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Cinel AI vs Runway

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

Cinel AI logo

Cinel AI

Generate and edit images and videos with many AI models in one free-to-start workspace

Freemium
Visit websiteView details

Verdict

Cinel AI and Runway are both Image & Visual AI tools. Runway scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.4 vs 7.5 out of 10). Both have a free plan or trial. Only Runway is available on iOS and Android and offers an API.

Best overall

Runway

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

Choose Cinel AI if

  • You want a tool built for trying several image and video models from one account and paying per generation with credits that do not expire.
  • Wide model selection spanning OpenAI, Google, ByteDance, Kling, MiniMax, Alibaba and xAI models in one account.
  • Credits never expire and are priced per generation, with the cost displayed before running.

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
Cinel AI
Best for business
Runway

Features

17 features compared.

  • Many models in one place
    Cinel AI
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Text to image and image to image
    Cinel AI
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Image editing tools
    Cinel AI
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Text to video and image to video
    Cinel AI
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Prompt library and templates
    Cinel AI
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Cost shown before generation
    Cinel AI
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • No-login free images
    Cinel AI
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Content policy
    Cinel AI
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Gen-4.5 video model
    Cinel AI
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Creative Agent
    Cinel AI
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Multiple models
    Cinel AI
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Characters
    Cinel AI
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Aleph and Act-Two
    Cinel AI
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Audio tools
    Cinel AI
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Workflows and Recipes
    Cinel AI
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Runway Dev API
    Cinel AI
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Runway MCP
    Cinel AI
    Not available
    Runway
    Available

Pricing

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

  • Pricing model
    Cinel AI
    Freemium
    Runway
    Freemium
  • Free plan
    Cinel AI
    Yes
    Runway
    Yes
  • Starting price
    Cinel AI
    $0
    Runway
    $0
  • Plans
    Cinel AI
    5 plans
    Runway
    4 plans

Cinel AI plans

  • Free

    $0

    10 Silver credits per day, no card required

    • Up to 3 Z-Image Turbo images per day
    • Unlimited FLUX.2 Klein 4B and Kolors
    • Trial access to GPT Image 2 and video models
    • Watermarks on free models
    • Personal non-commercial use

  • Basic

    $9.99/one-time

    600 Gold credits that never expire

    • Up to 120 GPT Image 2 images at 1K or 12 Seedance 1.0 Turbo videos
    • No watermarks
    • Full commercial rights
    • Up to 2 parallel outputs
    • Up to 5 reference images

  • Plus

    Most popular

    $19.99/one-time

    1,300 Gold credits that never expire

    • Up to 260 GPT Image 2 images at 1K or 27 Seedance 1.0 Turbo videos
    • No watermarks
    • Up to 4 parallel outputs
    • Up to 10 reference images
    • VIP priority queue

  • Pro

    $49.99/one-time

    3,500 Gold credits that never expire

    • Up to 700 GPT Image 2 images at 1K or 72 Seedance 1.0 Turbo videos
    • No watermarks
    • Up to 4 parallel outputs
    • Up to 10 reference images
    • VIP priority queue

  • Ultra

    $79.90/one-time

    6,000 Gold credits at the lowest cost per credit

    • Up to 1,200 GPT Image 2 images at 1K or 125 Seedance 1.0 Turbo videos
    • No watermarks
    • Up to 4 parallel outputs
    • Up to 10 reference images
    • VIP priority queue

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.

Cinel AI
7.5overall
Runway
8.4overall

  • Ease of Use

    Cinel AI
    8.0
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Feature Depth

    Cinel AI
    8.0
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Value for Money

    Cinel AI
    7.5
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Performance & Speed

    Cinel AI
    7.5
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Documentation & Support

    Cinel AI
    6.5
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Video Quality

    Cinel AI
    Not rated
    Runway
    9.0

  • Camera & Motion Control

    Cinel AI
    Not rated
    Runway
    8.8

  • Model Variety

    Cinel AI
    Not rated
    Runway
    8.5

  • Editing Tools

    Cinel AI
    Not rated
    Runway
    8.6

  • Pricing Clarity

    Cinel AI
    Not rated
    Runway
    7.2

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

Cinel AI

Pros

  • Wide model selection spanning OpenAI, Google, ByteDance, Kling, MiniMax, Alibaba and xAI models in one account
  • Credits never expire and are priced per generation, with the cost displayed before running
  • Free tier available, including some image generation without signing in
  • Includes editing tools (background remover, upscaler, uncrop) alongside generation
  • Published acceptable-use policy, moderation process and refund terms

Cons

  • No named legal entity or company details on the site; the Terms point to the checkout page for the provider
  • No public API or mobile app
  • Free outputs on free models are watermarked, and the "unlimited" claim applies only to specific free models
  • Premium models can be expensive in credits, for example Veo 3.1 Pro from 1,072 Gold against a 600 Gold Basic pack
  • Site copy is inconsistent in places, such as reference-image limits differing between the pricing page and the FAQ

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
    Cinel AI
    Supported
    Runway
    Supported
  • Windows
    Cinel AI
    Not supported
    Runway
    Not supported
  • macOS
    Cinel AI
    Not supported
    Runway
    Not supported
  • iOS
    Cinel AI
    Not supported
    Runway
    Supported
  • Android
    Cinel AI
    Not supported
    Runway
    Supported
  • API
    Cinel AI
    Not supported
    Runway
    Supported
  • Browser Extension
    Cinel AI
    Not supported
    Runway
    Not supported

Integrations

Cinel AI

No integrations listed.

Runway

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

Company

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

Frequently asked questions

Is Cinel AI better than Runway?

It depends on your workflow. Cinel AI is built for trying several image and video models from one account and paying per generation with credits that do not expire. Runway is built for Text-to-video and image-to-video generation.

What are the key feature differences between Cinel AI and Runway?

Cinel AI: Generate and edit images and videos with many AI models in one free-to-start workspace. Runway: AI video, image and audio creation suite with Gen-4.5, agents and an API.

Does Cinel AI or Runway have a free plan?

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

Which is cheaper, Cinel AI or Runway?

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