As you can see I have two active subscriptions to Topaz Labs, yet I got an email saying:
You’re receiving this email because one of your orders was automatically upgraded to the Studio version of that application. You don’t currently have full access to the Studio bundle, which requires you to own 2+ active licenses to Topaz Labs desktop products, but there’s still time!
Why haven’t I received the full access Studio?
Hi.
Your Topaz Photo AI $84 is locked in fixed price so, just add the current upgrade price for Topaz Gigapixel AI and that will give you the total amount
Hope this helps
Hi, sorry can’t help you as we are mostly users like yourself.
This is a for the Super Men and Women at Topaz Support here’s the link to contact Topaz Support directly
Topaz Support
support@topazlabs.com
Hope this helps
Translation: We want you all on subs, so here’s some fomo to get you spending now to get a discount on spending more each month 
The whole reason I got your products is because I reject subscriptions and gladly paid for upgrades when I wanted them (even though the annual upgrade cost has since almost doubled). I’ll keep using what I paid for and will find alternatives after they fall behind.
My understanding is you need to have an active Video subscription + one other product subscription in order to get local starlight “founder” access.
My situation was similar to yours, except I had TVAI as an active subscription and had other products lapsed. I did not have the “Studio” / founder thingy marked on my account. So I renewed the cheapest license from my expired set; Gigapixel, and instantly the account dashboard updated with a Studio migration progress message
EDIT: When I did the above, I got an email confirmation:
Your Founder Status Benefits*
If you’re receiving this email, this means you’ve been granted
*Founder *status for one application. This means that you will be able to
access some new AI models which are otherwise available only to Pro license
holders.You’ve also been granted an exclusive Founder price, *which gives you
access to the new Studio products at a price much lower than our list price
as long as you maintain your subscription.Here’s the benefits of your Founder status for each app (please note you
only have access to one of these based on your current account settings):- *Topaz Video:* As a Founder, you have access to the new*Starlight series of models including the new Starlight Sharp *as well as
the existing Starlight models, EXR + DPX support which is otherwise a Pro
feature.
*Topaz Photo/Gigapixel: *As a Founder, you have access to *local
rendering for the new Wonder model *which is otherwise only available to
Pro subscribers. This is our most powerful AI upscaling model to date, and
you’re going to love the results. Photo and Gigapixel are two separate
apps and you may have access to only one of these.You will retain these Founder benefits listed above at no extracost as long as you maintain your updated Topaz Labs subscription. Please
note that if your subscription lapses, you will permanently lose access to
Founder benefits as well as preferred pricing.Of course, you’ll still retain access to the legacy perpetually licensed
versions of our apps. These apps will still be maintained but won’t
receive any major updates or new AI models. We do have plans for multiple
exciting updates to the new Studio versions of the desktop applications as
well as the Studio bundle.
Full Studio Access*
Hi Jojje.
Not quite, if you have a single application Topaz Video AI for instance; on the Auto-Renewal Subscription you will still have Founders Status on that one application meaning you have access Topaz Video including Starlight local rendering.
Here’s the link to contact Topaz Support directly if you wish to check
Topaz Support
support@topazlabs.com
Hope this helps
It’s a complete shitshow, I had Photo active while Video had lapsed; based on answers from support on email I renewed Video at $149 (was $127 no idea where 149 came from but it was the only working link from the broken account pages), but now my Photo at $84 shows as cancelled (automatic renewal is the 4th of October) and that I can renew it for $199??
At which point is the founders status locked in and at what price??
How is it possible to make this process so broken and confusing.
Edit: worth mentioning that I’ve never seen the supposedly new account pages. Whenever I try to go there I’m put in some cloudflare wait queue for 15-30 minutes and whenever I check back it’s expired / blank.
Hi.
You need to contact Topaz Support to help you sort this out before it’s to late here’s the link to contact Topaz Support directly
Topaz Support
support@topazlabs.com
As Andy said, just contact them. They sorted out everything for me when I had questions and issues.
If anyone has any questions about their account, or what the transition status is for your specific account, make sure to reach out to help@topazlabs.com and the Accounts team can have a look at your account and clarify any questions you have. While you are welcome to share here, this is a user forum to talk amongst yourselves, to avoid being misinformed, it is best to reach out to us directly at help@topazlabs.com and we can see your account and clarify any questions you have.
