What it is
Runway is a New York AI video company and one of the first to sell video generation to filmmakers. Its own Gen-4.5 model turns text or a first-frame image into clips, Aleph 2.0 edits existing footage (change lighting, angles, objects or style), and Act-Two transfers an actor's performance onto a character. In 2026 it also added outside models, including Kling 3.0, Seedance 2.0 and Google's Nano Banana Pro and Veo 3.1 (through the API).
Runway raised $315 million at a $5.3 billion valuation in February 2026 and is pushing into world models (GWM-1), real-time talking avatars (Runway Characters) and robotics. On 1 June 2026 it stopped selling its Unlimited plan in favour of Max; existing Unlimited subscribers keep access until 30 November 2026. In September it launched a Team plan for two to nine seats.
Paid plans remove watermarks. Pro and Max include Unlimited Mode, which generates on supported models without spending credits, at slower speeds during busy periods.
Our review
Runway's strength is that it is built for people making things, not just generating clips. Aleph 2.0 changes existing footage with a prompt, Act-Two maps a real performance onto a character, and the editor, upscaling, MCP server and API fit into studio pipelines. On Max, outputs include HDR, ProRes and image sequences, the formats a post-production house actually hands over.
On pure generation the field has caught up. Users on Reddit and in creator comparisons often rate Google's Veo and Kling as equal or better than Gen-4.5 for realism and built-in sound. Runway's answer has been to host rivals inside its own app, which is convenient but means you often pay Runway's credit rate for someone else's model: Seedance 2.0 Pro at 1080p costs about 40 credits a second against 12 for Gen-4.5.
The credit maths is simple once written down. Standard's 625 credits cover about 52 seconds of Gen-4.5 a month, Pro's 2,250 about three minutes, and Max's 9,500 about 13 minutes, before Unlimited Mode on supported models. Through the API a credit is $0.01, so Gen-4.5 is $0.12 a second and Veo 3.1 with audio $0.40. Only Max and Team roll unused credits over, and only for a month.
The Team plan, at $69 a seat ($55 yearly), pools 6,900 credits per seat and adds frame-accurate comments and shared projects, but it stops short of governance. Runway's own page lists SSO, its SOC 2 and ISO 27001 reports and a no-training commitment only under Enterprise. An agency handling unreleased client footage on Team seats is therefore working without a contractual no-training clause, which is a more serious gap than any difference in clip quality.
Where it earns its place
An independent music-video director
Restyle and relight live-action footage without a reshoot
Aleph 2.0 edits uploaded clips with a prompt at about 28 credits a second. Max at $95 a month ($76 yearly) gives 9,500 credits, roughly five minutes of Aleph edits, plus ProRes output for the colourist.
A product engineer adding video generation to a marketing app
Generate short product clips through an API with predictable cost
Buy credits at $0.01 each in the developer portal and call gen4.5 at $0.12 a second, so a 10-second clip costs $1.20. Veo 3.1 with audio costs $0.40 a second through the same API.
A six-person creative team at an agency
Share projects, review cuts and draw from one credit balance
Team at $55 a seat yearly costs $330 a month and pools 41,400 credits with one month of rollover. Client work that needs SSO or a no-training clause has to move to an Enterprise contract.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Sign up in the browser; the free plan gives 125 one-time credits on a selection of models, and paid plans open all models without watermarks.
- Integrations
- REST API with per-second pricing, Runway MCP on Pro and above, and Figma, Dropbox and Notion connectors on Team.
- Data and privacy
- SOC 2 Type II and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 reports via the Trust Center; Runway lists no training on your data and SSO only for Enterprise.
- Cost at scale
- A ten-minute Gen-4.5 piece costs 7,200 credits, within one Max month; the same ten minutes through the API costs $72, or $240 on Veo 3.1 with audio.
- Limits
- Standard runs 5 generations at once, Pro 15, Max 20 and Team 24; Unlimited Mode may queue during busy periods.
What's good
- Aleph 2.0 edits real footage with prompts
- Act-Two performance capture for characters
- HDR, ProRes and image-sequence output on Max
- Unlimited Mode on Pro and Max for supported models
- Published API prices per second of video
What's not
- Gen-4.5 no longer clearly beats Veo or Kling
- Standard covers under a minute of Gen-4.5 a month
- No-training terms and SSO only on Enterprise
- Third-party models cost several times Gen-4.5 per second
- Plans changed several times in 2026
Best for
Filmmakers, agencies and editors who need to direct and edit AI video, not just generate clips.
Alternatives
Runway: common questions
- Is Runway worth it?
- Runway is a production toolkit first and a clip generator second, which is exactly why its own model no longer needs to win every comparison. We rate it 4.3 out of 5.
- How much does Runway cost?
- Free 125 one-time credits; Standard $15/month ($12 yearly, 625 credits); Pro $35 ($28 yearly, 2,250); Max $95 ($76 yearly, 9,500); Team $69/seat ($55 yearly, 6,900 credits per seat). API $0.01 per credit.
- What are the downsides of Runway?
- Gen-4.5 no longer clearly beats Veo or Kling; standard covers under a minute of Gen-4.5 a month; no-training terms and SSO only on Enterprise; third-party models cost several times Gen-4.5 per second; plans changed several times in 2026.
- Who is Runway best for?
- Filmmakers, agencies and editors who need to direct and edit AI video, not just generate clips.
- How much does Runway cost for a team or in production?
- A ten-minute Gen-4.5 piece costs 7,200 credits, within one Max month; the same ten minutes through the API costs $72, or $240 on Veo 3.1 with audio.
- Is Runway safe for company data?
- SOC 2 Type II and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 reports via the Trust Center; Runway lists no training on your data and SSO only for Enterprise.
- What are the best Runway alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are Google Flow, Kling AI, Luma (formerly Dream Machine) and Higgsfield.
Answers checked Oct 22, 2026.
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