Large-format output
Prepare photographs, renders and artwork for posters or other high-resolution deliverables.
Independent tool overview
Clarity AI at a glance
Clarity AI is a web app and developer API for enlarging images and video with separate precision-focused and creative upscaling models.
Visit the official Clarity AI site ↗
- Tool type
- AI image and video upscaler
- Interfaces
- Web app, API and ComfyUI node
- Precision image limit
- Up to 1.5 gigapixel with Crystal
- Creative image limit
- Up to 178 MP or 100 MP by model
- Entry price
- $19 monthly or $13/month billed annually
- Last reviewed
- August 30, 2026
Overview
What Clarity AI is
Clarity AI is an image and video upscaling platform built by independent developer Philipp S. Its current lineup separates precision-oriented enhancement from creative reconstruction: Crystal is intended to preserve the source, Crystal Video applies that approach to footage, and the Clarity models offer more control over newly generated detail. Users can work in the browser, call the API or use the paid ComfyUI integration.
The model choice matters more than the headline resolution. Precision upscaling is the safer starting point for products, faces, architecture, logos and text, while creative upscaling can make low-resolution AI art more detailed at the cost of potentially changing identities, materials, lettering or small objects. Review every result at 100% and compare it with the source before delivery.
Use cases
Who Clarity AI is best for
The strongest fit depends on the job you need the product to complete, not the size of its feature list.
Product and fashion images
Use the precision model when shape, label text, skin and fabric should stay close to the original.
AI artwork enhancement
Use creative controls to add plausible texture and detail to generated images that can tolerate reinterpretation.
Developer integrations
Add image or video upscaling to an application through usage-based API access.
ComfyUI workflows
Bring hosted Clarity models into node-based generation pipelines on eligible paid plans.
Capabilities
Core Clarity AI features
Crystal precision upscaler
Prioritizes source fidelity for photographs, faces, products, architecture and text-heavy images.
Crystal Video
Upscales footage with a precision-oriented video model and output-dependent credit use.
Clarity creative upscaler
Offers adjustable creative detail for artwork and low-resolution inputs where reconstruction is acceptable.
Clarity Pro
Provides a newer creative model aimed at higher-detail portrait and skin enhancement.
Large output sizes
Supports outputs from ordinary 2K and 4K targets through very large image files, depending on the selected model.
Pay-as-you-go API
Charges developers by output megapixels or megapixel-seconds without requiring a subscription.
Browser frontend
Lets creators upload, configure and download outputs without building an integration.
ComfyUI node
Connects the hosted API to ComfyUI using an account token on plans that include plugin access.
Creative controls
Paid plans list style transfer, image creation and prompt-detection tools alongside upscaling.
Process
How the Clarity AI workflow works
Step 1
Inspect the source
Identify whether the file contains faces, readable text, product geometry or other details that must not change.
Step 2
Choose precision or creative
Start with Crystal for fidelity; choose Clarity only when plausible newly generated detail is acceptable.
Step 3
Set a realistic target
Pick the final pixel dimensions needed for the actual screen or print output instead of maximizing resolution by default.
Step 4
Run a small comparison
Test representative crops or lower-cost outputs across models and settings before processing a batch.
Step 5
Review at full size
Check faces, hands, lettering, edges, repeated patterns, noise and fine geometry against the source.
Step 6
Export and archive
Keep the original, record the model and settings, and verify color profile, compression and print dimensions downstream.
Cost
Clarity AI pricing and free plan
Subscriptions include monthly credits, the browser app and API access. Annual billing is advertised at roughly 30% below month-to-month pricing. The separate API option is pay as you go, with cost driven by model and output size.
API
$0/month + usage
Pay-as-you-go access for developers and integrations.
- Crystal image pricing starts with output-size buckets
- Clarity listed at $0.005 per output MP
- Clarity Pro listed at $0.03 per output MP
- Crystal Video listed at $0.10 per MP-second
Starter
$19 monthly or $13/month annually
Entry creator plan with 1,200 credits per month.
- All four upscalers
- Browser and API access
- Commercial-use license listed
- No ComfyUI plugin or credit top-ups
Pro
$49 monthly or $33/month annually
Higher-volume creator plan with 4,000 credits per month.
