Yes, Runway has a free plan, but its credits are one-time, not monthly. Runway's Free plan gives you 125 credits once, and they never renew or refresh after you spend them. Free covers only a limited set of models, every free video carries a Runway watermark, and you can't buy extra credits on it. Watermark-free video and all models start with the Standard plan at $15 a month ($12 billed yearly).
Plans and rules below come from Runway's pricing page and Help Center, read on 24 October 2026. Runway changes models and plans often, so check runwayml.com/pricing before you pay.
Is Runway free in 2026?
Runway's pricing page calls Free "free forever" and lists:
- 125 credits (one time) "to explore Runway's AI tools".
- A selection of generative models to test concepts. Runway doesn't publish the list; its Help Center says to log in and check, and that a model showing an upgrade prompt isn't included.
- 5 GB of asset storage.
Runway's Help Center article "Free plan details" (updated 28 August 2026) answers the main questions directly:
- Are the credits one-time? Yes. The 125-credit deposit "does not expire, and does not renew or refresh once spent".
- Is there a watermark? Yes. "All videos generated on a Free plan feature a Runway watermark."
- Can I buy more credits on Free? No. Credit purchases start on Standard.
- Can the free model list change? Yes. A model you used before may later need an upgrade.
So Runway is free to try, once. After the 125 credits are gone, you need a paid plan to keep generating.
How far do Runway's 125 free credits go?
Runway prices each model in credits per second (video) or per image. Using the rates on its pricing page, here is what 125 credits would buy if the model is available on your free account:
| Runway model | Credit cost | 125 credits buys about |
|---|---|---|
| Gen-4.5 (video) | 12 credits per second (60 per 5 s) | 10 seconds, two 5-second clips |
| Gen-4 Turbo (video) | About 6 credits per second | About 20 seconds |
| Aleph 2.0 (video edit) | 140 credits per 5 s | Not enough for one clip |
| Gen-4 Image (1080p) | 8 credits per image | 15 images |
| Gen-4 Image Turbo | 2 credits per image | 62 images |
| Text to speech | 1 credit per 50 characters | About 6,250 characters |
Rates from runwayml.com/pricing, read 24 October 2026. The Gen-4 Turbo rate is worked out from the page's "625 credits = 104 s of Gen-4 Turbo".
The point: 125 credits is a sample, not a budget. Expect a few short test clips or a batch of images, with a watermark on any video.
Runway plans compared (October 2026)
| Plan | Monthly price | Billed yearly | Credits | What it adds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 125, one time | Limited models, watermark on video, 5 GB storage |
| Standard | $15 | $12/month | 625 a month | All image and video models, no watermark, 4K upscaling, music, voice and sound effects, 3 projects, 20 GB |
| Pro | $35 | $28/month | 2,250 a month | 15 parallel generations, 1 custom voice clone, top-up credits, unlimited 4K upscaling, 100 GB |
| Max | $95 | $76/month | 9,500 a month | Early access, credits roll over one month, HDR and ProRes output, 500 GB |
| Team and Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Shared pool | Shared workspace, admin controls |
Source: runwayml.com/pricing, read 24 October 2026.
Runway says 625 Standard credits equal about 52 seconds of Gen-4.5, 104 seconds of Gen-4 Turbo or 78 Gen-4 Images at 1080p. On Standard and Pro, monthly credits reset on your billing date and don't roll over; extra purchased credits (minimum 1,000) never expire. Runway's paid plans also run third-party models, including Kling, Seedance 2.0 and 2.5, Veo 3.1, Wan 3.0 and Nano Banana Pro.
Can you use Runway free plan videos commercially?
Runway's Help Center says yes, without plan conditions: content you make "is yours to use without any non-commercial restrictions from us", and you keep ownership of your uploads and generations. It lists monetized YouTube, Reels, TikTok, film festivals and product ads as covered, and says you don't have to credit Runway.
The catch on Free is the watermark, not the licence. A watermarked clip is fine for a mood board or a pitch but rarely for a client deliverable or an ad, so most commercial users end up on Standard anyway. For anything that depends on rights, read Runway's Terms of Use as well as the help article.
How to get the most from Runway's free credits
- Sign up and check which models are unlocked. Free models change, so look for upgrade prompts before you plan a test.
- Prototype with images first. At 2 credits per Gen-4 Image Turbo image, you can try dozens of compositions for the price of one video.
- Animate your best frame. Image-to-video gives you more control than text-only prompts and wastes fewer credits on bad shots.
