I didn’t start this comparison because I was unhappy with Topaz. Quite the opposite—I’ve relied on Topaz tools for years. But when you work with AI video enhancement long enough, curiosity eventually kicks in. New tools appear, bold claims are made, and sooner or later you want to know: Is there actually a viable alternative?

That’s how UniFab Video Enhancer AI ended up on my test bench.

Rather than cherry-picking a single clip, I tested both tools across five practical scenarios that mirror real production needs: denoising, face enhancement, animation upscaling, general-purpose video enhancement, and texture restoration. I ran the same footage through equivalent models and judged them based on usability and results—not marketing promises.

1. NYX vs Denoise AI – Cleaning Up Noisy Footage

I started with low-light footage full of compression noise and grain. Topaz NYX has always been reliable for this type of cleanup, and UniFab’s Denoise AI delivered a very similar outcome.

Both tools reduced noise without destroying fine details, and neither introduced obvious artifacts. In blind comparisons, I doubt most viewers could tell them apart. This test felt like a tie—and that’s a compliment to UniFab.

2. Iris vs Face Enhancer – Fixing Faces Without Overdoing It

Face enhancement is risky territory. Push it too far and you end up with plastic skin or uncanny expressions.

Topaz Iris and UniFab Face Enhancer both handled facial reconstruction well. Eyes were sharper, skin textures stayed natural, and motion consistency was preserved. Again, results were largely comparable. What mattered more here was workflow preference rather than output quality.

3. Gaia vs Kairo – Animation Is Where Things Shifted

For animation, I used a stylized animated clip with bold outlines and flat colors. Topaz Gaia did what it usually does—clean lines, decent upscaling—but UniFab Kairo clearly performed better.

Kairo maintained line integrity and color consistency with fewer flickering edges. It respected the original animation style instead of “guessing” new details. If you work with anime or cartoons, this difference is hard to ignore.

4. Proteus vs Equinox – General-Purpose Upscaling

This test used mixed-content footage: people, buildings, motion blur, and signage. Topaz Proteus is flexible and powerful, but UniFab Equinox matched it surprisingly well.

What stood out was that Equinox includes both Fast Mode and High-Quality Mode. Fast Mode is ideal for previews or batch jobs, while High-Quality Mode goes head-to-head with Proteus in final output. The results were similar—but UniFab gave me more control over time versus quality.

5. Rhea vs Vellum – Texture Restoration

For texture-heavy footage (walls, fabrics, city details), Topaz Rhea and UniFab Vellum again landed very close. Surface detail, depth, and clarity were handled consistently by both. This was another scenario where UniFab proved it could stand on equal footing.

Pricing and Trial: The Unexpected Advantage

Here’s where the story changes. UniFab offers a lifetime license, while Topaz is subscription-only. That alone makes UniFab appealing for long-term users.

Even more impressive: UniFab provides a 30-day watermark-free trial. That’s rare. Most AI tools—including Topaz—add branding during trials, which makes serious evaluation difficult.

Final Verdict

After these tests, UniFab no longer feels like “the alternative”—it feels like a legitimate option. If you want to explore it further, UniFab Video Enhancer AI is worth hands-on testing, and this detailed Topaz vs UniFab comparison adds helpful context.