I’ve been a Topaz user for many years. I’ve kept upgrading over the years and have been pleased with the product improvements. This year I’m confused. I like the standalone products, but seems I’m going to get charged to upgrade each on of those to the tune of an extra $147.
Last year I ordered:
Photo Upgrade Plan - $79
Topaz Video AI Upgrade Plan - $99
I own all the Topaz products - Photo AI, Video AI, Adjust AI, Sharpen AI, Denoise AI, Gigapixel AI, Masks AI, and five other legacy products like Star Effects and Impression.
I just want to renew all my maintenance but it seems I have to pay this now:
Photo AI - $74
Video AI - $129
Adjust AI - free
Sharpen AI - $49
Denoise AI - $49
Gigapixel AI - $49
Masks AI - free
So $350. I’m either missing somethingin their pricing/licensing or Topazlabs is off their rocker.
Is it possible that Photo AI Upgrades for $74 is the same as the Photo Bundle last year? In that case that is the deal I need (Photo AI $74 + Video AI $129) and I’m good.
Hi Securesocket. The Photo Upgrade Plan included Gigapixel, DeNoise, Sharpen AI and Photo AI was added for free, because it still came under the early access deal
Early Access Deal
If you own the three individual apps then you could download Topaz Photo AI for free
And when I add all the “Extend Maintenance items” I see the following which comes up to $350 per year now. I really don’t mind paying for maintenance, but this is pretty high. Seems like if I buy Photo AI and Video AI maintenance, that should include the upgrades for the others.
I’m also confused. I own all the Topaz products except Video AI. But times are hard and I can’r afford to keep them all current. Can someone explain the true differences between Photo AI and Gigapixel? I can’t afford to keep updating both.
TL;DR - Denoise, Gigapixel, and Sharpen are going away and being incorporated into Photo AI. One more release of Gigapixel in the works. DeNoise and Sharpen are done.
This was the response I got from Topaz a couple of days ago. I guess I’ll work with the new Photo AI program this next year and see how it goes. I do like having each tool separate, but that’s just what I’m used to. I’ll adapt and since the licenses for the individual products are perpetual, I can still use them for a while if I want to. I renewed PHOTO AI and VIDEO AI for $203.
Unfortunately, DeNoise AI and Sharpen AI will no longer be supported as our Photo Development team is focused on updating and maintaining Topaz Photo AI.Topaz Photo AI was created to combine the models and functionality of DeNoise AI, Sharpen AI, and Gigapixel AI as well as add additional features.With that said, going forward our photo upgrade is only eligible for Topaz Photo AI at this time. Gigapixel AI will have a release in the coming months, though no official announcement has been made.The cost to renew Topaz Photo AI is currently $74.00 USD and Topaz Video AI is $129.00 USD.
Thank you so much for this clarification! I must have missed the memo thanking me for being such a sport to buy and update all those apps and informing me that they’re now history and I get to buy and update yet another app if I want to keep up. I always wanted to fund a startup from my vast fortune.
I don’t need video, so might as well take a gander at the competition. It may not be the best, but good enough will have to be good enough for me. Sure, $74 is better than $199, but in my old mind there is now a lingering stink associated with Topaz Labs where there was once naught but sweetness and light. Live and learn.
Yes, there are definitely more options than before. Luminar Neo has been adding a lot of the same capabilities (also built into one product) and Photoshop has even been pushing new capabilities as well. Good luck.
Luminar has really fishy business practices - even more so than Topaz.
There are quite seldom updates to the original app you bought but they constantly release ‚new‘ Apps (Luminar 3/4/AI/Neo,…) what feels like every 6 months forcing you to buy again.
There were some Photoshop 1 year deals on Amazon, which were really good. Photoshop can do far more than Topaz. Topaz is looking expensive and is the most problematic software I have used.
Supported is what they said, but I’m guessing they really mean no future development or patches. If you have a question on how to use it, they would probably answer it, but it seemed clear that the developers are no longer writing any code (new features or patches).
I’ve been OK with Topaz products and pricing until this year. I don’t see why they even offer “upgrade” path to DeNoise and Sharpen if they aren’t working on them. That just seems wrong. If you want the last update to Gigapixel, then that seems OK, but they should be crystal clear and up-front about the roadmap for the future of those products. I’ve never seen a clear statement from them and that’s going to make a lot of people mad if they don’t get the word out.
Skylum (Luminar) hasn’t been terrible IMHO either. I’ve gone through the 3–>4–>AI–>Neo upgrades and didn’t find the upgrade costs to be horrible. On average it seems like they floated in around $100 more or less. I buy the extensions for noise, sharpening, panos, etc., but not the “style” packs.
In the next year, I need to settle in and see if I can skinny up my workflow needs and settle in on one of Adobe, Skylum (Luminar), or Topaz to cover my noise, sharpening, masking, content-aware fill, and resizing needs. They are all good, but it is getting to be too much.
I was told to use Photo AI, as DeNoise and Sharpen AI, have not been updated for some time and had been discontinued. But PAI gives me even more problems.
They even say updates for a year on Sharpen and DeNoise but then say elsewhere there won’t be any. That is false marketing. Maybe someone will sue them in the US.
It seems a bit muddled if the My Products section of the Topaz store is still selling subscription renewals for discontinued products that will not be updated.
Agreed, but based on the feedback I got from support I opted to not renew the individual products. No point in spending almost $150 and getting no updates except one more Gigpixel release. I figure it’s time to move on to the Photo AI approach and see how it goes.
