How they compare
The Finishing Step
Topaz Astra
astra.app
CapCut
capcut.com
Role in Your Workflow
Where each tool fits
The quality finishing step. Once your edit is done in CapCut, Astra is where you bring the footage to its highest possible visual quality before publishing. Upscale, enhance detail, and apply scene-level polish in a browser with no hardware required.
Finishing step
The creative editing environment. Templates, captions, transitions, effects, and basic AI enhancement all in one place. The go-to tool for building and publishing TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts content fast.
Creative editor
Enhancement Depth
What happens to your footage
Purpose-built AI enhancement powered by Topaz's Starlight models. Precise mode for faithful high-quality upscaling that keeps the original look intact. Creative mode for adding new detail to AI-generated or stylized footage. Scene detection lets you apply different settings to individual scenes within the same video. Frame interpolation available for smoother motion.
Starlight-powered finishing
Basic one-click AI enhancement covering upscaling, noise reduction, sharpening, and color correction. Great for polishing content within the editing workflow, but not designed for deep quality restoration or frame-level precision.
Basic enhancement built in
When to Use It
Where it fits in your workflow
After your CapCut edit is done. Export your finished video from CapCut, bring it into Astra, and upscale to 4K with Topaz's Starlight models before publishing. Also ideal for AI-generated content from tools like Runway, Kling, or Sora that needs a quality pass before going live.
Final step before publishing
During the creative process. Cut clips, add captions, apply transitions and effects, and build out your content structure. CapCut is where your video takes shape Astra is where it gets polished.
During the edit
Output Resolution
What you publish with
Up to 4K on all paid plans. Take your CapCut export and bring it to 4K quality with genuine AI-reconstructed detail rather than simple upscaling. Standard plan from $39/mo includes 4K and all render modes.
Up to 4K, all paid plans
Free plan exports at 1080p. 4K export requires a paid Pro plan at $9.99/month. Pairing CapCut with Astra gives you the best of both fast editing and professional-quality 4K output.
1080p free, 4K on Pro
Access
Where you can use it
Fully web-based at astra.app. Works in any modern browser on any device. No installation required. Also accessible as part of Topaz Studio alongside Topaz Video, Photo, Gigapixel, and more.
Web, any device
Web, desktop (Windows and macOS), and mobile (iOS and Android). Strong cross-device flexibility well suited to mobile-first creators.
Web, desktop, and mobile
Content Length
Video size limits
No hard video length cap. Process short clips, long-form content, or full-length productions. Usage is credit-based so longer videos consume more credits.
No length limit
Maximum video length of 15 minutes. Well suited for social clips but not for longer productions or feature-length content.
15-minute maximum
Commercial Use
Licensing for professional work
Full commercial use on Plus and Pro plans. Standard plan covers personal and commercial use for organizations under $1M annual revenue.
Full on Plus and Pro
Pro plan includes a commercial license for monetized content. CapCut's Terms of Service retain a broad license to use uploaded content for their own purposes, which is worth reviewing before using for professional client work.
Review ToS carefully
Pricing
Cost & plan structure
Standard from $39/mo (400 credits, 4K, 2 concurrent videos). Plus from $99/mo (1400 credits, full commercial use). Pro from $299/mo (5400 credits, fastest rendering, unlimited concurrency). Additional credits available on all plans.
Scales with your volume
Free plan available with 1080p export and basic tools. Pro plan from $9.99/month for 4K export, watermark removal, and full AI toolkit.
Free tier available
The Bottom Line
CapCut is where you build your video. Astra is where you finish it. CapCut gives you everything you need to cut, caption, and shape content for social media. Astra picks up right where CapCut leaves off: take your export, run it through Topaz's Starlight models, and publish at 4K with a level of detail and quality that CapCut's built-in enhancement simply cannot match. No hardware. No installation. Just upload your finished CapCut video, choose Precise or Creative mode, and let Astra handle the rest. For creators who care about what their content looks like at full resolution, this is the step that makes the difference.
