Buyer's comparison
Runway alternative for generated video clips on a flat monthly plan
Runway is a full creative suite with a lower price per second. VideoMake does one job: you describe a shot or upload a still image, and it renders a 4, 8 or 12 second clip in 9:16 or 16:9 that you download and use commercially. Here is where each tool wins, using the prices Runway publishes.
- Runway from
- $12
- Gen-4.5 per second
- 12 cr
- VideoMake from
- $24
Both starting prices are per month, billed yearly. With a plan, type a prompt in the panel to render a clip and judge the output yourself.
The short answer
The best Runway alternative depends on what you use Runway for. If you generate, edit, restyle and upscale footage inside Runway, stay there, because it has far more tools and costs less per second of video. If you only need short original clips for ads, social posts or b-roll and want one plan with nothing to learn, a focused generator like VideoMake is the lighter choice. If you need a presenter reading a script, neither fits and you want an avatar tool.
Runway figures are taken from runway.com/pricing in September 2026. Plans change often, so check again before you pay for a year.
What Runway costs in 2026
Runway bills individual plans in monthly credits. Every video model draws a different number of credits per second, so the useful number is seconds of video per month, not the plan price.
| Runway plan | Monthly | Billed yearly | Credits | Gen-4.5 video per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 125, one time | About 10 seconds in total |
| Standard | $15 | $12 | 625 per month | About 52 seconds |
| Pro | $35 | $28 | 2,250 per month | About 187 seconds |
| Max | $95 | $76 | 9,500 per month | About 791 seconds |
Gen-4.5 uses 12 credits per second of video. Gen-4 Turbo uses about half that, so the same Standard allowance stretches to roughly 104 seconds. On Standard and Pro, unused credits reset each billing cycle. Max rolls up to one month of unused credits forward, and extra credits can be bought in blocks of at least 1,000.
Put into dollars, Runway Standard costs roughly $0.29 per second of Gen-4.5 video on monthly billing and about $0.23 billed yearly, and around half that on Gen-4 Turbo. The full credit maths for every plan, including retries, is in our Runway ML pricing breakdown.
On price per second, Runway wins
We would rather say this before you find it yourself. VideoMake charges 1 credit per second of 720p video, and every plan works out to $1 per credit. The Pro model costs 4 credits a second and reaches 1080p in 8 second clips. That puts a VideoMake clip at about $1 per second at the base setting, which is several times Runway's rate.
In practice, Plus at $49 a month covers about 50 seconds of 720p video, enough for twelve 4 second clips or four 12 second clips. Pro at $149 a month adds the Pro model with 1080p and covers 149 credits. If your main question is how many seconds you can generate for the least money, Runway or another credit-metered generator is the better buy.
The reasons people still pick VideoMake are different. There is one screen: a prompt or an image, a length, an aspect ratio, and a render. There is no suite to learn, no model menu with a different credit price per model, and the plan is a flat monthly figure in USD. Clips are composed natively for vertical and widescreen, so a Reel and a site header each get a proper frame.
Runway vs VideoMake side by side
Runway figures from its pricing and product pages, September 2026. VideoMake figures from our own pricing page.
| Feature | Runway | VideoMake |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Creators and studios who generate, edit and finish inside one suite | Marketers and small teams who need short original clips without learning an editor |
| Entry price | $12 per month billed yearly, $15 monthly | $24 per month billed yearly, $49 monthly |
| Approximate cost per second | About $0.23 to $0.29 on Gen-4.5, less on Gen-4 Turbo | About $1 at 720p, 2x at higher quality, 3x at 1080p |
| Inputs | Text, images and existing video | Text prompt or a still image |
| Clip length | Varies by model | 4, 8 or 12 seconds |
| Resolution | Up to 1080p generation depending on model, 4K upscaling on paid plans | 720p on every plan, 1080p on Pro and Business |
| Aspect ratios | Varies by model | 9:16 and 16:9, composed natively |
| Video editing tools | Yes: relight, restyle and remove objects by prompt, Premiere Pro and After Effects plugins | No, generation only |
| Choice of models | Gen-4.5, Aleph 2.0, Kling, Seedance and others | One workflow, standard or higher quality |
| Voice, music and sound | Music, voice and sound effect generation, voice clones on Pro and Max | No voiceover |
| Team workspace | Team Plan for 2 to 9 seats | No shared workspace |
| Developer API | Yes | No public API |
Which one to pick
Stay with Runway if
- You change existing footage: relighting, restyling, removing objects or extending shots.