If you are not interested in the Studio offering altogether, you can cancel your auto renewal from your Subscriptions page and keep using your owned perpetual apps instead and not have any further charges made. It is important to mention you would lose the locked in lower price you had by doing so, and if you revisit Studio in the future, you would access the regular pricing: Product Pricing - You can contact us if you want guidance on the best choice for your needs!
For any late joiners wanting to turn on auto-renewal or add in perpetual apps to their account, you still have until October 3rd (extended deadline). To get the full Studio offering, you need 2 active Subscriptions and it will unlock the full Studio offering.
Having 2 active auto-renewals gives you access to a locked in lower price, processed annually, and access to the full Studio offering.
You can contact help@topazlabs.com if you want to confirm any details before or after the addition. Again, the deadline was extended to October 3rd for any late additions.
Even if your account is still being transitioned, you can access the new Desktop Studio apps right away, here: Topaz Labs | Downloads
Yeah I’ve been in touch with them on email and finally as of now I have an active “Legacy Plan: Topaz Studio - Annual × 1” subscription so I’ll just assume that’s all I need but the pages and communication is still super confusing as *ell and there is no need for it to be this way. I’ll let whatever other subscriptions there is lapse and trust this is the new one I need.
I communicate with Topaz on email to try resolve issues. I communicate with the community here to share frustration and gain experience.
Hi, according to my account, I own Denoise AI, Megapxel AI & Sharpen AI, but your email to me said "Since you only owned one app, you’ll have access to Founder status and benefits for that one corresponding Studio application. "
That is correct, Denoise AI and Sharpen AI have been discontinued for a number of years already. Their functionality was moved into Photo AI, which you do not own. [see my post in yellow above if you wanted to add Photo AI to your account and get the full Studio offering]
You only had a auto-renewal for Gigapixel only, which has not been transitioned. You can access the new Topaz Gigapixel app and continue to use Denoise AI and Sharpen AI separately!
Disappointing indeed. I own multiple products and I really hope that the complexity of the offers and the extreme push for subscription models is a temporary thing and not the start of the enshittification… I liked the simplicity of your approach, simple apps, simple offers, high quality filters. Please reverse course and don’t try to be Adobe!
I am seeing this prompt for the upgrade.. but it does not specify which specific period this will cover
My Topaz Photo license covers updates until Jun 2026.
GAI and VAI - Oct/Nov 2025.
Does that mean that this 177.47/year will kick in after June 2026?
I’m sorry but I find this completely confusing and not that helpful.
As a purchaser of PhotoAI last year I am really unclear about what this means going forwards… ‘my new subscription’ happens in about a month in November…
I don’t wish to ‘buy’ any additional product to qualify for anything… and this has left me wondering what I actually get if I submit to becoming a ‘subscription’ purchaser.
A little more care with segmenting the communications messages and offer would go a very long way.
Hi Michael.
No, the current payment system will continue as normal meaning as and when a payment is due Topaz will take that money as usual so, Gigapixel and Topaz Video will collected in October/November and Photo will be collected in June 2026.
Having said that, there maybe a time in the future when Topaz will decide to make things a little easier and collect one payment for the year.
I don’t know I don’t work for Topaz but, it would seem to be the logical thing to do.
Hope this helps
Hi Elliot.
You’re not, obligated to purchase another product that’s entirely for you to decide, you can continue your Auto-Renewal Subscription with only one application in your case Topaz Photo and have the benefit of no further price increases for as long as you maintain your Auto-Renewal Subscription so, no worries there.
The qualification offer if that’s what you want to call it basically means if you purchase one more application you will have access to what’s called Topaz Studio which includes seven applications including Topaz Video and a whole bunch of others goodies and the price will be locked in for as long as you maintain your Auto-Renewal Subscription the same you’ll have with your Topaz Photo Subscription but I won’t bore you any further with the details.
Hope this helps
The way this was announced is a bit confusing and muddled. And I just received an email about this today (Oct 3rd). I am a current license holder of Photo AI. The way I read this, I am being offered a one-time opportunity to sign up for a recurring subscription for $163 a year. And for that price I get access to all Topaz Studio apps, along with cloud rendering, etc.
Do I understand this correctly? And when do I need to make a decision by?
Hi.
The current deadline ended yesterday so, I suggest contacting Topaz Support immediately before it’s to late
Here’s the link to contact Topaz Support directly
Topaz Support
help@topazlabs.com
