Hailuo AI vs Runway
Two text to video tools side by side: pricing, free plans, features and who each one suits.
Unranked in Text to video
MiniMax's AI video app, built on its own open-weight MiniMax H3 model with 2K output, native audio and up to 12 references, plus Hailuo 2.3, templates and an agent
Best for: Creators who want a capable, low-cost video model from a major lab, with references, native audio and fun templates in one app, and developers who want cheap per-second API pricing.
#10 in Text to video
The AI video lab behind Gen-4.5 and Aleph, with a full creative suite for generating, editing and extending footage, plus Kling, Seedance and other models
Best for: Filmmakers, editors, agencies and brand teams who want frontier video models plus serious editing tools, and are willing to pay per second of footage.
Hailuo AI or Runway?
If you want the most footage for your money, Hailuo is the better deal. If you need to edit, finish and review that footage with a team, Runway earns its higher price. The two overlap less than their model pages suggest.
What each one is built for
Hailuo is MiniMax’s consumer app for its own H3 model. One prompt box takes text, images, video and audio, up to 12 references, and outputs 2K clips of up to 15 seconds with sound. Around it sit older Hailuo models, an agent and a gallery of social templates. The full plan table is hidden until you sign in.
Runway is a production suite. Its own Gen-4.5 sits next to Kling, Seedance and other models, but the reason to pay is what comes after generation: Aleph 2.0 and the Apps for relighting, object removal and backdrop swaps, Premiere Pro and After Effects plugins, and a Team plan with shared projects. Runway publishes the credit cost of every model.
What it costs at typical use
Say you want 10 short 1080p clips a month.
- Hailuo Standard: a third-party review reports $14.99 a month, or $7.99 on a promotion that reverts, for 1,000 credits. A 6-second 1080p Hailuo 2.3 clip is reported at 80 credits, so ten clips use 800. H3 clip costs are not published.
- Runway Standard: $15 monthly or $12 a month yearly, for 625 credits. At 12 credits a second for Gen-4.5, ten 5-second clips use 600. The review does not confirm Gen-4.5’s native resolution, only 4K upscaling.
On the regular prices the monthly bill is about the same. Hailuo gives you longer clips and more spare credits. Runway gives you tools to fix a weak shot without paying for another one.
For developers, H3 on the MiniMax API runs 8 cents a second at 768p or 13 cents at 2K. Runway has an API, but its rates are not in our review.
Which to pick
- Pick Hailuo if you want cheap generation, open weights or a low-cost API, and you finish your edits elsewhere. See the Hailuo review.
- Pick Runway if you edit in Premiere Pro or After Effects, want to repair shots in place, or work in a team. See the Runway review.
Specs side by side
| Hailuo AI | Runway | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $9.99/mo | From $12/mo |
| Free tier | ||
| Pricing | Free credits for new users, with watermarked output. Paid plans from $9.99/mo per Hailuo's homepage; full plan details sit behind sign-in. | Free plan with 125 one-time credits. Paid plans from $12/mo billed yearly ($15 monthly). |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, API | Web, iOS, Android, API |
| Best for | Creators who want a capable, low-cost video model from a major lab, with references, native audio and fun templates in one app, and developers who want cheap per-second API pricing. | Filmmakers, editors, agencies and brand teams who want frontier video models plus serious editing tools, and are willing to pay per second of footage. |
| Last checked | 2026-10-22 | 2026-10-21 |
Pricing
Hailuo AI
Free credits for new users, with watermarked output. Paid plans from $9.99/mo per Hailuo's homepage; full plan details sit behind sign-in.
- FreeFree
- Standard$14.99/mo regular, $7.99 promo (reported)
- Pro$54.99/mo regular, $24.99 promo (reported)
- Master$94.99/mo regular, $63.99 promo (reported)
- Ultra$124.99/mo (reported)
- Max$199.99/mo (reported)
- MiniMax API$0.08/s at 768p
Runway
Free plan with 125 one-time credits. Paid plans from $12/mo billed yearly ($15 monthly).
- FreeFree
- Standard$12/mo yearly · $15 monthly
- Pro$28/mo yearly · $35 monthly
- Max$76/mo yearly · $95 monthly
- Team$55/seat/mo yearly · $69 monthly
- EnterpriseCustom
Key features
Hailuo AI
- MiniMax H3 (Hailuo 3.0), MiniMax's own video model with 2K output and native stereo audio
- Omni Reference with up to 12 references in one generation
- Text, image, video and audio inputs in one prompt, with editing in the same model, per MiniMax
- Clips up to 15 seconds and native multi-shot generation, per MiniMax
- Older Hailuo 2.3, 2.3-Fast, 02 and 01 models still in the app
- Third-party Wan 3.0 model available alongside MiniMax's own
- Hailuo Agent for building videos through conversation
- Image and audio generation in the same app
- Template gallery with one-tap effects such as PetPal, Style Switch and ASMR
- Wide aspect ratios up to 21:9
- Open-weight H3 release, per MiniMax
- MiniMax API with per-second H3 pricing
- iOS and Android apps
Runway
- Gen-4.5, Runway's own text-to-video and image-to-video model
- Aleph 2.0 and Edit Studio, which apply an edit made on one frame to the rest of the video
- Third-party models in the same app, including Kling 3.0, Seedance 2.0 and 2.5, Nano Banana Pro, Wan and FLUX
- Runway Agent for building end-to-end videos through conversation
- Apps for removing objects, relighting, changing backdrops or time of day, adding dialogue and upscaling
- Node-based Workflows that chain models and steps
- Act-Two and Add Performance for mapping your voice and expressions onto a character
- Plugins for Premiere Pro, After Effects and DaVinci Resolve
- Music, voice and sound effects generation
- Runway MCP, a ChatGPT plugin and a developer API
- iOS and Android apps
Strengths and weaknesses
Hailuo AI
- MiniMax trains its own models, so new versions land here first
- H3 combines generation, references and editing in one model
- 2K output with native audio
- Up to 12 references in a single generation
- Very low API prices, from $0.05 a second on H3-Max
- Templates make it easy for casual creators
- Public affiliate program with published commission tiers
- The full plan table is only visible after sign-in
- The credit cost of an H3 clip is not on any public page we found
- Third-party reports disagree on prices, and promo prices revert to regular
- Hailuo does not support refunds, per AI Academy's reading of its terms
- Free output carries a watermark
- Template gallery leans toward novelty effects rather than production tools
Runway
- Runs its own frontier models, not only resold ones
- Video editing tools go well beyond generation, from object removal to relighting
- Premiere Pro, After Effects and Resolve plugins fit real post-production
- Public per-model credit costs make budgeting predictable
- Every paid plan gets all video and image models and no watermark
- Team plan with pooled credits and frame-accurate comments
- Standard's 625 credits buy only about 52 seconds of Gen-4.5 a month
- Free credits are one-time, roughly 10 seconds of Gen-4.5
- Credits do not roll over on Standard or Pro
- Pricing page labels yearly billing both "2 months free" and "20% off"; the actual saving is 20%
- Studio-grade output such as HDR and ProRes is Max-only
- The breadth of tools and models has a learning curve for casual creators
Try Hailuo AI
Free credits for new users, with watermarked output. Paid plans from $9.99/mo per Hailuo's homepage; full plan details sit behind sign-in.
Try Runway
Free plan with 125 one-time credits. Paid plans from $12/mo billed yearly ($15 monthly).