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Artgen vs Runway

Features, pricing, ratings, and pros and cons, side by side.

Verdict

Artgen and Runway are both Image & Visual AI tools. Runway scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.4 vs 7.6 out of 10), led by pricing clarity. Both have a free plan or trial. Only Artgen is available on Chrome Extension. Only Runway is available on iOS and Android.

Best overall

Runway

  • Filmmakers
  • Video creators
  • Marketers and ad teams
  • Designers

Choose Artgen if

  • You want a tool built for turning photos into pixel art or ASCII art for free, quick AI illustrations in named art styles, repeatable image effects.
  • Six deterministic image effects are free with sign-in and need no credits.
  • Credits never expire and roll over between months.

Choose Runway if

  • You want a tool built for Text-to-video and image-to-video generation.
  • Combines video, image and audio generation and editing in one workspace.
  • Offers Runway's own Gen-4.5 plus third-party models such as Seedance 2.0.
Best for beginners
Artgen
Best for business
Runway

Features

18 features compared.

  • Image to pixel art
    Artgen
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Image to ASCII
    Artgen
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Fixed print effects
    Artgen
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • AI image generation
    Artgen
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Image editing tools
    Artgen
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Video and audio tools
    Artgen
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Chrome extension
    Artgen
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • API
    Artgen
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Credit transparency
    Artgen
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Gen-4.5 video model
    Artgen
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Creative Agent
    Artgen
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Multiple models
    Artgen
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Characters
    Artgen
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Aleph and Act-Two
    Artgen
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Audio tools
    Artgen
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Workflows and Recipes
    Artgen
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Runway Dev API
    Artgen
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Runway MCP
    Artgen
    Not available
    Runway
    Available

Pricing

Plans as listed by each vendor. Check their sites for current prices.

  • Pricing model
    Artgen
    Freemium
    Runway
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    Artgen
    Yes
    Runway
    Yes
  • Starting price
    Artgen
    $0
    Runway
    $0
  • Plans
    Artgen
    4 plans
    Runway
    4 plans

Artgen plans

  • Free

    $0

    Six fixed image effects, free with sign-in.

    • Pixel art
    • ASCII
    • risograph
    • cyanotype
    • pop art and pointillism effects
    • No credits needed
    • Browser tools usable without sign-in

  • Starter

    $10/month

    A little space to explore.

    • 300 credits per month
    • All available models subject to credits
    • Unused credits roll over and never expire

  • Creator

    Most popular

    $25/month

    For ideas that keep coming.

    • 900 credits per month
    • All available models subject to credits
    • Unused credits roll over and never expire

  • Studio

    $50/month

    More room for a bigger practice.

    • 2,000 credits per month
    • All available models subject to credits
    • Unused credits roll over and never expire

Runway plans

  • Free

    $0

    125 one-time credits that do not expire

    • A selection of generative models
    • 5GB storage

  • Standard

    $15/month

    625 credits per month; $12 per month billed annually

    • All video and image models
    • Creative Agent
    • 5 parallel generations
    • Music and voice and sound effects
    • Up to 3 projects
    • No watermarks
    • 4K upscaling
    • 20GB storage

  • Pro

    Most popular

    $35/month

    2,250 credits per month; $28 per month billed annually

    • Everything in Standard
    • 15 parallel generations
    • Up to 5 projects
    • 1 Brand Kit
    • 1 custom voice clone
    • Top-up credits
    • Runway MCP
    • Unlimited 4K video upscaling
    • 100GB storage

  • Max

    $95/month

    9,500 credits per month; $76 per month billed annually

    • Everything in Pro
    • Early access to new models
    • 20 parallel generations
    • Up to 10 projects
    • Up to 3 Brand Kits
    • Up to 3 custom voice clones
    • HDR and ProRes and image sequence outputs
    • 500GB storage

Our ratings

Scored out of 10 by the Finder Atlas editorial team. Last reviewed October 2026.

