Generative AI has made it possible to expand images and change them to meet different requirements. For instance, you can expand a vertical image horizontally to create a banner or a wallpaper, or expand an image to upscale it and improve its resolution. Whatever the reason, there are lots of image-expanding tools now available that let you do so, and here are some of the best options you can check out.

Best free options

You can find both free and paid image-expanding tools, and here are the best free ones. These allow you to expand your images using generative AI with excellent results but they also have paid versions with more features.

Pixelcut.ai

Pixelcut.ai is one of the best free image extender tools that you can use to expand an image without reducing its quality. You can upload an image to the website and it will use generative AI to fill in the image where required. What's more, Pixelcut.ai even lets you choose the direction in which you want to expand the image and supports multiple file types, including JPG, PNG, and HEIC.

  1. Open your web browser and visit the Pixelcut.ai website.
  2. Once the website opens, click on the 'Upload Image' button and select the image you want to expand from your computer.
  1. Once you've uploaded an image, you can click and drag it from any side to adjust it. Here you can also select the direction in which you want to expand the image.
  1. On the left, you will find some aspect ratio presets which you can select by clicking on them.
  1. Once you've adjusted the image as you like, click on the 'Generate' button and wait for the generative AI to do its thing.
  1. After waiting for a few seconds, you will see the expanded version of the image you uploaded. You can click on the 'Download' button at the top right to download it.
Note: While you can use Pixelcut.ai to expand images for free, its advanced features require a Pixelcut Pro subscription. With the Pro subscription, you also get more than 100 premium fonts and templates, and the ability to use Pixelcut Pro on Android and iOS devices.

Picsart

Picsart is another online design platform that lets you design marketing materials, documents, social media posts, and more. It also features AI tools that allow you to create images and videos using AI and you can even expand your images using generative AI.

  1. Visit the Picsart Image Extender webpage using a web browser.
  2. Click on the 'Browse files' button and select an image you want to expand from your computer.
  1. Unlike Pixelcut.ai, you will need to create an account before you can expand images on Picsart. Alternatively, you can sign in using your Google or Facebook account. Once you've signed in, you will see your uploaded image on your screen.
  1. On the left, you will see the various image expansion presets, such as Instagram Story, YouTube Thumbnail, FaceBook Profile, etc. You can select a preset by clicking on it. When you do so, the generative AI will start expanding it.
  1. Wait for a few seconds and you will see the expanded image on your screen. Click on the 'Apply' button on the bottom left to confirm.
  1. Once you've successfully expanded your image, you can click on the 'Export' button on the top right to save and download it.
  1. This will show you a few options. You can type in a name for the project, choose which type of file you want to save it as, and even upscale the expanded image. However, some of these features require a Picsart Plus subscription.
  1. To download the expanded image, click on the 'Download' button.

Best paid options

While Pixelcut.ai and Picart are great tools if you don't want to spend money, their advanced features require a paid subscription. And if you're going to spend money on such applications, it is better to go with the best options available.

Canva

Canva is among the most popular design tools on the market and offers a lot of tools for free. It has a huge library of templates and is quite user-friendly. However, its image-expanding tool is not available for free and requires a paid subscription, so you will have to opt for any of the available plans. A subscription unlocks access to the AI-powered Magic Expand feature, which lets you expand images in any direction.

You can use Magic Expand to transform vertical images into horizontal ones by expanding them horizontally, save images that are zoomed-in, and fix images that are improperly framed. Like the free tools mentioned above, Canva also offers preset aspect ratios you can select to expand your image or use a preferred size. You can even choose a freeform area to expand and there are multiple generated options that you can select from.

  1. To expand an image using Canva, open the Canva website in a web browser and sign in to your account. If you don't have an account, you can sign up on the website to get started.
  2. After signing in, you can select from a premade template or start a completely new project. To expand an image, click on the 'Upload' button and select the image from your computer. Canva supports multiple image formats, including SVG, WEBP, PNG, JPG, etc.
  1. Once you've uploaded the image, click on it to select it and then click on the 'Edit image' option from the toolbar at the top.
  1. Then, select 'Magic Expand' from the options under 'Magic Studio'.
  1. Next, select an aspect ratio from the available options or choose freeform before finally clicking on the 'Magic Expand' button.
  1. When you expand an image using Canva, you get four options including different design patterns, you can try. Click on an option to select it. If you like it, click on 'Done'. Otherwise, click on 'Generate new results' to get 4 new options.
  1. After expanding an image, you can directly share it on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, generate a shareable link, or download it to your device.

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe has also added AI features to Photoshop, one of the most popular image editing and graphics tools available. With the Generative Expand feature, you can easily expand an uploaded image in any direction you want. Generative Expand relies on the company's Firefly generative learning model and allows you to resize your image, enlarge the background, fill empty spaces, and more.

  1. Open Photoshop and open an image that you want to expand.
  2. Click on the Crop tool on the left and then drag the handles around the image to set the size.
  3. When the Contextual Task Bar shows up, click on 'Generative Expand'.
  4. If you want, you can type in a description of how you want the image to be expanded in the box that appears.
  5. Next, click on 'Generate' and you will see four variations that you can choose from. To select a variation, click on it.
  6. You can also generate additional variations by changing your text prompt and clicking on 'Generate' again.

Things to know

  • When using generative AI tools to expand images, using higher-quality images will give you better results. Higher clarity and better details make it easier for AI models to extrapolate and expand the image realistically.
  • Some tools allow you to adjust certain aspects of the image, such as sharpening lines, enhancing edges, and prioritizing details. Experimenting with these settings can help you get the best output.
  • When expanding an image using AI, it is important to understand that the AI model may not always get the details right, especially in complex backgrounds and scenes. You may occasionally get inconsistent lighting, weird proportions, or odd object placement.
  • If you're using image-expanding tools to expand copyrighted images, make sure you have the right to modify such images.