaining 2 active upgrade licenses may grant access to full Topaz Studio at no additional cost.
Limited time “last-call” purchase links for perpetuals were offered through Sept 26 to qualify for founding benefits (e.g., Gigapixel $99, Photo AI $199, Video AI $299 at the time of the post).
Topaz Studio pricing (monthly vs annual)
Topaz Studio
Billing option | Commitment required? | Price | How you’re charged | Effective monthly | Yearly total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Monthly | No | $69/mo | Billed monthly; cancel anytime | $69.00 | $828 |
Monthly | Yes – 12 months | $37/mo | Billed monthly; locked 12 months | $37.00 | $444 |
Annual | Yes – 12 months | $399/yr | One upfront payment | ≈$33.25 | $399 |
Topaz Studio Pro
Billing option | Commitment required? | Price | How you’re charged | Effective monthly | Yearly total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Monthly | Yes – 12 months | $75/mo | Billed monthly; locked 12 months | $75.00 | $900 |
Annual | Yes – 12 months | $799/yr | One upfront payment | ≈$66.58 | $799 |
What’s in Studio vs Studio Pro
Category | Studio | Studio Pro |
|---|---|---|
Apps & models | 7 apps + 100+ models | Same apps + Pro-exclusive models & expanded local capability |
Image rendering | Unlimited (local & cloud) | Unlimited (local & cloud) |
Video allowance | 300 monthly cloud credits | 600 monthly cloud credits |
Image cloud concurrency | 2 | 4 |
Commercial terms | Limited commercial use (e.g., orgs under $1M annual revenue) | Full commercial use + seat management (1–5; more via Enterprise) |
Who benefits
Studio: solo creators needing both photo & video tools with unlimited image processing.
Pro: teams/studios needing Pro-exclusive models, more concurrency/credits, and full commercial use.
Pros & cons of the subscription move
Pros
Single subscription for all apps; no more juggling individual licenses.
Unlimited image rendering offloads heavy jobs to cloud without extra per-image fees.
Faster, centralized rollout of new AI models (e.g., Wonder, Starlight, Nyx).
Enterprise options (seats, SOC 2, offline auth, on-prem) for regulated teams.
Cons
Perpetual ownership ends for new users; future access is tied to an active plan.
Video is still governed by monthly cloud credits; heavy workloads may need top-ups.
Long-term cost can outpace a one-time license for users with steady, narrow needs.
Suite breadth can mean a steeper learning curve compared with single-purpose tools.
Best alternative to Topaz Studio
Nero AI Video Upscaler — focused, predictable, and lifetime available
If your core task is turning low-res footage into clean 4K/8K and creating smoother motion, Nero AI Video Upscaler is a purpose-built Windows app with a lifetime (perpetual) license option—ideal for creators who prefer owning their software.
Highlights
8K upscaling + AI Frame Interpolation up to 120 FPS.
Real-time side-by-side preview, GPU acceleration, batch processing, and clip-level selection.
Five model presets: Fast, Animation (tuned for anime/stylized footage), Realistic, Versatile, Face Enhancement (2025).
Local-first workflow for better privacy/control.
Licensing: one-time purchase (lifetime) available; also an optional yearly bundle if you want multiple Nero AI tools.
Quick FAQ of Topaz Studios
Q: Is Topaz still selling perpetual licenses?
A: Not for new Studio purchases. Existing perpetual owners keep their licenses; limited “founding customer” offers accompanied the Sept-17 announcement.
Q: Does Topaz Studio include the newest models?
A: Yes—models like Wonder, Starlight Sharp, and Nyx XL are part of the plan for the tiers that include them.
Q: Can Nero really do 8K and 120 FPS?
A: Yes—8K upscaling and AI frame interpolation up to 120 FPS are core capabilities, with real-time preview to dial in quality.
Bottom line
Topaz’s subscription consolidates a powerful all-apps ecosystem with unlimited image rendering and rapid AI model delivery—great for creators who need the whole stack.
If your priority is video upscaling and cost predictability, Nero AI Video Upscaler offers a lifetime license with 8K/120FPS, real-time preview, and a streamlined workflow—making it a pragmatic alternative to a full-suite subscription.
