Enlarge a photo online

Enlarge a small photo to 2x or 4x its size and see the before and after. Fast mode, or AI mode on supported devices. Free, and it never leaves your device.

Before you start

To make a photo bigger, the computer has to work out the new pixels between the ones you have. A careful method keeps the result sharp instead of blocky. This page opens the enlarger: pick 2× or 4×, then press "Make it bigger".

Photos up to 1024 pixels on the long side start at 4×, and bigger ones start at 2×, and you can change that. Fast mode gives a clean, sharp enlargement in a few seconds on a laptop, and more on a phone. AI mode, where your device offers it, cleans blocky JPEG marks and sharpens more.

Tips

Use the original photo if you have it. A copy that went through a chat app was already squeezed, and enlarging it makes the marks bigger too.

Look at the result with the slider and the "Full size" view before you save. Faces and small text are the parts to check.

Planning to print? Count pixels, not inches. A 4 × 6 inch print looks sharp at 1200 × 1800 pixels, and an 8 × 10 inch print at 2400 × 3000.

A worked example: from a small photo to a print

Take a photo that is 800 × 600 pixels. Made 4× bigger it is 3200 × 2400 pixels. At 300 pixels for every inch, that prints about 10.7 × 8 inches (3200 divided by 300, and 2400 divided by 300). Made 2× bigger it is 1600 × 1200 pixels, which prints about 5.3 × 4 inches at the same sharpness.

A print that people look at from farther away can be bigger. At 150 pixels for every inch, the 4× picture prints about 21 × 16 inches.

Questions and answers

Does enlarging a photo make it worse?

A photo made 2× or 4× bigger has the same detail as before, spread over more pixels. It is not sharper than what the camera recorded. Fast mode keeps it clean, and AI mode can make edges and texture look cleaner, but it can also change faces and text a little.

Does the file get bigger in KB?

Yes, usually a lot: 4× the width and height is 16 times the pixels. When you save a JPG you can tick "Keep the file under a size" to set a limit. If a form needs a minimum in KB instead, use Make a photo smaller and fill in "Must be at least" under "More options".

Is there a watermark, a sign-up or an upload?

None of them. The tool is free, adds no watermark, and works on your own device, so your photo is not sent anywhere.