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Runway vs Topaz Labs

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

Topaz Labs logo

Topaz Labs

AI upscaling, sharpening and restoration for photos and video, on desktop, web and iPhone

Paid
Visit websiteView details

Verdict

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

Best overall

Runway

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

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.

Choose Topaz Labs if

  • You want a tool built for upscaling and sharpening low-resolution photos, restoring old images, enhancing or upscaling video footage.
  • Covers photo upscaling, enhancement and video in one product family.
  • Desktop apps for macOS and Windows can render locally without cloud limits.
Best value
Runway
Best for beginners
Runway
Best for business
Topaz Labs

Features

18 features compared.

  • Gen-4.5 video model
    Runway
    Available
    Topaz Labs
    Not available
  • Creative Agent
    Runway
    Available
    Topaz Labs
    Not available
  • Multiple models
    Runway
    Available
    Topaz Labs
    Not available
  • Characters
    Runway
    Available
    Topaz Labs
    Not available
  • Aleph and Act-Two
    Runway
    Available
    Topaz Labs
    Not available
  • Audio tools
    Runway
    Available
    Topaz Labs
    Not available
  • Workflows and Recipes
    Runway
    Available
    Topaz Labs
    Not available
  • Runway Dev API
    Runway
    Available
    Topaz Labs
    Not available
  • Runway MCP
    Runway
    Available
    Topaz Labs
    Not available
  • Topaz Photo
    Runway
    Not available
    Topaz Labs
    Available
  • Topaz Gigapixel
    Runway
    Not available
    Topaz Labs
    Available
  • Topaz Video
    Runway
    Not available
    Topaz Labs
    Available
  • Topaz for Web
    Runway
    Not available
    Topaz Labs
    Available
  • Topaz for Mobile
    Runway
    Not available
    Topaz Labs
    Available
  • Local and cloud rendering
    Runway
    Not available
    Topaz Labs
    Available
  • Topaz Studio bundle
    Runway
    Not available
    Topaz Labs
    Available
  • Enhance API
    Runway
    Not available
    Topaz Labs
    Available
  • Enterprise options
    Runway
    Not available
    Topaz Labs
    Available

Pricing

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

  • Pricing model
    Runway
    Freemium
    Topaz Labs
    Paid
  • Free plan
    Runway
    Yes
    Topaz Labs
    No
  • Starting price
    Runway
    $0
    Topaz Labs
    $59
  • Plans
    Runway
    4 plans
    Topaz Labs
    8 plans

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

Topaz Labs plans

  • Topaz Video

    $59/month

    Desktop video enhancement app

    • Video upscaling
    • denoising and frame interpolation

  • Topaz for Web - Image

    $19/month

    Cloud image enhancement with iPhone app

    • Unlimited image rendering
    • Topaz for Mobile
    • 32MP export
    • limited commercial use

  • Topaz for Web - Video

    $29/month

    Cloud video enhancement

    • 200 monthly video credits
    • 2 concurrent renders
    • file storage
    • limited commercial use

  • Topaz for Web - Pro

    $59/month

    Cloud image and video for professionals

    • Unlimited image rendering
    • 400 monthly video credits
    • 256MP export
    • 8 concurrent renders
    • full commercial use

  • Topaz Photo

    $39/month

    Desktop photo enhancement app

    • Photo enhancement models
    • local rendering

  • Topaz Gigapixel

    $29/month

    Desktop image upscaling app

    • AI upscaling
    • local rendering

  • Topaz Studio

    Most popular

    $69/month

    All Topaz apps in one subscription

    • All apps
    • unlimited local and cloud image rendering
    • 300 monthly video credits
    • limited commercial use

  • Enterprise

    Custom/custom

    Organizations needing offline use and SSO

    • 1,000 monthly video credits
    • offline and air-gapped use
    • SSO
    • priority support

Our ratings

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

Runway
8.4overall
Topaz Labs
7.9overall

  • Video Quality

    Runway
    9.0
    Topaz Labs
    Not rated

  • Camera & Motion Control

    Runway
    8.8
    Topaz Labs
    Not rated

  • Model Variety

    Runway
    8.5
    Topaz Labs
    Not rated

  • Editing Tools

    Runway
    8.6
    Topaz Labs
    Not rated

  • Pricing Clarity

    Runway
    7.2
    Topaz Labs
    Not rated

  • Ease of Use

    Runway
    Not rated
    Topaz Labs
    8.0

  • Feature Depth

    Runway
    Not rated
    Topaz Labs
    8.6

  • Value for Money

    Runway
    Not rated
    Topaz Labs
    7.0

  • Performance & Speed

    Runway
    Not rated
    Topaz Labs
    8.0

  • Documentation & Support

    Runway
    Not rated
    Topaz Labs
    7.8

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

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

Topaz Labs

Pros

  • Covers photo upscaling, enhancement and video in one product family.
  • Desktop apps for macOS and Windows can render locally without cloud limits.
  • Studio bundles all apps with unlimited local and cloud image rendering.
  • Public REST API with per-credit pricing for developers.
  • Web and iPhone apps allow work without a powerful local GPU.

Cons

  • Subscription-only pricing; no free tier or free trial is listed on the pricing page.
  • Pricing is complex, with many overlapping plans, intro offers and different monthly and annual figures.
  • Video cloud credits are limited each month and expire without rolling over.
  • Mobile support is iPhone only; Android is still listed as in development.

Platforms

  • Web
    Runway
    Supported
    Topaz Labs
    Supported
  • Windows
    Runway
    Not supported
    Topaz Labs
    Supported
  • macOS
    Runway
    Not supported
    Topaz Labs
    Supported
  • iOS
    Runway
    Supported
    Topaz Labs
    Supported
  • Android
    Runway
    Supported
    Topaz Labs
    Not supported
  • API
    Runway
    Supported
    Topaz Labs
    Supported
  • Browser Extension
    Runway
    Not supported
    Topaz Labs
    Not supported

Integrations

Runway

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

Topaz Labs

No integrations listed.

Company

  • Company
    Runway
    Runway AI, Inc.
    Topaz Labs
    Topaz Labs
  • Founded
    Runway
    2018
    Topaz Labs
    Not listed
  • Headquarters
    Runway
    New York, NY
    Topaz Labs
    Addison, TX
  • Listing
    Runway
    Claimed
    Topaz Labs
    Claimed

Frequently asked questions

Is Runway better than Topaz Labs?

It depends on your workflow. Runway is built for Text-to-video and image-to-video generation. Topaz Labs is built for upscaling and sharpening low-resolution photos, restoring old images, enhancing or upscaling video footage.

What are the key feature differences between Runway and Topaz Labs?

Runway: AI video, image and audio creation suite with Gen-4.5, agents and an API. Topaz Labs: AI upscaling, sharpening and restoration for photos and video, on desktop, web and iPhone.

Does Runway or Topaz Labs have a free plan?

Runway has a free plan or trial; Topaz Labs is paid only.

Which is cheaper, Runway or Topaz Labs?

Runway starts at $0 and Topaz Labs starts at $59. See the pricing table above for what each tier includes.