As someone who creates short videos for Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts, I’m always looking for easy ways to improve video quality without learning complicated editing software.
Recently, I noticed Canva had introduced several video enhancement tools, including an AI Video Upscaler. Since I already use Canva for thumbnails and social media graphics, I decided to see whether its video enhancement features could actually improve blurry or low-resolution footage.
After testing both Canva’s built-in adjustment tools and its AI Video Upscaler, here’s my experience.
Why I Wanted to Try Canva Video Enhancer
Most of my videos are recorded on smartphones. While newer phones capture decent footage, older clips often look dull, compressed, or slightly blurry when viewed on larger screens.
Because Canva works directly in the browser, I was curious whether it could improve video quality without requiring additional software downloads.
The biggest attraction was convenience. Everything happens inside Canva’s editor, which many creators already use every day.
The First Thing I Learned: Canva Has Two Different Enhancement Tools
At first, I assumed Canva had a single video enhancer.
After exploring the platform, I discovered there are actually two separate options:
Option 1: Built-In Adjust Tools
These tools focus on improving visual appearance through manual adjustments.
You can modify:
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Brightness
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Contrast
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Saturation
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Color temperature
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Highlights
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Shadows
Option 2: AI Video Upscaler
Canva also offers a Video Upscaler app inside its Apps section.
Unlike the Adjust tools, this feature is designed to increase resolution and improve perceived sharpness using AI technology.
Naturally, this was the feature I was most interested in testing.
Test 1: Improving a Dull Social Media Video
My first test involved a short travel clip that looked slightly flat and underexposed.
I uploaded the video into Canva and opened the Adjust panel.
After increasing brightness, contrast, and saturation, the difference was immediately noticeable.
What Improved
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Colors looked more vibrant
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The scene appeared brighter
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Shadows contained more visible detail
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The overall video looked more polished
What Didn’t Improve
The footage wasn’t actually sharper.
While the video looked better visually, the original softness and compression artifacts remained.
This confirmed that Canva’s Adjust tools are primarily for color correction rather than true video enhancement.
This feels similar to basic photo editing, except applied to video clips.
Test 2: Trying Canva’s AI Video Upscaler
For my second test, I used a short 720p video that looked blurry when viewed on a large monitor.
I opened Canva’s Apps section and launched the Video Upscaler.
The setup process was surprisingly simple.
My Results
The output video looked slightly cleaner and sharper than the original.
Edges appeared more defined, and the video felt more suitable for social media posting.
However, the improvements were relatively subtle.
The AI increased resolution, but it couldn’t fully restore details that were missing from the original footage.
For heavily compressed videos, the difference wasn’t dramatic.
After uploading the clip, I selected a higher output resolution and started processing.
The Biggest Limitation I Encountered
The main challenge wasn’t quality.
It was the restrictions.
The Video Upscaler currently supports:
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Videos up to 60 seconds
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Files up to 30MB
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Maximum source resolution of 1080p
For quick social media clips, this works fine.
For longer projects, travel videos, tutorials, or YouTube content, the limitations become noticeable very quickly.
Several videos I wanted to test exceeded the upload limits and couldn’t be processed.
Is Canva Good Enough for Video Enhancement?
After several days of testing, my answer is both yes and no.
Canva Works Well For:
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Social media content
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Quick edits
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Color correction
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Short video clips
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Beginners with no editing experience
Canva Struggles With:
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Restoring old videos
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Removing heavy blur
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Enhancing long videos
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Processing large files
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Recovering lost details
If your footage already looks reasonably good and only needs minor improvements, Canva is incredibly convenient.
If your video quality is genuinely poor, Canva’s tools may not be powerful enough.
When I Started Looking for Something More Powerful
After testing Canva, I wanted to improve several older family videos and some low-quality recordings captured years ago.
That’s when I started experimenting with HitPaw VikPea.
Unlike Canva, which focuses mainly on design and light editing, HitPaw VikPea is built specifically for AI video enhancement.
The difference became obvious almost immediately.
My Experience Using HitPaw VikPea
The workflow was simple:
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Import the video.
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Choose an AI model.
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Preview the enhancement.
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Export the result.
What impressed me most was the variety of AI models available.
Different models are optimized for different situations, including:
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General video restoration
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Portrait videos
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Animation and anime
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Video repair
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UHD enhancement
I also appreciated that there were no strict limitations on video length or file size.
Side-by-Side Comparison
After testing both tools, I found they serve different purposes.
Canva
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Browser-based
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Extremely convenient
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Great for quick social content
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Basic enhancement capabilities
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Limited by file size and duration
HitPaw VikPea
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Dedicated AI enhancement software
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Better restoration results
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Supports long videos
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Handles low-quality footage more effectively
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Includes advanced AI models
For quick Instagram or TikTok edits, Canva is often enough.
For restoring blurry, old, or heavily compressed videos, I consistently achieved better results using HitPaw VikPea.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I enjoyed using Canva Video Enhancer.
The platform makes video editing approachable, and its built-in enhancement tools are perfect for casual creators who want fast improvements without leaving their browser.
That said, Canva’s AI upscaling capabilities are relatively lightweight, and the file restrictions limit what you can accomplish with larger projects.
For social media clips and everyday content, Canva is a convenient option.
For serious video restoration, AI upscaling, and quality recovery, I found dedicated tools like HitPaw VikPea delivered noticeably stronger results.
If you’ve tried Canva’s Video Upscaler yourself, I’d love to hear how it performed on your videos.