Artgen
7.6overall
Runway
8.4overall

Artgen leads in 0 categories and Runway in 1.

  • Image Effects Quality

    Artgen
    7.6
    Runway
    Not rated

  • AI Generation Quality

    Artgen
    7.2
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Tool Breadth

    Artgen
    8.0
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Pricing Clarity

    Runway leads by 0.2
    Artgen
    7.0
    Runway
    7.2

  • Ease of Use

    Artgen
    8.2
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Video Quality

    Artgen
    Not rated
    Runway
    9.0

  • Camera & Motion Control

    Artgen
    Not rated
    Runway
    8.8

  • Model Variety

    Artgen
    Not rated
    Runway
    8.5

  • Editing Tools

    Artgen
    Not rated
    Runway
    8.6

Scores weigh documented features, plan value, platform coverage, integrations and user feedback. A missing score means we have not rated that area yet.

Pros and cons

Artgen

Pros

  • Six deterministic image effects are free with sign-in and need no credits
  • Credits never expire and roll over between months
  • Wide catalog of 51 tools covering images, editing, video and audio
  • Chrome extension and documented API alongside the web app
  • Credit cost is shown before each AI run

Cons

  • The site does not name the company or team behind it
  • Even the free effects require sign-in
  • Pixel art output is a single opaque 512 px-max PNG with no transparency or sprite sheets
  • Individual credit pack prices were not visible on the pricing page
  • Some video and audio features appear to be limited or still rolling out

Runway

Pros

  • Combines video, image and audio generation and editing in one workspace
  • Offers Runway's own Gen-4.5 plus third-party models such as Seedance 2.0
  • Creative Agent builds videos from a conversation
  • Runway Dev API with Node and Python SDKs
  • Free plan with 125 credits that do not expire
  • Native iOS and Android apps

Cons

  • Credit-based pricing: a 5-second Gen-4.5 clip costs 60 credits, so the 625 credits on Standard cover about 10 such clips
  • Standard and Pro credits do not roll over at the end of the month
  • Some App Store reviewers complain about the cost of failed or unusable generations
  • 4K upscaling is unlimited only on Pro and Max

Platforms

  • Web
    Artgen
    Supported
    Runway
    Supported
  • Windows
    Artgen
    Not supported
    Runway
    Not supported
  • macOS
    Artgen
    Not supported
    Runway
    Not supported
  • iOS
    Artgen
    Not supported
    Runway
    Supported
  • Android
    Artgen
    Not supported
    Runway
    Supported
  • API
    Artgen
    Supported
    Runway
    Supported
  • Browser Extension
    Artgen
    Not supported
    Runway
    Not supported
  • Chrome Extension
    Artgen
    Supported
    Runway
    Not supported

Integrations

Artgen

No integrations listed.

Runway

5 integrations
  • Runway MCP
  • ChatGPT plugin
  • Meta Ads
  • Google Ads
  • TikTok Ads

Company

  • Company
    Artgen
    Not listed
    Runway
    Runway AI, Inc.
  • Founded
    Artgen
    Not listed
    Runway
    2018
  • Headquarters
    Artgen
    Not listed
    Runway
    New York, NY
  • Listing
    Artgen
    Not claimed
    Runway
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Artgen better than Runway?

It depends on your workflow. Artgen is built for turning photos into pixel art or ASCII art for free, quick AI illustrations in named art styles, repeatable image effects. Runway is built for Text-to-video and image-to-video generation.

What are the key feature differences between Artgen and Runway?

Artgen: Browser art studio for AI images, pixel art, ASCII and print effects. Runway: AI video, image and audio creation suite with Gen-4.5, agents and an API.

Does Artgen or Runway have a free plan?

Yes, both do. Artgen is freemium and Runway is freemium, and each has a free plan or trial.

Which is cheaper, Artgen or Runway?

Both can be used for free. Paid plans differ in limits and features, so compare the tiers in the pricing table above.