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DeepSeek vs Runway

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

Verdict

DeepSeek is listed under AI Assistants and Runway under Image & Visual AI. DeepSeek scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.8 vs 8.4 out of 10). Both have a free plan or trial. Only DeepSeek is available on Windows and macOS.

Best overall

DeepSeek

  • Software developers
  • Researchers and analysts
  • Students
  • AI engineers

Choose DeepSeek if

  • You want a tool built for Low-cost API integration.
  • Web chat and mobile apps are free.
  • API output costs from $0.60 per 1M tokens (Flash, off-peak), well below most frontier providers.

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
DeepSeek
Best for business
Runway

Features

18 features compared.

  • V4 model family
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Thinking mode
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Open weights
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • OpenAI and Anthropic compatible API
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Tool calls and JSON output
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Search and Fetch APIs
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Agent tool integrations
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • DeepSeek Harness
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Vision on Flash
    DeepSeek
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Gen-4.5 video model
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Creative Agent
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Multiple models
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Characters
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Aleph and Act-Two
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Audio tools
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Workflows and Recipes
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Runway Dev API
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Runway MCP
    DeepSeek
    Not available
    Runway
    Available

Pricing

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

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

DeepSeek plans

  • Chat and App

    Most popular

    $0

    Free access to DeepSeek models on web, iOS and Android

    • Web chat
    • iOS and Android apps
    • Thinking mode
    • Web search
    • File upload

  • API: deepseek-flash

    $0.15/1M input tokens

    Pay as you go; $0.15 cache-miss input and $0.60 output per 1M tokens off-peak, double at peak

    • 1M context
    • 384K max output
    • Vision
    • Tool calls
    • JSON output

  • API: deepseek-v4-pro

    $0.66/1M input tokens

    Pay as you go; $0.66 cache-miss input and $1.98 output per 1M tokens off-peak, double at peak

    • 1M context
    • 384K max output
    • Tool calls
    • JSON output

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.

DeepSeek
8.8overall
Runway
8.4overall

  • Reasoning & Logic

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Coding & Syntax

    DeepSeek
    8.7
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Cost Efficiency

    DeepSeek
    9.6
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Long Context

    DeepSeek
    8.8
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Ease of Use

    DeepSeek
    8.0
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Video Quality

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Runway
    9.0

  • Camera & Motion Control

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Runway
    8.8

  • Model Variety

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Runway
    8.5

  • Editing Tools

    DeepSeek
    Not rated
    Runway
    8.6

  • Pricing Clarity

    DeepSeek
    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

DeepSeek

Pros

  • Web chat and mobile apps are free
  • API output costs from $0.60 per 1M tokens (Flash, off-peak), well below most frontier providers
  • Open weights for V4 and earlier models on Hugging Face
  • 1M-token context and 384K max output on both API models
  • API works with both OpenAI and Anthropic SDKs and several coding agents

Cons

  • Peak-hour API rates are double the off-peak rates on weekday mornings UTC
  • deepseek-v4-pro does not support vision input
  • No image generation
  • Data is processed by a company based in China, which some organizations cannot accept

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

Integrations

DeepSeek

6 integrations
  • OpenAI SDK
  • Anthropic SDK
  • Claude Code
  • Codex
  • OpenCode
  • Hugging Face

Runway

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

Company

  • Company
    DeepSeek
    DeepSeek
    Runway
    Runway AI, Inc.
  • Founded
    DeepSeek
    2023
    Runway
    2018
  • Headquarters
    DeepSeek
    Hangzhou, China
    Runway
    New York, NY
  • Listing
    DeepSeek
    Claimed
    Runway
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is DeepSeek better than Runway?

It depends on your workflow. DeepSeek is built for Low-cost API integration. Runway is built for Text-to-video and image-to-video generation.

What are the key feature differences between DeepSeek and Runway?

DeepSeek: Free AI chat app and low-cost API running DeepSeek's open-weights V4 models. Runway: AI video, image and audio creation suite with Gen-4.5, agents and an API.

Does DeepSeek or Runway have a free plan?

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

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek or Runway?

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