- Keep clips at 5 seconds. On Gen-4.5, a 10-second clip costs 120 credits, almost the whole free balance.
- Write one clear shot per prompt: subject, action, camera move, light. Don't stack scene changes into a 5-second clip.
- Download what you like. Free videos keep the watermark; if a test works, regenerate the final version on a paid plan.
Avoid sites that sell "free Runway credits" or shared accounts. Runway's credits are tied to your account, and credits bought through Runway never appear in its separate API either, so these offers are almost always scams or rule-breaking.
Runway vs Kenerate AI: a fair comparison
Kenerate AI (our product) is a pay-per-use studio that runs many video models in one place. It does not run Runway's own models (Gen-4.5, Gen-4 or Aleph), so if you need those, use Runway. Kenerate figures below come from its model config and pricing on 24 October 2026.
| Runway | Kenerate AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Free start | 125 one-time credits, limited models, watermarked video | 25 sign-up credits for free-plan image models (Flux 2, Qwen Image), Avatar Talk and Motion Transfer, not the video studio |
| Video access | Standard ($15/month) for all models and no watermark | The video studio unlocks with any one-time pack, from $15 for 1,300 credits |
| Billing | Monthly subscription; credits reset (rollover on Max) | One-time packs; credits never expire |
| Own models | Gen-4.5, Gen-4, Aleph 2.0 | None of Runway's; white-labelled Kenerate Video and Ken 1 |
| Third-party video models | Kling, Seedance 2.0 / 2.5, Veo 3.1, Wan 3.0 and more | Seedance 2.5, Kling v3, Veo 3.1, Wan 3.0, Sora 2 Pro, MiniMax, PixVerse and more |
| Watermark | On all free videos | Kenerate doesn't add one |
| Commercial use | Allowed, no credit needed | Allowed; Kenerate's Terms give you full ownership of outputs |
What a 5-second clip costs on Kenerate
| Model on Kenerate AI | Credits per second | 5-second clip | About, at the $15 pack's rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wan 3.0, 480p | 15 | 75 credits | $0.87 |
| Wan 3.0, 720p | 30 | 150 credits | $1.73 |
| Kling v3 Standard, silent / with sound | 25.2 / 37.8 | 126 / 189 credits | $1.45 / $2.18 |
| Veo 3.1 Fast, 720p, silent / with sound | 30 / 45 | 150 / 225 credits | $1.73 / $2.60 |
| Seedance 2.5, 480p / 720p | 54 / 108 | 270 / 540 credits | $3.12 / $6.23 |
How they compare, fairly:
- Runway is cheaper per second for its own model if you use it monthly. On Standard, a 5-second Gen-4.5 clip costs 60 of your 625 credits, about $1.44 at the monthly price.
- Kenerate suits bursty use. There's no subscription to cancel and credits don't expire, so a pack bought for one project is still there for the next.
- Model range overlaps but isn't the same. Both run Seedance, Kling, Veo 3.1 and Wan 3.0. Only Runway has Gen-4.5 and Aleph; Kenerate also runs Sora 2 Pro, MiniMax and PixVerse models, plus separate Avatar Talk and Motion Transfer studios.
- Neither is free for real video work. Runway's free credits are one-time; Kenerate's sign-up credits don't open the video studio at all.
Compare the editing side on our Runway Aleph alternative and Runway Gen-3 alternative pages, see Kling vs Runway vs Luma for a model-level comparison, or check which tools really export without a watermark. To animate a still, start with image to video AI.
Verdict
Runway is free to try with 125 credits, but they're a one-time deposit: they don't expire, and they don't come back. Free gives you a limited set of models, a Runway watermark on every video and no way to top up. Standard at $15 a month ($12 yearly) removes the watermark and opens every model, with 625 credits a month. If you'd rather pay per project, Kenerate AI runs Seedance 2.5, Kling v3, Veo 3.1 and Wan 3.0 on one-time packs from $15, though not Runway's own Gen-4.5 or Aleph.
A note on Runway promotions: on 24 October 2026 Runway's pricing page also advertised limited-time offers on its Max and Team plans. Those change weekly, so they aren't in the tables above.
Runway facts were read on runwayml.com/pricing and the Runway Help Center ("Free plan details", "How do credits work?", "Can I use the content I made in Runway for commercial purposes?") on 24 October 2026. Kenerate AI credits come from its model config and pricing on the same date. All can change.
