Genmo vs Runway (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Runway: it is third in our ranking of AI image and video generators, and it grades higher too, 2.6 against 2.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Runway grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Genmo
Text-to-video playground built on the open-source Mochi 1 model
Runway
AI video, image and audio studio with its own Gen-4.5 model
Which one is for you
Pick Genmo if
- Fits if you want to try text-to-video on an open model you can also run yourself
- Works for developers comfortable pulling Mochi 1 from GitHub or ComfyUI
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as the 250 credits are a one-off unlocked by a payment method
- Tight if you need clips without a watermark, as that starts at Lite
- Watch out: credits reset monthly, and the page does not say whether leftovers carry over
- Watch out: the page does not say whether yearly billing exists for Lite and Standard
Pick Runway if
- Fits if you want to change real footage by describing the edit
- Works for small teams of 2 to 9 sharing one credit pool
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you make a lot of video on Standard, whose 625 credits are about 52 seconds of Gen-4.5
- Not for you if you want a free plan to keep using, as the 125 credits never refill
- Pricey if you want unused credits to carry over, which only Max does, at $76 a month yearly
- Watch out: extra credits come in packs of at least 1,000, and top-ups need Pro at $28
- Not for you if your team is over 9 people, as Team stops at 9 seats and bigger groups go to Enterprise sales
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAGenmoFair | 2.6GPARunwayGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CLite is $10 a month for 1,200 credits, the middle of image-tool prices. The page does not say whether that is monthly or yearly billing. | CStandard is $12 a month on yearly billing ($15 monthly) for 625 credits, about 52 seconds of Gen-4.5 or 78 Gen-4 images. Against its listed video rivals, Pika at $8, Firefly at $9.99 and Luma at $25, that's the middle. |
| Free plan and trial | D250 one-time credits unlock only after adding a payment method, which the page says is never charged, and videos are watermarked. That is about 2 Mochi videos, not a plan. | C125 credits once, which never refill, with a selection of models and 5GB of storage. At 12 credits a second that's about 10 seconds of Gen-4.5, then you pay. |
| Features | CMochi video generation in a playground, plus Replay video at 50 credits. A narrow job, with Mochi 1 published on GitHub and Hugging Face if you would rather run it yourself. | BIts own Gen-4.5 next to Kling, Seedance and Nano Banana, Aleph 2.0 for editing real footage by describing the change, an agent that builds whole videos, music, effects and voice clones, plus plugins. The whole video job. |
| Ease of use | BNo store rating on record. Type a prompt in the playground and generate. | B4.5 from about 17,700 App Store ratings. Working out what a month of credits buys takes some sums. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb playground only. The open model can run in ComfyUI or from Hugging Face and GitHub, but Genmo has no app of its own. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, plugins for Premiere Pro, After Effects and Resolve, links to ChatGPT, Claude, Figma, Dropbox and Notion, and a developer API. No desktop app, which an A needs. |
| Best for | text-to-video on the open Mochi model | making and editing AI video |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Genmo and Runway. How we grade
Price against what you get
Genmo starts at $10 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Runway starts at $12 a month and scores 3.0.
Runway scores higher, and starts $2 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other AI image and video generators on the chart, 14 score higher than Genmo for less, and 2 score higher than Runway for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Genmo is open source, according to its own site.
- Runway also covers video editing, AI agents and image generation.
At a glance
| Genmo | Runway | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $10 per month for 1,200 credits (billing basis not shown) | $12 per month for 625 credits, billed annually ($15 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 250 one-time credits, unlocked by adding a payment method (never charged); watermarked | Free plan with 125 one-time credits that do not refill, a selection of models and 5GB of storage |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Genmo, Inc. | Runway AI, Inc. |
| Price read from | genmo.ai | runway.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Genmo
- The free 250 credits do not refill, and the page says adding a payment method unlocks them.
- Credits reset each month; the page does not say whether leftovers carry over.
- Prices read '/month', but the page does not say whether yearly billing exists.
- The pricing page names the Mochi and Replay video types; other models were not read.
