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Descript vs Runway

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

Descript logo

Descript

Edit video and podcasts by editing their transcript, with AI audio cleanup and clips

4.0(1 review)Freemium
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Verdict

Descript is listed under Video AI and Runway under Image & Visual AI. Both have a free plan or trial. Only Descript is available on Windows and macOS. Only Runway is available on iOS and Android.

Best overall

Descript

  • Podcasters
  • YouTube creators
  • Marketing teams
  • Course creators

Choose Descript if

  • You want a tool built for podcast editing.
  • Editing by transcript makes cutting speech content faster than a timeline alone.
  • Studio Sound, filler word removal and retake removal are built in.

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
Runway
Best for business
Descript

Features

19 features compared.

  • Text-based editing
    Descript
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Underlord
    Descript
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Studio Sound
    Descript
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Filler word and retake removal
    Descript
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • AI speech and voice clones
    Descript
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Create clips
    Descript
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Recording
    Descript
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Translation and dubbing
    Descript
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Generation tools
    Descript
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • API and MCP
    Descript
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Gen-4.5 video model
    Descript
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Creative Agent
    Descript
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Multiple models
    Descript
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Characters
    Descript
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Aleph and Act-Two
    Descript
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Audio tools
    Descript
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Workflows and Recipes
    Descript
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Runway Dev API
    Descript
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Runway MCP
    Descript
    Not available
    Runway
    Available

Pricing

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

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

Descript plans

  • Free

    $0

    1 media hour per month and 100 one-time AI credits

    • Text-based editing
    • Limited AI tools
    • 720p export with watermark
    • 5GB storage

  • Hobbyist

    $24/user/mo

    10 media hours and 400 AI credits per month, 1 person

    • Underlord access
    • Studio Sound
    • Remove filler words
    • Create clips
    • AI speech with voice clones
    • 1080p export without watermark
    • 100GB storage

  • Creator

    Most popular

    $35/user/mo

    30 media hours and 800 AI credits per month, up to 3 seats

    • Full Underlord
    • 20+ AI tools
    • AI video generation
    • Unlimited stock library
    • Top-ups
    • 4K export
    • 1TB storage

  • Business

    $65/user/mo

    40 media hours and 1,500 AI credits per month, up to 5 seats

    • Brand Studio
    • Translation and dubbing in 30+ languages
    • Custom avatars
    • Top-ups
    • Priority support with SLA
    • 4K export
    • 2TB storage

  • Enterprise

    Custom/custom

    Contact sales; media minutes and AI credits sized to the team

    • SSO and SCIM
    • SOC 2 Type II
    • Audit logs
    • Custom data retention
    • Custom legal terms
    • Dedicated customer success manager

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.

Descript
8.5overall
Runway
8.4overall

  • Text-Based Media Editing

    Descript
    9.4
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Studio Sound Enhancement

    Descript
    8.6
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Ease of Use

    Descript
    8.8
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Feature Breadth

    Descript
    8.4
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Value for Money

    Descript
    7.3
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Video Quality

    Descript
    Not rated
    Runway
    9.0

  • Camera & Motion Control

    Descript
    Not rated
    Runway
    8.8

  • Model Variety

    Descript
    Not rated
    Runway
    8.5

  • Editing Tools

    Descript
    Not rated
    Runway
    8.6

  • Pricing Clarity

    Descript
    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

Descript

Pros

  • Editing by transcript makes cutting speech content faster than a timeline alone
  • Studio Sound, filler word removal and retake removal are built in
  • Includes recording, transcription, captions and clip creation in one app
  • Free plan available with no credit card required
  • API and MCP server allow automated editing
  • SOC 2 Type II and SSO or SCIM on Enterprise

Cons

  • Free plan exports 720p with a watermark and allows only 1 media hour per month
  • Paid prices are $24 to $65 per month on monthly billing, with annual billing needed for the lowest rates
  • Media hours and AI credits are capped, with top-ups only on Creator and above
  • Desktop app needs macOS 14 or Windows 11 and there is no listed mobile app

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

Integrations

Descript

No integrations listed.

Runway

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

Company

  • Company
    Descript
    Descript
    Runway
    Runway AI, Inc.
  • Founded
    Descript
    2017
    Runway
    2018
  • Headquarters
    Descript
    San Francisco, CA
    Runway
    New York, NY
  • Listing
    Descript
    Claimed
    Runway
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Descript better than Runway?

It depends on your workflow. Descript is built for podcast editing. Runway is built for Text-to-video and image-to-video generation.

What are the key feature differences between Descript and Runway?

Descript: Edit video and podcasts by editing their transcript, with AI audio cleanup and clips. Runway: AI video, image and audio creation suite with Gen-4.5, agents and an API. Descript is rated 4.0/5 from 1 user review.

Does Descript or Runway have a free plan?

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

Which is cheaper, Descript or Runway?

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