Tools / AI Video Enhancers & Upscalers
HitPaw VikPea
One-click desktop AI video enhancer that upscales blurry footage to 4K and 8K
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Facts checked · Nov 2026 — the pricing, free-plan and watermark facts on this page were checked against HitPaw VikPea's official pages. See how we verify and the listing changelog.
Price alerts for HitPaw VikPea
AI video tools change prices and credit rules without warning — Kling has raised prices roughly 3× before. Get emailed when HitPaw VikPea's price, credits or free plan changes.
Our verdict
Best for beginners with a shoebox problem — old, blurry or compressed footage that needs one-click repair to 4K/8K without learning a professional editor. Easy first, expensive if you only enhance occasionally.
HitPaw VikPea at a glance
| Starting price | Paid licenses from $43.19/month for Windows ($99.99/year or $350.39 perpetual also offered) |
| Pricing type | Paid |
| Free plan | No — paid or trial only |
| API available | ✓ |
| Category | AI Video Enhancers & Upscalers |
What HitPaw VikPea really costs
Our listing records HitPaw VikPea's pricing as Paid licenses from $43.19/month for Windows ($99.99/year or $350.39 perpetual also offered) (paid pricing).
What you actually pay depends on the plan you pick, how much you create, and — on tools that meter usage — how many attempts you discard along the way. A cheap entry plan that meters every generation can cost more in a heavy month than a flat subscription.
We do not publish a per-minute cost estimate for HitPaw VikPea: we only publish per-unit figures derived from official pricing pages, and HitPaw VikPea is not one of the tools our calculator models numerically yet. Treat the entry price as a floor, not a monthly total.
See how the tools we do model numerically compare in the cost calculator.
What is HitPaw VikPea?
HitPaw VikPea is a desktop video enhancer for Windows and Mac — the product HitPaw sold for years as HitPaw Video Enhancer, renamed in October 2024 and rebuilt around cloud GPU rendering and more specialist models. Its whole interface is a model picker: import a video, choose the AI model that matches your footage — portrait for faces, general restoration for old tapes, an anime model for animation, low-light for night footage — preview the result, and export at up to 4K or 8K.
Around that core, VikPea has grown the usual enhancer toolkit: frame interpolation to smooth 15 or 30fps footage up to 60fps, stabilization, colorizing black-and-white video, SDR-to-HDR conversion, and tools such as background removal and video repair. Some newer and generative features run on HitPaw's servers and spend cloud credits bundled with or bought alongside the license — the detail most likely to surprise buyers, and the reason to read the purchase page carefully. For straightforward footage, though, the appeal is real: no settings rabbit hole, and results a beginner can judge from the preview before paying.
How HitPaw VikPea works
- 1Download and install VikPea on Windows 10/11 or macOS 13+ (8GB RAM minimum; 16GB recommended).
- 2Import your video — MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI and other common formats are supported, and batch import is available.
- 3Choose the AI model that matches the footage: Portrait for people, General/Video Quality Repair for old or compressed clips, the anime model for animation, Low-light for dark footage.
- 4Preview the enhancement on your own video in the trial to judge whether the model helps this particular footage.
- 5Buy the license that fits your usage — yearly ($99.99 for Windows) is far better value than monthly if you will enhance more than a couple of times.
- 6Export at your target resolution, up to 4K or 8K, using local processing or cloud acceleration where offered.
Core features
AI upscaling to 4K/8K
The core job: raise low-resolution, blurry footage to sharp 4K or 8K, rebuilding texture detail rather than simply stretching pixels.
Specialist model picker
Named models for portraits, general restoration, UHD restoration, anime, denoise and more — you match the model to the footage instead of tuning parameters.
Frame interpolation and stabilization
Turn 15/30fps footage into smooth 60fps playback and reduce camera shake, per the product page's stabiliser section.
Color tools
Colorize black-and-white video, enhance faded color, brighten low-light footage and convert SDR to HDR.
Cloud-accelerated rendering
Optional cloud GPU rendering takes long jobs off your own hardware; some cloud and generative features consume credits included with or added to your license.
Video enhancer API
An API route for developers and platforms that want VikPea's enhancement inside their own workflow.
Batch and format support
Batch processing for tape-conversion projects and broad format support (MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, FLV, WMV and more).
The free plan — the full truth
There is no free plan, and the trial is a preview, not a sampler you can publish from. You can install VikPea, run your own footage through its models and see the enhancement — which is honestly the most useful kind of trial for an enhancer, because quality on your footage is the only question that matters. But exporting the enhanced file requires a paid license; the free version's job ends at the preview.
