Pixelation is missing information. Real-ESRGAN fills it in with plausible edges and texture.
A pixelated image is one with too few pixels for the size it is shown at — usually a thumbnail that got enlarged, or a heavily compressed download. Enlarging it in an editor just makes the squares bigger.
Real-ESRGAN was trained to reconstruct high-resolution detail from low-resolution input, producing smooth edges and believable texture.
Upload the pixelated image: Use the original file if you have it, not a screenshot.
Upscale 2x or to 4K: Smaller sources benefit from 4K; 2x is enough for mild pixelation.
Compare: Zoom in on the slider to see the edges rebuilt.
Smooth edges: Staircase edges become clean lines.
Texture rebuilt: Skin, foliage and fabric get believable detail.
Transparency kept: Pixelated PNG logos keep their alpha.
Can AI recover a censored or mosaic-blurred face? No. Deliberate mosaics destroy the information; any 'recovered' face would be invented.
What about pixel art? Pixel art is meant to be pixelated; for crisp scaling of pixel art use nearest-neighbour scaling instead.
Is a logo better vectorized? Yes, for flat logos the Vectorizer gives an infinitely sharp SVG.
Is it free to try? Yes. Signed-in accounts get 10 free credits every day, and new users can try Pro free for 7 days — cancel anytime. No watermark on any plan.