Skip to content

Video & avatarsRunway1 live

Runway

Runway is a generative video company whose web app, Runway Creative, makes and edits video, images and audio with its Gen-4.5 model and partner models. It also runs a developer API and GWM-1 world models. Filmmakers, agencies and designers use it on credit-based plans; the Unlimited plan is being replaced by Max in 2026.

Quick facts

VendorRunway
CategoryVideo & avatars
PlatformsWebiOSAndroidAPI
Free planYes
Pricing from$15/month
Last reviewed

Best for

  • Filmmakers and music video directors
  • Creative agencies on deadlines
  • Designers prototyping motion ideas

Key features

Gen-4.5 video model

Runway's flagship text- and image-to-video model, focused on motion quality, prompt adherence and visual fidelity, available on all paid plans.

Partner models in one app

Paid plans also include Aleph 2.0, Seedance 2.0, Gen-4 Image, Nano Banana Pro, Lyria 3 Pro and Seed Audio 1.0.

Agent creative collaborator

An agentic assistant in the app that can pick the right model for a request and work through generations with you.

Audio, voice and music

Generates music, sound effects and speech, with custom voice clones on Pro and Max.

4K upscaling and pro formats

Paid plans upscale video to 4K, and Max adds HDR, ProRes and image-sequence output for post-production pipelines.

API and MCP access

Runway Dev exposes the models to developers, and Pro and Max plans can connect through the Runway MCP server.

Use cases

  • Previsualize a music video by generating shot options with Gen-4.5 before the real shoot is scheduled.
  • Run the same prompt through Gen-4.5 and Seedance 2.0 to pick the strongest take for a scene.
  • Deliver ProRes or HDR generated shots straight into an agency's color and finishing workflow on Max.
  • Add AI-generated sound effects and a cloned voice line to a short pitch film.

Pricing

Pricing from
$15/month

Free gives 125 one-time credits. Standard is $15/month (625 credits), Pro $35/month (2,250 credits) and Max $95/month (9,500 credits); annual billing cuts each by 20%. Team, for 2 to 9 people, is $69 per seat ($55 yearly) with 6,900 pooled credits per seat.

Ways to save

  • Annual billing is 20% cheaper: Standard drops to $12/month, Pro to $28 and Max to $76.
  • The free plan's 125 credits never expire, so you can test models at your own pace, but they do not refill.
  • Max rolls over up to one month of unused credits, while Standard and Pro credits reset each cycle.
  • Extra credits bought as top-ups never expire; the minimum purchase is 1,000 credits.
Prices checked on Oct 12, 2026

Current deals

What is Runway?

Runway builds generative models and the tools to use them. Runway Creative is the app for video, image and audio work; Runway Dev is the API platform; Runway Robotics uses the GWM-1 world model for photorealistic simulation. The main site now lives at runway.com.

What stands out

  • One subscription, many models. Runway’s own Gen-4.5 sits next to third-party models, so you can compare outputs without separate accounts.
  • Built for production handoff. 4K upscaling, brand kits and, on Max, ProRes and HDR suit agency and film workflows.

Who it’s for

Runway suits people who treat AI video as part of a larger production, not a one-click generator. Solo creators can start on Standard, but heavy users will feel the credit limits quickly.

Limitations

Credits run out fast on premium models: 625 Standard credits cover under a minute of Gen-4.5. Standard and Pro credits do not roll over, Standard is capped at 3 projects, and Unlimited-style relaxed generation is being retired. Free users only see a limited set of models and get watermarked videos.

Runway FAQ

Partly. The Free plan costs nothing and includes 125 one-time credits, a limited set of models and 5GB of storage, but the credits never refresh and exports carry a watermark. Access to every model starts with Standard.

Runway rolled out the Max plan on June 1, 2026 and is phasing out Unlimited. Eligible legacy Unlimited plans stay unchanged until November 30, 2026, when monthly subscribers move to Max at the same $95/month.

Gen-4.5 costs 60 credits per 5 seconds. Runway estimates that equals about 52 seconds on Standard, 187 seconds on Pro and 791 seconds on Max each month.

Yes. Runway Creative runs in the browser and has iOS and Android apps. Developers use the separate Runway Dev API platform to build the models into their own products.

Yes. Since September 2026, the self-serve Team plan covers 2 to 9 people for $69 per seat a month, or $55 billed yearly. Each seat adds 6,900 credits to one shared pool, with up to 100 shared projects and 1 TB of workspace storage.

Articles about Runway

A tablet with a keyboard, a smartphone and a pumpkin on an orange table in autumn sunlight
Deals

AI Deals October 2026: Every Live Offer, Deadline and Price Change

As of October 14, 2026, the best AI deals are Claude's 50% artifact usage discount (until October 15), free SWE-2 in Devin Desktop (October 16), ElevenLabs Starter for $1 (October 18), 30% off Adobe Firefly (October 21) and 4 free months of ChatGPT Plus for US students (October 31). Gemini 4 Argon's API intro price runs until November 30.

12 min read

Filmmaker holding a cinema camera rig on a hilltop at sunset
Comparisons

Best AI Video Generator 2026: Runway, Kling, Veo, HeyGen and 13 More Compared

As of October 2026, Runway ($15/month), Kling ($10/month) and Google Flow, which gives 50 free credits a day for Veo 3.1, lead generative video. HeyGen and Synthesia make avatar videos from $29/month, and CapCut, Descript and OpusClip edit and repurpose footage. OpenAI discontinued the Sora app on April 26, 2026.

9 min read

Sources

Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you — it never changes which deals we list. Affiliate disclosure