🎬 Alternatives · prices checked Oct 26, 2026
Runway alternatives: 6 options with official prices
Short answer: Pick Kling AI or Pika for text and image to video, HeyGen or Synthesia for avatar presenter videos, Descript to edit video by editing text, and CapCut for free short-form editing. Runway Standard is $15/mo billed monthly or $12/mo billed annually; Pika Starter is $10/mo, or $8/mo billed annually.
Side by side
| Tool | Paid plans | Free tier | Best for | Prices checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runway the tool you are replacing | Standard: $15/mo billed monthly; Pro: $35/mo billed monthly; Max: $95/mo billed monthly; | $0: 125 one-time credits | Pro-grade generative video and editing tools. | runwayml.com/pricing, checked |
| Kling AI | Standard: Pro: Premier: Ultra+: | No $0 plan on the pricing page. Our directory: Yes (Basic $0: credits monthly by logging in) (checked ). | Text and image to video, with a discounted first month on every plan. | kling.ai/app/membership/membership-plan, checked |
| Pika | Starter: $10/mo billed monthly; $8/mo billed annually Creator: $35/mo billed monthly; $28/mo billed annually Fancy: from $95/mo billed monthly; from $76/mo billed annually | $0: Free plan; credits come from credit packs | Short text and image to video clips at a low entry price. | pika.art/pricing, checked |
| HeyGen | Creator: $29/mo billed monthly; Pro: $49/mo billed monthly; | $0: 3 videos a month | AI avatar presenter videos, with voice cloning and translation. | www.heygen.com/pricing, checked |
| Descript | Hobbyist: $24/mo billed monthly; $16/mo billed annually Creator: $35/mo billed monthly; $24/mo billed annually Business: $65/mo billed monthly; $50/mo billed annually | $0: A free plan to try Descript | Editing video by editing its transcript. | www.descript.com/pricing, checked |
| Synthesia | Starter: Pro: | $0: 500 credits a month | AI avatar presenter videos for business and training. | www.synthesia.io/pricing, checked |
| CapCut | Pro: $19.99/mo billed monthly; $179.99/yr billed annually Ultra: $79/mo billed monthly; $900/yr billed annually Teams: $12.49/mo per seat billed monthly; $107.50/yr per seat billed annually | $0: The free CapCut editor | Free short-form editing for social video. | www.capcut.com/pricing, checked |
Crossed-out prices appear only where the vendor's own pricing page shows that price struck through. "See official page" marks a price we could not read on the vendor's page on the check date. Prices exclude tax.
Free for subscribers
Which video tool fits you, and what to pair it with?
The free 5-Minute AI Stack Kit has our pick for every job and 4 starter stacks under $50/mo, and the weekday Brief sends price-drop alerts when Runway or one of these alternatives changes price.
Plan details for each alternative
Kling AI
Kling makes video from text or images. Every paid plan opens with a discounted first month, and the free Basic plan gives credits when you log in.
- Standard: 660 credits a month
- Pro: 3,000 credits a month
- Premier: 18,000 credits a month
- Ultra+: 57,000 credits a month
Official site: https://kling.ai. Prices in the table above, from kling.ai/app/membership/membership-plan, checked .
Pika
Quick short clips from text or images. Paid plans add monthly credits, and the free plan runs on credit packs.
- Free: Free plan; credits come from credit packs
- Starter: 900 credits a month
- Creator: 3,150 credits a month
- Fancy: 8,550 credits a month at the entry price; bigger credit tiers go up to $880/mo billed monthly ($704/mo billed annually)
Official site: https://pika.art. Prices in the table above, from pika.art/pricing, checked .
HeyGen
Talking-avatar videos for training, sales and social, with voice cloning and video translation. The free plan makes 3 videos a month.
- Free: 3 videos a month
- Creator: 600 credits
- Pro: 1,000 credits
Official site: https://www.heygen.com. Prices in the table above, from www.heygen.com/pricing, checked .
Descript
An editor where you cut video by editing text, with AI tools paid for in AI credits. Each plan includes media hours for uploads and transcription.
- Free: A free plan to try Descript
- Hobbyist: 10 media hours and 400 AI credits
- Creator: 30 media hours and 800 AI credits
- Business: 40 media hours and 1,500 AI credits
Official site: https://www.descript.com. Prices in the table above, from www.descript.com/pricing, checked .
Synthesia
Avatar presenter videos for training and internal communication. The free Basic plan includes 500 credits a month.
- Basic: 500 credits a month
- Starter: 1,250 credits a month on monthly billing, 15,000 a year on yearly billing
- Pro: 6,000 credits a month on monthly billing, 72,000 a year on yearly billing
Official site: https://www.synthesia.io. Prices in the table above, from www.synthesia.io/pricing, checked .
CapCut
A free editor for short social videos, with paid plans for more AI features and storage. CapCut labels its listed prices reference only.
- Free: The free CapCut editor
- Pro: More AI features and cloud storage than Free; CapCut labels its listed prices reference only
- Ultra: CapCut's top individual plan; prices labeled reference only
- Teams: Priced per seat for teams; prices labeled reference only
Official site: https://www.capcut.com. Prices in the table above, from www.capcut.com/pricing, checked .
Every option for this job, any price: best AI tools to edit and generate video. Tool pages: Runway · Kling AI · Pika · HeyGen · Descript · Synthesia · CapCut.
Head to head: Kling AI vs Runway.
How we check: every price and free tier on this page comes from the vendor's own pricing page, with the date we checked it. If we can't verify something, we say so. Found a wrong price? Email info@usethissi.com and we fix it within 24 hours.