- You want to compare several video models and pick per shot.
- You finish work in Premiere Pro or After Effects and want the plugins.
- You generate a lot of seconds each month and cost per second decides the purchase.
- You need an API, shared team projects, voice clones or 4K upscaling.
Choose VideoMake if
- You need a handful of short original clips a month, not hours of footage.
- The clips go into ads, Reels, Shorts, product pages or someone else's edit.
- You want one prompt box instead of a creative suite with its own learning curve.
- You want vertical and widescreen versions framed properly from the start.
- A flat monthly plan in USD is easier to approve than a menu of credit prices per model.
Most buyers who land here want b-roll for a video that is edited elsewhere. For that case, our AI b-roll generator page shows what a prompt-to-clip workflow looks like, and the text to video AI page covers how to write prompts that land in fewer tries.
How to test a Runway alternative in one afternoon
01
Pick three real shots
Choose shots from a project you are actually producing, such as a product close-up, a location establishing shot and a person in motion. Marketing reels show best cases. Your own briefs show the average case.
02
Run the same prompt on both
Keep the wording, length and aspect ratio identical. Note how many attempts each tool needs before you get a clip you would publish.
03
Price the keepers
Divide what the plan costs by the clips you kept, not by the renders you made. Add the time you spent in each tool, because that is a cost too.
Questions people ask about Runway alternatives
What is the best alternative to Runway ML?
It depends on the job. If you generate and then edit, restyle or upscale inside one suite, Runway is still hard to beat. If you only need short original clips for ads, social posts or b-roll, a focused generator with one flat plan is simpler. If you need a presenter reading a script, choose an avatar tool instead.
Is there a free alternative to Runway?
Runway itself has a free plan with 125 one-time credits, which is about ten seconds of Gen-4.5 video. Most other generators work the same way: a small trial allowance for testing, then a paid plan for real volume. If the clip is going into client or brand work, read the commercial use terms before you rely on free output.
How much does Runway cost per month?
Runway lists Standard at $15 per month or $12 billed yearly with 625 credits, Pro at $35 or $28 yearly with 2,250 credits, and Max at $95 or $76 yearly with 9,500 credits. Gen-4.5 video uses 12 credits per second, so Standard covers about 52 seconds of Gen-4.5 a month.
Is Runway cheaper than VideoMake?
Per second of video, yes. Runway Standard works out to roughly $0.23 to $0.29 per second on Gen-4.5 and less on Gen-4 Turbo. VideoMake costs about $1 per second at 720p, more at higher quality or 1080p. People choose VideoMake for the simple single-purpose workflow, not for a lower rate.
Can Runway edit videos as well as generate them?
Yes. Runway describes itself as a platform to generate and edit video, images and audio. Its prompt-based tools can relight a scene, restyle a shot or remove objects, and it offers plugins for Premiere Pro and After Effects. VideoMake has no editing tools; it generates clips you download and cut elsewhere.
Does VideoMake use the same models as Runway?
No. Runway runs its own Gen-4.5 and Aleph models and also offers third-party models such as Kling and Seedance, each with its own credit price. VideoMake gives you one generation workflow with a standard and a higher quality setting, priced in credits per second, so there is no model menu to compare.
Render one of your Runway prompts here
Paste a prompt that worked in Runway and compare the result. Text to video or image to video, 16:9 or 9:16, 4 to 12 seconds, on a plan with a number you can budget.
See plans and credit allowances