Because there is no free export, the usual free-tier questions (watermark on free output, free commercial rights) do not apply — there is simply no free output. One related cost deserves attention before you buy: some cloud and generative features spend credits, bundled in differing amounts with each license (100 with monthly, 500 with yearly, 800 with perpetual on the Windows store, as reported from the official purchase page) and sold in packs after that. Price the license and your likely credit use together.
- • No free plan and no free export — the trial is preview-only
- • Monthly Windows license ($43.19) is poor value next to yearly ($99.99)
- • Mac licenses cost more than Windows for the monthly and yearly terms
- • Some cloud/generative features spend extra credits beyond the license
- • Each license covers one computer, on one platform
HitPaw VikPea pricing plans
| Plan | Price | Credits included | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Month (Windows) | $43.19/month | Auto-renewing license for 1 PC, with bundled cloud credits (100 reported) | A single urgent project — the only case where monthly beats yearly |
| 1 Year (Windows) | $99.99/year | Auto-renewing license for 1 PC, with bundled cloud credits (500 reported) | Most buyers: anyone enhancing more than two or three times a year |
| Perpetual (Windows/Mac) | $350.39 one-time | One-time license with bundled cloud credits (800 reported); updates within the current major version | Subscription refusers with a multi-year archive to work through |
| Mac licenses | $70.39/month or $110.39/year | Same product, Mac pricing — perpetual matches Windows at $350.39 | Mac users (note the monthly/yearly premium over Windows pricing) |
License prices are from HitPaw's official purchase page as checked Nov 2026 (Windows figures; tax excluded). HitPaw runs frequent promotions and its store pages have shown slightly different figures at times — confirm the checkout price for your platform before paying.
Pros
- + The model-picker workflow is genuinely beginner-proof
- + Broad specialist coverage: portraits, anime, low light, colorize, SDR-to-HDR
- + Preview-on-your-own-footage trial answers the only question that matters
- + Perpetual license still exists for buyers who refuse subscriptions
- + Yearly Windows license ($99.99) is reasonable for regular use
Cons
- − Monthly pricing is steep, and Mac users pay more for the same terms
- − Extra credit costs for cloud/generative features are easy to miss at purchase
- − Far less fine control than Topaz Video for stubborn footage
- − One computer per license; platform switching means buying again
Best for
- ✓ Families and archivists digitizing old tapes and phone footage
- ✓ Beginners who want a model picker, not a settings manual
- ✓ Creators cleaning up compressed or AI-generated clips before publishing
Not ideal for
- ✕ Occasional users who enhance a couple of clips a year (monthly price stings; consider per-job online tools)
- ✕ Professionals who need per-model parameter control and local batch pipelines
HitPaw VikPea alternatives
See all alternatives →Topaz Video is the step up in this catalog: a deeper model library and finer control, at a higher subscription price, for users who outgrow one-click enhancement. AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI sits in the same guided middle ground as VikPea with its own multi-model picker and a perpetual option. UniFab Video Upscaler AI, reviewed in this batch, is the value challenger — a watermark-free 30-day trial and a $129.99 lifetime license. TensorPix is the browser-based option if you would rather not install desktop software at all.
Topaz Video is desktop software that upscales, sharpens, restores and frame-interpolates video using local AI models. It is used by creators and archivists to rescue old or low-resolution footage and to deliver higher-resolution masters.
TensorPix enhances and upscales video in the cloud, targeting creators and businesses with low-quality archives or user-generated footage. Browser-based processing makes it accessible without a powerful local GPU.
AVCLabs Video Enhancer AI is downloadable software that upscales and restores video, including face refinement and colorization of old footage. It suits users who prefer a one-off desktop tool over cloud subscriptions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is HitPaw VikPea free?
No. The trial lets you preview enhancements on your own video, but exporting requires a paid license — from $43.19/month or $99.99/year for Windows.
What happened to HitPaw Video Enhancer?
It was renamed to HitPaw VikPea on 29 October 2024. The current version adds cloud GPU rendering, more specialist models and support for enhancing AI-generated clips.
How high can VikPea upscale?
Up to 4K and 8K, per the product page, with the result depending heavily on how much detail the source footage still contains.
Why are there credits as well as a license?
Some features — the generative model, cloud acceleration and cloud export — run on HitPaw's servers and spend credits. Licenses bundle a starting amount (more with yearly and perpetual plans) and packs are sold separately.
VikPea or Topaz Video?
VikPea for guided, one-click enhancement and a perpetual option; Topaz for the deepest model library and fine control at a higher price. Trial both on the same clip — enhancer quality is footage-dependent.