Runway pricing: credits per second, and what a clip costs
Runway sells credits. Gen-4.5 video costs 12 credits a second and Aleph 2.0 costs 28 (Runway pricing page, 26 Oct 2026). A 5-second Gen-4.5 clip is 60 credits, about $0.60 at the Max plan rate. If you generate under 50 seconds a month, Standard is enough; for more, compare the plan's cost per credit first.
Key facts
| Gen-4.5 | 12 credits per second (60 credits per 5 seconds)[1] |
|---|---|
| Aleph 2.0 | 28 credits per second, 56 credit minimum per generation[2] |
| Plans (monthly price) | Free $0 (125 one-time credits), Standard $15 (625), Pro $35 (2,250), Max $95 (9,500)[1] |
| API credit price | $0.01 per credit[2] |
| Gen-4 Turbo (API) | 5 credits per second[2] |
| Max plan rollover | Unused credits roll over for one month[1] |
Runway charges in credits, not in clips. The price of a clip depends on the model's credits per second and on how much each credit cost you. This page does both sums. All prices come from Runway's own pages, read on 26 October 2026.
How much does Runway cost per month?
Runway has four plans: Free, Standard, Pro and Max, priced at $0, $15, $35 and $95 a month (Runway pricing page, 26 October 2026).
| Plan | Monthly | Billed annually | Credits per month | Cost per credit (monthly / annual) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | n/a | 125, one time | n/a |
| Standard | $15 | $12 | 625 | $0.0240 / $0.0192 |
| Pro | $35 | $28 | 2,250 | $0.0156 / $0.0124 |
| Max | $95 | $76 | 9,500 | $0.0100 / $0.0080 |
The last column is plan price divided by monthly credits. Standard credits cost more than twice as much as Max credits. Pro and Max add parallel generations (15 and 20, against 5 on Standard), and Max adds early access to new models and ProRes and HDR output. Pro lets you buy top-up credits at any time. Max lets unused credits roll over for one month.
How many credits does each Runway model use per second?
Gen-4.5 uses 12 credits per second and Aleph 2.0 uses 28, on both the pricing page and the API price list.
| Model (Runway name) | Credits per second | Example clip |
|---|---|---|
Gen-4 Turbo (gen4_turbo) |
5 | 5 s: 25 |
| Wan 3.0, 720p | 10 | 5 s: 50 |
Gen-4.5 (gen4.5) |
12 | 5 s: 60 |
| Kling 3.0 Standard, with audio | 13 | 5 s: 65 |
| Veo 3.1 Fast, no audio | 10 | 4 s: 40 |
| Veo 3.1, no audio | 20 | 4 s: 80 |
| Seedance 2.0, 720p | 30 | 5 s: 150 |
| Veo 3.1, with audio | 40 | 4 s: 160 |
Aleph 2.0 (aleph2) |
28 | 5 s: 140 |
Source: Runway API pricing, 26 October 2026. The app pricing page confirms the Gen-4.5 and Aleph 2.0 rates. Veo 3.1 clips run 4, 6 or 8 seconds (Runway Veo 3.1 API guide), so the Veo rows show 4-second clips.
Three details change the bill:
- Aleph 2.0 has a 56 credit minimum. A 2-second edit still costs 56 credits ($0.56 at the API rate).
- Gen-4.5 and Aleph 2.0 add 5 credits per second for ProRes or PNG sequence output, and 20 per second for 10-bit and HDR (40 credits per second when output exceeds 4 megapixels).
- Some models charge for input too. Seedance 2.5 adds 15 credits per second of input and reference video at 720p, with an 80 credit minimum.
What does a Runway Gen-4.5 clip cost on each plan?
A 5-second Gen-4.5 clip is 60 credits, which costs $0.60 at the Max plan rate and $1.44 at the Standard monthly rate.
Cost of one generation (credits x cost per credit):
| Rate | Cost per credit | Gen-4.5, 5 s (60 credits) | Aleph 2.0, 5 s (140 credits) |
|---|---|---|---|
| API | $0.0100 | $0.60 | $1.40 |
| Max, monthly | $0.0100 | $0.60 | $1.40 |
| Max, annual | $0.0080 | $0.48 | $1.12 |
| Pro, monthly | $0.0156 | $0.93 | $2.18 |
| Pro, annual | $0.0124 | $0.75 | $1.74 |
| Standard, monthly | $0.0240 | $1.44 | $3.36 |
| Standard, annual | $0.0192 | $1.15 | $2.69 |
These assume you use every credit in the month. Standard and Pro credits do not roll over, so a half-used month doubles the real price per credit.
How many seconds of video does each plan give?
Standard gives about 52 seconds of Gen-4.5 a month, Pro about 187 and Max about 791, if you spend every credit on Gen-4.5.
| Plan | Credits | Gen-4.5 seconds (12/s) | Aleph 2.0 seconds (28/s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 625 | 52 | 22 |
| Pro | 2,250 | 187 | 80 |
| Max | 9,500 | 791 | 339 |
At 5 seconds a clip, that is 10 Gen-4.5 clips on Standard, 37 on Pro and 158 on Max. Those are generations, not keepers.
What does a usable Runway clip cost after retries?
Cost per usable clip is the cost of one generation divided by your keep rate, so a 1-in-3 keep rate triples the price.
Worked example. You need one good 5-second Gen-4.5 clip and keep one generation in three.
- Max, monthly: 3 x 60 credits = 180 credits = $1.80.
