Pika vs Runway
We give Pika and Runway the same GPA: 2.6 out of 4.0. Pika grades higher on value for money and ease of use. Runway grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Runway
AI video, image and audio studio with its own Gen-4.5 model
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAPikaGood | 2.6GPARunwayGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStarter is $8 a month on yearly billing ($10 monthly) for 900 credits, about 7 five-second Seedance 2.5 clips or 112 Nano Banana 2 images. That's the cheapest start among its listed video rivals, Runway at $12 and Luma at $25, but there's no commercial license until Creator at $28. | 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 | FThe Free plan has 0 credits a month and only works with bought packs, at $25 for 1,500 credits. So nothing is free, and payments aren't refunded. | 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 | BVideo Studio for up to 30-second multi-shot videos on Pika 2.5, Seedance and MiniMax, apps to extend, regrade and rework footage, image tools, saved characters, product shots and soundtracks matched to the action. The whole job. | 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 | A4.73 from about 4,300 App Store ratings, in the top band. Each tool does one thing, like Extend Video or Color Grade, so it's clear where to start. | B4.5 from about 17,700 App Store ratings. The app itself is friendly, but working out what a month of credits buys takes some sums. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb and iPhone, with ChatGPT and other agents through MCP and a separate developer API. No Android or desktop app, and top-up credits don't work in the iPhone app. | 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 | short social clips with sound | 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: Pika and Runway. How we grade
Price against what you get
Pika starts at $8 a month and scores 3.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Runway starts at $12 a month and scores 3.0.
Pika scores higher and starts $4 a month lower. Of the other AI image and video generators on the chart, none scores higher than Pika 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
- Pika starts at $8 per month for 900 credits, billed annually ($10 billed monthly). Runway starts at $12 per month for 625 credits, billed annually ($15 billed monthly).
- Only Runway lists an Android app.
- Runway also covers AI agents.
At a glance
| Pika | Runway | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $8 per month for 900 credits, billed annually ($10 billed monthly) | $12 per month for 625 credits, billed annually ($15 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free plan with 125 one-time credits that do not refill, a selection of models and 5GB of storage |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Mellis, Inc. | Runway AI, Inc. |
| Price read from | pika.art | runway.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Pika
- Social and ad creators who want task-specific video and image tools
- Adding sound and music to generated clips in the same app
- Trying several partner video models without separate accounts
Runway
- Video makers who want to edit real footage by describing the change
- Creators who want several leading video models under one subscription
- Small creative teams sharing one credit pool and brand kits
Worth knowing
Pika
- There are no free credits: the Free plan includes 0 credits a month and works only with bought packs, at 60 credits per $1 ($25 for 1,500).
- The Starter plan has no commercial license; commercial use starts at Creator.
- Plan credits reset each period without rollover; top-up credits expire after 365 days and work only on pika.art, not the API, MCP or iOS app.
- Payments are non-refundable. The developer API is a separate membership at $10 a month, with $10 of credit in the first month.
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
Pika
- Video Studio
- Makes anything from a short clip to a 30-second multi-shot video, using Pika 2.5, Seedance 2.5, MiniMax H3, Wan 3.0 or Gemini Omni.
- Editing apps for footage
- Extend Video adds frames to a clip, Color Grade changes its look, and Swap Anything and Motion Transfer rework existing video.
- Image Studio and Edit Image
- Generate images with models such as GPT Image 2.5, Nano Banana 2 and Seedream, then swap, remove or restyle parts of them.
- Characters and product shots
- Character Studio saves a character to reuse across creations, and Product Shot stages a product without a photoshoot.
- Pika Soundtrack and audio
- Soundtrack scores a clip with music, ambience and sound effects matched to the action; separate studios handle speech, music and SFX.
- MCP, ChatGPT and API
- Pika can be used from ChatGPT and other agents through its MCP server, and developers reach the same models through the Pika API Club.
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
Pika
Starter$8
per month for 900 credits, billed annually ($10 billed monthly)
Enough for about 7 five-second Seedance 2.5 clips at 720p or 112 Nano Banana 2 images; no commercial license.
Creator$28
per month for 3,150 credits, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
About 25 Seedance 2.5 clips or 393 Nano Banana 2 images, a commercial license and 8 video jobs at once.
Fancy$76
per month for 8,550 credits, billed annually ($95 billed monthly)
About 70 Seedance 2.5 clips, priority queue and unlimited parallel jobs. Larger credit steps run to $880 a month.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom monthly credits for studios and teams, with dedicated support and early access to new models.
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
Pika
- Annual discount
Save 20% with yearly billing
The pricing page lists yearly billing at 20% off: Starter $8 instead of $10 a month, Creator $28 instead of $35, Fancy $76 instead of $95.
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.
