Kling 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
Kuaishou's AI video studio, home of Kling 4.0 with native 30-second clips, stereo audio and up to 15 reference assets, plus 4K output, Motion Control and an API
Best for: Filmmakers, ad makers and social creators who want one of the leading video models direct from its maker, with long native clips, sound and fine control over references and keyframes.
#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.
Kling AI or Runway?
If you mainly generate new footage, start with Kling. Its entry plan costs less, a single generation can run to 30 seconds, and sound comes with the picture. If you also fix and finish footage, Runway is the stronger buy, because its value sits in the editing tools around the model.
What each one is built for
Kling is a generation studio. You steer a shot up front with references, keyframes and Motion Control, then get video and audio in one pass. There are apps for web, phones and desktop.
Runway is a production suite. Gen-4.5 generates, but Aleph 2.0 and the Apps let you change an outfit, relight a scene or remove an object after the fact. Plugins bring that into Premiere Pro and After Effects. The Team plan adds pooled credits and frame-level comments. Runway even sells Kling 3.0 in its own model menu, though the review does not list its credit rate there.
What it costs at typical use
Say you want 10 clips a month, each 5 seconds at 1080p.
- Kling Standard: $6.99 for the first month, then $8.80, for 660 credits. Kling keeps per-clip costs off its plan page. A third party, citing Kling’s own guide, puts a 5-second 1080p Kling 3.0 clip with audio at 60 credits. Ten clips use 600 credits. Kling 4.0 likely costs more, and that figure is not published.
- Runway Standard: $15 monthly or $12 a month yearly, for 625 credits. Gen-4.5 costs 12 credits a second, so ten clips use 600 credits. The review does not confirm Gen-4.5’s native output resolution, only that 4K upscaling is included.
Both plans fit the job with almost nothing left for retakes. Kling does it for a few dollars less each month. Runway’s edge is that a near miss can often be fixed with Aleph instead of a full reroll. Runway Standard credits reset each month; Kling’s rollover rules are not covered in our review.
Which to pick
- Pick Kling if you want longer single takes, audio in the same pass, desktop apps or the lowest entry price. See the Kling review.
- Pick Runway if you edit inside Premiere Pro or After Effects, want to repair shots rather than regenerate them, or need team review tools. See the Runway review.
Specs side by side
| Kling AI | Runway | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $8.8/mo | From $12/mo |
| Free tier | ||
| Pricing | Free Basic plan with daily free credits and a watermark. Paid plans from $8.80/mo ($6.99 first month) for 660 credits. | Free plan with 125 one-time credits. Paid plans from $12/mo billed yearly ($15 monthly). |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, API | Web, iOS, Android, API |
| Best for | Filmmakers, ad makers and social creators who want one of the leading video models direct from its maker, with long native clips, sound and fine control over references and keyframes. | 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
Kling AI
Free Basic plan with daily free credits and a watermark. Paid plans from $8.80/mo ($6.99 first month) for 660 credits.
- BasicFree
- Standard$6.99 first month, then $8.80/mo (list $10)
- Pro$25.99 first month, then $32.56/mo (list $37)
- Premier$135 first month, then $181.99/mo (list $207)
- Ultra+$402 first month, then $544.99/mo (list $619)
- API packsFrom $700
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
Kling AI
- Kling 4.0, with native clips up to 30 seconds and two-channel stereo audio
- Omni Reference with up to 15 combined images, videos and subject references per generation
- Up to 10 keyframes plus start and end frames to steer a shot
- Kling 3.0 and 3.0 Omni with multi-shot storyboarding of up to five connected shots
- Native dialogue and sound, with Kling 4.0 dialogue in 9 languages per Kling
- 720p, 1080p and native 4K output on paid plans
- Motion Control to copy movement and facial expression from a reference
- Canvas, a node workspace with an Agent that writes scripts and generates storyboards
- Kling Image 3.0 for stills, with native 4K and image series
- Digital Human, Restyle and lip sync tools
- Team workspaces with roles and shared assets
- MCP and CLI access for agents, plus a developer API
- Web, iOS, Android, macOS and Windows 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
Kling AI
- Sold direct by Kuaishou, the company that trains the models
- Native 30-second clips on Kling 4.0, longer than most rivals per generation
- Deep control with references, keyframes, Motion Control and multi-shot prompts
- Native audio, including dialogue, in the same generation
- Apps for every major platform, including desktop
- Public API with a per-second price list
- Credits get cheaper per 100 on bigger plans, from $1.33 down to $0.96 at renewal prices
- The plan page does not list how many credits a clip costs, so you only see it in the app
- Headline prices are first-month discounts; renewals cost more
- Free Basic plan has a watermark, no 1080p and no commercial use
- Premier and Ultra+ jump to $135 and $402 for the first month
- API packs start at $700, too much for casual developers
- So many models, modes and tools that newcomers can get lost
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 Kling AI
Free Basic plan with daily free credits and a watermark. Paid plans from $8.80/mo ($6.99 first month) for 660 credits.
Try Runway
Free plan with 125 one-time credits. Paid plans from $12/mo billed yearly ($15 monthly).