- Includes ComfyUI plugin
- Supports top-up credits
- Lists small-image, pattern and Flux LoRA features
Business
$299 monthly or $199/month annually
Agency and high-volume plan with 30,000 credits per month.
- Custom features
- Premium support
- All listed creator and developer features
Pricing checked . Check current pricing at the source ↗
Assessment
Clarity AI strengths and limitations
Where it stands out
- Clear separation between source-preserving and creatively reconstructed output
- Supports both still images and video
- Very large maximum image output with the Crystal model
- Detailed public calculator makes credit and API cost easier to estimate
- Browser, API and ComfyUI access cover individual and embedded workflows
- Pay-as-you-go API avoids a required developer subscription
- The original Clarity upscaler has a public open-source implementation
- Commercial-use licensing is listed on paid creator plans
What to consider
- Any AI upscaler can introduce artifacts or alter details; precision-oriented branding is not a guarantee of pixel-level truth
- Creative models may change faces, text, logos, product shapes and architectural details
- Higher resolution does not recover factual information that was absent from the source
- Very large outputs consume credits quickly and can be expensive to produce
- Video processing is substantially more credit-intensive than ordinary image upscaling
- Starter credits are not enough for some of the largest single outputs shown in the pricing table
- ComfyUI access, top-ups and several advanced controls require Pro or Business
- Output dimensions alone do not guarantee acceptable print sharpness, color or compression
- Batch production still needs human quality control and a retry policy
- Users must have rights to upload and commercially use source material
- The name is easily confused with the unrelated sustainability-data company at clarity.ai
- Pricing, credit costs and output caps vary by model and billing term
Compare
Clarity AI alternatives
The right alternative depends on the specific output, workflow, controls and budget your project requires.
Design
Magnific AI
A strong creative-upscaling alternative with controls aimed at adding plausible visual detail.
Explore Magnific AI →Content Creator
Topaz Labs Video AI 5
A desktop-focused option for professional video enhancement, frame interpolation and upscaling.
Explore Topaz Labs Video AI 5 →Design
Finegrain Image Enhancer
A lightweight image-enhancement alternative available through a public Hugging Face Space.
Explore Finegrain Image Enhancer →Design
Recraft V4.1
Better when the job calls for regenerating or redesigning the visual rather than only enlarging it.
Explore Recraft V4.1 →Questions
Clarity AI FAQs
What is Clarity AI?
Clarity AI at clarityai.co is an image and video upscaling platform with a browser app, API and ComfyUI integration. It is unrelated to the sustainability-intelligence company using clarity.ai.
What is the difference between Crystal and Clarity?
Crystal is positioned for precision and source fidelity. Clarity is the creative model family, with controls that can invent or reinterpret detail. Use Crystal when factual visual details must remain stable.
How much does Clarity AI cost?
Starter costs $19 month to month or $13 per month billed annually; Pro is $49 or $33; Business is $299 or $199. Developers can use pay-as-you-go API pricing without a subscription.
How large can it upscale an image?
The public pricing page lists Crystal at up to 1.5 gigapixel. Clarity is listed at up to 178 megapixels and Clarity Pro at up to 100 megapixels. Practical limits also depend on source, model and credit balance.
Does Clarity AI upscale video?
Yes. Crystal Video is the precision-oriented video model. API pricing is based on megapixel-seconds, and subscription examples show that even short HD or 4K clips can consume many credits.
Can I use Clarity AI through an API?
Yes. The platform offers a pay-as-you-go API, and paid creator plans also list API access.
Is Clarity AI open source?
The original Clarity upscaler has an AGPL-3.0-licensed public implementation on GitHub. The hosted platform and newer proprietary models or features have separate access and pricing.
Will it preserve text and faces perfectly?
No AI upscaler can guarantee that. The precision model is the better starting point, but outputs still need close comparison with the source, especially for identities, legal text, labels and products.
Bottom line
Our Clarity AI verdict
Clarity AI stands out by making the precision-versus-creativity tradeoff explicit and by publishing unusually detailed output-based pricing. It is a practical option for creators and developers who will choose the model deliberately and inspect the result; it should not be treated as a guaranteed recovery tool for missing or legally significant detail.
Visit Clarity AI website ↗
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