FinderAtlas
Sign in

Pika vs Runway

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

Verdict

Pika and Runway are both Image & Visual AI tools. Runway scores higher in FinderAtlas's editorial review (8.4 vs 7.9 out of 10). Both have a free plan or trial. Only Runway is available on Android.

Best overall

Runway

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

Choose Pika if

  • You want a tool built for Short-form AI video clips, product ads and shots, video editing effects, generating soundtracks for clips.
  • Many video, image, speech and audio models available under one account.
  • No watermark is listed on any plan, including Free.

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
Pika
Best for business
Pika

Features

17 features compared.

  • Video Studio
    Pika
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Extend Video
    Pika
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Pika Soundtrack
    Pika
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Edit Image
    Pika
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Character Studio
    Pika
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Product Shot and Product Ad
    Pika
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Color Grade
    Pika
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Multi-Model Access
    Pika
    Available
    Runway
    Not available
  • Gen-4.5 video model
    Pika
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Creative Agent
    Pika
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Multiple models
    Pika
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Characters
    Pika
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Aleph and Act-Two
    Pika
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Audio tools
    Pika
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Workflows and Recipes
    Pika
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Runway Dev API
    Pika
    Not available
    Runway
    Available
  • Runway MCP
    Pika
    Not available
    Runway
    Available

Pricing

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

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

Pika plans

  • Free

    $0

    Entry plan using purchased credit packs

    • 0 monthly credits
    • all models
    • 2 parallel video generations
    • no watermark

  • Starter

    $10/month

    Light individual use

    • 900 credits/month
    • all models
    • 2 parallel video generations
    • no commercial license

  • Creator

    Most popular

    $35/month

    Regular creators needing commercial rights

    • 3,150 credits/month
    • 8 parallel video generations
    • commercial license

  • Fancy

    $95/month

    Heavy users

    • 8,550 and up credits/month
    • unlimited parallel generations
    • commercial license
    • priority queue

  • Enterprise

    Custom/custom

    Studios and teams

    • Custom credits
    • dedicated support
    • commercial license

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.

Pika
7.9overall
Runway
8.4overall

  • Ease of Use

    Pika
    8.5
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Feature Depth

    Pika
    8.4
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Value for Money

    Pika
    7.5
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Performance & Speed

    Pika
    7.8
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Documentation & Support

    Pika
    7.2
    Runway
    Not rated

  • Video Quality

    Pika
    Not rated
    Runway
    9.0

  • Camera & Motion Control

    Pika
    Not rated
    Runway
    8.8

  • Model Variety

    Pika
    Not rated
    Runway
    8.5

  • Editing Tools

    Pika
    Not rated
    Runway
    8.6

  • Pricing Clarity

    Pika
    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

Pika

Pros

  • Many video, image, speech and audio models available under one account.
  • No watermark is listed on any plan, including Free.
  • Task-specific apps such as Extend Video, Pika Soundtrack and Product Shot reduce prompt engineering.
  • Annual billing gives a 20% discount.
  • iOS app with a 4.7 rating from 4.3K ratings on the App Store.

Cons

  • Free plan includes 0 monthly credits, so it needs purchased packs to generate anything.
  • Commercial license requires the $35/month Creator plan or higher.
  • Plan credits do not roll over each month.
  • Older FAQ and App Store pricing conflict with the current pricing page, which can confuse buyers.

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

Integrations

Pika

2 integrations
  • ChatGPT
  • MCP

Runway

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

Company

  • Company
    Pika
    Pika
    Runway
    Runway AI, Inc.
  • Founded
    Pika
    2023
    Runway
    2018
  • Headquarters
    Pika
    Not listed
    Runway
    New York, NY
  • Listing
    Pika
    Claimed
    Runway
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Pika better than Runway?

It depends on your workflow. Pika is built for Short-form AI video clips, product ads and shots, video editing effects, generating soundtracks for clips. Runway is built for Text-to-video and image-to-video generation.

What are the key feature differences between Pika and Runway?

Pika: Generate, edit and extend AI video, images and audio from one creative platform. Runway: AI video, image and audio creation suite with Gen-4.5, agents and an API.

Does Pika or Runway have a free plan?

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

Which is cheaper, Pika or Runway?

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