Runway

Generates and edits video from a text prompt or a still image, used for ads, product motion and rough previz before a real shoot.

Marketing & social Apps

Checked 25 Sep 2026

Open runwayml.com

What you'd use it for

Turning a still product photo or a text prompt into finished, editable video footage without a camera or a shoot.

Turn a single product photo into a short moving video clip
Extend an existing clip past its original end point without reshooting
Reframe or upscale a clip to a different aspect ratio or resolution for another platform
Rough out a previz shot from a text prompt before booking a real shoot

The verdict

Runway's edge is genuine editing depth — a timeline, clip extension, reframing — rather than a single prompt-to-video button, which suits someone finishing a piece of video rather than just generating one from scratch. That depth costs real money and testing time; the free tier's credits are gone within a session, and matching a specific brief (realistic human motion, a tricky product close-up) usually means running the same prompt through Runway and a rival before picking one. It suits marketers and small teams producing clips regularly enough to justify an ongoing subscription, not someone who wants a single video for a one-off campaign.

What it costs

Tier	Price	For	Includes
Free	$0	Exploring Runway's AI tools before subscribing.	Limited generation credits, watermarked exports.
Standard	$15/month billed monthly, or $12/month billed annually (20% off)	Curious creators trying AI video for the first time.	Monthly generation credits, standard export options.
Pro	$35/month billed monthly, or $28/month billed annually (20% off)	Creators levelling up their craft.	More generation credits, higher-resolution export, priority generation.
Max	$95/month billed monthly, or $76/month billed annually (20% off)	Best value for heavy solo usage.	The largest individual credit allowance, ProRes and image-sequence export.
Team	$69/seat/month billed monthly, or $55/seat/month billed annually (20% off); 2-seat minimum	Fast-moving teams with high production needs.	Shared team credits, collaboration tools.
Enterprise	Custom pricing	Organisations needing security, privacy and admin controls.	Custom limits, dedicated support, admin controls.

Read from Runway's own pricing page on 25 Sep 2026. Vendors change prices without notice.

What you need to start

A Runway account, created with Google, Apple or email
A Chrome browser for the full editor experience
A paid plan for real production use, since the free tier's one-time credits run out fast

A few minutes to create a free account and generate a first test clip; expect to move to a paid plan within that first session if you want more than a handful of clips.

Your first run Signing up with Google, Apple or email hands you a one-time batch of free credits and a working editor within minutes, and a first clip itself renders in seconds to a few minutes depending on length and model.

Where it breaks

Browser app; a separate Dev/API track with its own free and enterprise tiers exists for developers building on Runway's models rather than using the consumer editor.

First entry in this reference. There is no previous check to compare it against.

When not to use it

Not for a one-off video need — the free credits disappear fast and a subscription only pays off with repeat use. Not for anyone expecting hands-off publishing, since Runway generates and edits but does not post the result anywhere.

Runway was one of the first tools to make AI video generation feel like a real editing tool rather than a novelty — a timeline, layers, the ability to extend or reframe a clip, not just a single prompt-to-video button. That editing depth is still the differentiator: it’s positioned for people finishing a piece of video, not just generating one and hoping it’s usable as-is.

The Team plan is priced below the individual Max plan, which looks like a typo until you read what each is for — Max is the largest single allowance for one heavy solo user, Team is a smaller shared pool meant to be split across several people who each use it lightly. A five-person team is generally better served by Team’s shared credits than by buying Max seats individually, but it’s worth checking your actual per-person usage before assuming that.

Against Kling AI or Google Flow, the real comparison is model quality on the specific kind of shot you need — realistic human motion, product close-ups, stylised animation — since none of the major video generators lead on every category at once, and the honest approach is testing the same prompt across two or three before committing to a subscription.

It generates and edits on request; it does not publish anywhere on its own. Getting a finished clip onto a channel is Later or Hootsuite’s job.