Krixel vs Topaz Gigapixel, Magnific & Krea — for print
All four are good tools, but they don't solve the same problem. Here's an honest breakdown of when each one wins — especially if your end goal is a printed banner, billboard or vinyl at an exact size.
Topaz Gigapixel, Magnific and Krea are upscalers — they make an image bigger or richer. Krixel is an upscaler plus a pre-press tool: it takes you from a small image to a print-ready CMYK file at an exact physical size, offline, in one app.
We'll credit each tool where it's genuinely stronger and show where each one fits — so you can pick the right one for your job.
| Krixel | Topaz Gigapixel | Magnific | Krea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Upscaling + print prep | Photo upscaling | Creative reimagine-upscale | Creative upscale/enhance |
| Exact physical size + DPI | Yes | No | No | No |
| CMYK PDF export | Yes | No | No | No |
| Print bleed (3 mm) | Yes | No | No | No |
| Logo / watermark removal | Yes (LaMa) | No | No | Partial |
| Runs fully offline | Yes | Yes | No (cloud) | No (cloud) |
| Adds invented detail | Minimal | Minimal | Heavy | Heavy |
| Pricing model | One-time | One-time | Subscription | Subscription / freemium |
| Best for | Print-ready large format | Faithful photo enlarging | Concept art / AI imagery | AI art enhancement |
Choose Topaz Gigapixel if…
Your priority is the highest-fidelity enlargement of a photograph, with no print pre-press needed. Topaz has the strongest reputation for faithful photographic upscaling and is a staple of professional photo workflows. It is a pure upscaler, though — it won't set your physical size, convert to CMYK, add bleed, or output a press-ready PDF.
Choose Magnific or Krea if…
You want to dramatically reimagine an image and invent rich new detail — ideal for concept art and AI imagery where creative reinterpretation is welcome. Both are cloud, subscription tools. They are not designed to produce a CMYK print file at an exact banner size, and they upload your images to the cloud.
Choose Krixel if…
Your deliverable is a printed large-format file — a banner, billboard, vinyl wrap or poster — at an exact physical size. Krixel upscales with Real-ESRGAN, removes logos/artifacts with LaMa, and exports a CMYK PDF with bleed at the precise dimensions and DPI, all offline, for a one-time €49. It does the pre-press the others leave to you.
What about pure upscaling quality?
For maximum photographic fidelity, Topaz still has the edge. Krixel's upscaling (Real-ESRGAN, tuned for print) is strong and more than enough for large-format viewing distances, but Krixel's real advantage isn't 'the sharpest pixels' — it's delivering a finished, print-ready file. If you only need a bigger image and nothing else, a pure upscaler may suit you; if you need to actually print it at size, Krixel saves the whole pre-press step.
Verdict
Topaz for photographic upscaling fidelity. Magnific/Krea to invent new detail in AI art. Krixel when the end product is a print-ready large-format file at an exact size — offline, one-time, with the pre-press done for you.