Runway

Runway is a generative video platform built around its own Gen-series models (currently Gen-4.5), turning text prompts or a starting image into short video clips. Beyond generation, it bundles editing tools — upscaling, inpainting, motion control and audio — so a clip doesn’t have to leave the platform to get finished.

What it does well

Image-to-video is Runway’s strongest use case: feed it a still and a motion prompt and it produces coherent, controllable movement rather than the warping and flicker that plagues weaker video models. The credit system also scales down to genuinely small jobs — you don’t need a Pro-tier budget just to test whether a shot works.

Pricing

Confirmed directly from Runway’s pricing page: Free gives 125 one-time credits and 5GB of storage to try the generative tools. Standard is $12/month billed annually ($15 month-to-month) for 625 monthly credits — roughly 52 seconds of Gen-4.5 video, with 4K upscaling and no watermarks. Pro is $28/month annually ($35 month-to-month) for 2,250 credits (about 187 seconds of video), adding custom voice creation, 500GB storage and premium model access. Max is $76/month annually ($95 month-to-month) for 9,500 credits (about 791 seconds of video), adding credit rollover, early access to new models and studio formats like ProRes. Enterprise pricing is custom.

Who should use it

Video editors, marketers and creators who need short, controllable AI video clips — product shots brought to life, b-roll, social clips — and want generation and basic editing in one place.

Who should not use it

Anyone expecting long-form, minutes-long output from a single generation — Runway’s strength is short clips, and credits burn quickly on longer or higher-resolution renders.