- Pro, monthly: 180 x ($35 / 2,250) = $2.80.
- Standard, monthly: 180 credits x $0.0240 = $4.32.
Now the same keep rate for an Aleph 2.0 edit of 5 seconds: 3 x 140 = 420 credits, $4.20 at Max monthly and $6.53 at Pro monthly. Swap in your own keep rate. At 1 in 5, multiply the one-generation price by 5. The AI video cost calculator does this for several models, and the credits converter turns credits into seconds and dollars.
Is the Runway Unlimited plan still available?
Runway's pricing page does not list an Unlimited plan as of 26 October 2026. It lists Free, Standard, Pro and Max.
The page marks 4K upscaling (Pro and Max) and Topaz AI upscaling as unlimited. Video generation is paid in credits. Eligible legacy Unlimited subscriptions keep Explore Mode until 30 November 2026, then move to Max, according to Runway's transition notice. New subscribers choose from the four plans above.
How does Runway Gen-4 pricing compare with Gen-4.5?
Gen-4 Turbo costs 5 credits a second on the API and Gen-4.5 costs 12, so Gen-4.5 is 2.4 times the price per second.
A 10-second clip is 50 credits on Gen-4 Turbo and 120 on Gen-4.5. That is $0.50 against $1.20 at the API rate, The API models guide lists Gen-4 Turbo as image to video and Gen-4.5 as text to video and image to video, If you only need to animate a still, Gen-4 Turbo is the cheaper model to try first. Other tools price the same job differently, for example Kling and Higgsfield.
What is Runway ML pricing for developers?
Runway's API sells credits at $0.01 each, bought per project in the developer portal, and tax may apply.
The API uses the same credits-per-second numbers as the table above and also lists third-party models such as Veo 3.1, Kling 3.0, Seedance and Wan. For direct prices, see Google Veo 3 pricing and Seedance pricing. A model router bills at the rate of the model it picks, and the response reports the realized cost. Runway says Kling 4.0 is 20 percent off through 30 November 2026 UTC on the API (the pricing page says 25 percent), with list prices from 1 December 2026.
Rights and likeness
Runway's usage policy prohibits using another person's image, video or audio without their permission, and content that may violate intellectual property rights. Animate your own photos and original characters.
Questions
Is Runway Unlimited really unlimited?
As of 26 October 2026 the Runway pricing page lists Free, Standard, Pro and Max, with no plan called Unlimited. The only items it marks as unlimited are 4K upscaling and Topaz AI upscaling on Pro and Max. New subscriptions pay for video in credits. Eligible legacy Unlimited subscribers keep Explore Mode until 30 November 2026, then move to Max (Runway help center).
How much does it cost to use Runway?
Plans run from $0 (125 one-time credits) to $95 a month for Max with 9,500 credits. Annual billing lowers the price by 20 percent. Developers can buy credits at $0.01 each through the API.
Is Runway AI completely free?
No. The Free plan gives 125 one-time credits and a selection of models for testing. It does not renew each month. Paid plans start at $15 a month, or $12 a month billed annually.
Do app credits and API credits cost the same?
No. API credits are $0.01 each. Plan credits cost between $0.008 and $0.024 each depending on plan and billing period. Both the pricing page and the API docs list 12 credits a second for Gen-4.5 and 28 for Aleph 2.0.
Sources
Related guides
- AI video cost calculator: price per usable clip by modelWhat one usable AI video clip costs: Runway API rates for Kling, Veo, Wan and Seedance, plus retries, audio and reference-video billing. Checked 26 Oct 2026.
- AI video credits converter: Kling, Runway, Higgsfield and Flow credits to seconds and dollarsTurn Kling, Runway, Higgsfield and Flow credits into seconds and dollars. Dated rate tables, plan prices and a worked example. Checked 5 Nov 2026.
- Kling AI pricing explained: what one usable clip costs in 2026Kling AI pricing turned into dollars per 5s and 10s clip, by resolution and audio, on every plan, plus what retries add. Checked 26 Oct 2026.
- Higgsfield pricing: what each plan and credit really gets youHiggsfield pricing turned into dollars per clip for Seedance, Veo and Kling, with Ultra at $0.043 a credit, renewal rules and when an API is cheaper.
More on Apps and pricing
- Dreamina pricing: plans, free credits and what each Seedance clip costsDreamina Basic is $15 a month for 1,575 credits in the US, with 120 free credits a day. See what each plan buys in Seedance clips, from $0.24 per 5 seconds.
- InVideo alternatives: six tools matched to the reasons people quitInVideo alternatives matched to why people leave: credit drain, no refund after use, falling quality. Six tools with prices, free tiers and watermarks.
- Is PixVerse AI free? Daily credits, limits and what they makePixVerse AI is free with 60 starter credits and 30 a day, capped at 540p with a watermark. See what the credits make and when $8 Standard is worth it.
- The cheapest AI video generator, ranked by price per second and qualityThe cheapest AI video generator in Nov 2026 is Grok Imagine Lite at $0.02 a second. See 15 models ranked by price per second next to their arena score.
- Higgsfield alternatives: cheaper ways to reach the same modelsHiggsfield alternatives priced per clip: Runway's API beats Ultra on Seedance 2.0 below 86 clips a month at 720p. Break-even table and verdict by use case.
- Grok Imagine alternatives: where to make videos now that free Grok is on and offGrok Imagine's free video tier has been cut since March 2026. Seven alternatives with free tiers, prices per 10 seconds and which Grok problem each fixes.