Runway
- Credits run out fast on video: Gen-4.5 costs 12 credits a second, so Standard's 625 credits make under a minute of it.
- Standard and Pro credits reset each month with no rollover; extra credits are sold in packs of at least 1,000 and never expire.
- The Team plan needs at least 2 seats and stops at 9; larger groups are sent to Enterprise sales.
- The free plan's 125 credits are a one-time grant and are not refilled.
Key features
Genmo
- Mochi 1 video generation
- The Playground turns written prompts into video with Genmo's Mochi model; Mochi video costs 100 credits and Replay video 50.
- Open-source model
- Mochi 1 is published on GitHub and Hugging Face, so it can be run on your own hardware or through ComfyUI.
- Monthly credit reset
- Paid credits are a balance that resets each month to the plan's amount, per the pricing page.
- Priority queues
- Lite gets high queue priority and Standard the highest, along with early access to new models.
Runway
- Gen-4.5 and partner models
- Runway's own Gen-4.5 video and Gen-4 image models sit beside Kling, Seedance, Wan, FLUX and Nano Banana, each with its own credit price.
- Aleph 2.0 video editing
- Change a shot's lighting, restyle it, or add and remove elements by describing the change; edit one frame and carry it through the clip.
- Runway Agent
- An agent on every paid plan that plans and generates a whole video from a conversation, with shared agent skills on the Team plan.
- Audio and voice
- Music, sound effects and text-to-speech from models such as Lyria 3 and Eleven v4, plus custom voice clones on Pro and Max.
- Plugins and MCP
- Generate and extend footage inside Premiere Pro, After Effects and Resolve, or call Runway from ChatGPT, Claude and other MCP agents.
- Developer API
- Runway Dev sells the same models to developers at $0.01 a credit, with a model router that picks a model per request.
Plans
Genmo
Free$0
250 lifetime credits that do not refill; videos carry a Genmo watermark.
Lite$10
per month for 1,200 credits; billing basis not shown
No watermark, commercial use and high queue priority.
Standard$30
per month for 5,000 credits; billing basis not shown
No watermark, commercial use, highest queue priority and early model access.
Runway
Free$0
125 one-time credits that do not refill, a selection of models and 5GB of storage.
Standard$12
per month for 625 credits, billed annually ($15 billed monthly)
Enough for about 52 seconds of Gen-4.5 video or 78 Gen-4 images at 1080p; all models, no watermarks, 3 projects.
Pro$28
per month for 2,250 credits, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
About 187 seconds of Gen-4.5 or 281 Gen-4 images; credit top-ups, a Brand Kit, a voice clone and the Runway MCP.
Max$76
per month for 9,500 credits, billed annually ($95 billed monthly)
About 791 seconds of Gen-4.5; one month of unused credits rolls over, early model access, and HDR and ProRes output.
Team$55
per seat / month, billed annually ($69 billed monthly)
Everything in Max, with 6,900 credits per seat in a shared pool, shared projects and frame-accurate comments. For 2 to 9 seats.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited members and workspaces, SSO, roles and permissions, legal indemnification and dedicated onboarding.
Ways to pay less
Genmo
No public discounts listed.
Runway
- Annual discount
Save 20% with yearly billing
The pricing page marks yearly billing as 20% off: Standard falls from $15 to $12 a month, Pro from $35 to $28 and Max from $95 to $76.
- Education
25% off for students and educators
Students and educators who verify their status through SheerID get 25% off any paid plan; classes of 3 or more licenses can ask for up to 25% off.
- Other savings
Bonus credits for new Enterprise customers until Oct 31, 2026
New Enterprise customers signing by October 31, 2026 get bonus credits matching what they use in the first 60 days. A minimum spend applies.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Genmo or Runway?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Genmo is cheaper to start with: $10 a month, against $12 a month for Runway. Genmo starts at $10 per month for 1,200 credits (billing basis not shown), and Runway starts at $12 per month for 625 credits, billed annually ($15 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Genmo or Runway?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Genmo nor Runway has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Genmo and Runway run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Runway lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.