Head-to-head · profiles checked Oct 1, 2026
Runway is the cheaper way in, and Luma is the pricier platform with documented commercial rights on every individual plan. Runway starts at $15/month (Standard) with a one-time Free plan of 125 credits; Luma Plus is $30/month and only trial credits are free. Both meter video in credits and both bill their API separately. Runway adds apps, plugins and a Team plan at $69 per seat.
We based this comparison on our Luma profile verified 2026-10-01 and our Runway profile verified 2026-09-30, both built from official vendor pages; it uses no third-party benchmarks and no vendor paid for placement.
Runway is cheaper to enter and easier to try: Standard is $15/month and the Free plan gives 125 one-time credits, while Luma's paid plans start at $30/month and its free access is limited trial credits. Luma documents commercial use on all individual plans and a Ray 3.2 video model with up to 16 keyframes per clip through its API. Runway documents more around the edges: iOS and Android apps, Adobe and DaVinci Resolve plugins, MCP access and a Team plan with pooled credits. Runway's Terms allow training on your inputs and outputs, and Luma's training terms are not stated.
Based on our Luma profile verified 2026-10-01 and Runway profile verified 2026-09-30, both built from official vendor pages; we ran no benchmark and compared no video quality.
Our own captures of each vendor's public pages. Click a frame for the full-size image.
If you only want the answer, this is the table. Everything below is the evidence from the two documented profiles.
| You want to | Use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Try AI video without paying | Runway | Runway Free gives 125 one-time credits; Luma offers only a trial with limited credits |
| Make short video clips from text or an image | Either | Luma generates clips with Ray 3.2; Runway uses Gen-4.5 and other models |
| Generate images | Either | Both list image generation, Luma through several models and Runway through its image models |
| Use many third-party models under one subscription | Either | Luma lists Kling, Veo, Flux and others; Runway lists Kling, Seedance, Veo and Nano Banana |
| Control a clip frame by frame | Luma | Luma documents up to 16 keyframes per clip with Ray 3.2 via the API |
| Edit footage inside Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve | Runway | Runway lists plugins for Premiere Pro, After Effects and DaVinci Resolve |
| Export ProRes or HDR files | Either | Luma documents HDR generation and EXR export via API; Runway lists ProRes, HDR10 and EXR |
| Share credits across a team | Runway | Runway Team pools credits across 2 to 9 seats; Luma Team pricing is not published |
| Work from a phone | Runway | Runway lists iOS and Android apps; Luma's profile lists none |
| Build video generation into your own app | Either | Both have an API billed separately from the consumer plans |
| Plan | Tool | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luma Plus | Luma | $30/mo ($300/yr) | 10,000 credits per month; guest edit access |
| Luma Pro | Luma | $90/mo ($900/yr) | 40,000 credits per month; 4x usage with Luma Agents |
| Luma Ultra | Luma | $300/mo ($3,000/yr) | 150,000 credits per month; 15x usage with Luma Agents |
| Luma Team | Luma | Contact sales | Shared team credits |
| Luma Enterprise | Luma | Contact sales | Custom commitments |
| Runway Free | Runway | $0 | 125 one-time credits, 5GB storage |
| Runway Standard | Runway | $15/mo ($12/mo annual) | 625 credits monthly, no rollover |
| Runway Pro | Runway | $35/mo ($28/mo annual) | 2,250 credits monthly, no rollover |
| Runway Max | Runway | $95/mo ($76/mo annual) | 9,500 credits monthly; one month rollover |
| Runway Team | Runway | $69/seat/mo ($55 annual) | 6,900 credits per seat, pooled; 2 to 9 seats |
| Runway Enterprise | Runway | Contact sales | Custom credits and pricing |
| Runway Dev (API) | Runway | $0.01 per credit | Per-model credit rates; minimums on some models |
USD as published on each vendor's pricing page, checked Oct 1, 2026. Luma pricing in full · Runway pricing in full
| Luma | Runway | |
|---|---|---|
| Credits per month | Plus 10,000; Pro 40,000; Ultra 150,000 | Standard 625; Pro 2,250; Max 9,500; Team 6,900 per seat |
| Credit rollover | Not stated | None on Standard and Pro; one month on Max and Team |
| Credit cost example | Ray 3.2 at 1080p costs 100 credits per 5 seconds | Gen-4.5 costs 60 credits per 5 seconds |
| Seats / team | Team plan with shared credits; price requires contacting sales | Team has 2 to 9 seats; larger groups need Enterprise |
| Feature | Luma | Runway |
|---|---|---|
| Video generation | Yes | Yes |
| Image generation | Yes | Yes |
| Third-party models | Yes (Seedance, Kling, Veo, Minimax, Flux and others) | Yes (Kling, Seedance, Veo, Nano Banana and others) |
| Agents | Yes (Luma Agents) | Yes (agentic creative collaborator) |
| Editor plugins | Not stated | Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve |
| MCP access | Not stated | Yes (Pro, Max and Team) |
| API | Yes, same credit system | Yes, $0.01 per credit |
| Mobile apps | Not stated | Yes (iOS and Android) |
| Luma | Runway | |
|---|---|---|
| Training on your data | Not explicitly stated on the pages we read | Terms allow Runway to train on Inputs and Outputs; Enterprise says it does not train on your data |
| Retention | Not explicitly stated | Retained as long as necessary for the service; face scans and voiceprints no longer than three years after last interaction |
| Business controls | Team and Enterprise may have additional controls; contact sales | SOC 2 Type 2, custom SSO, roles and permissions, C2PA provenance; no-training, SSO and ISO/IEC 27001 are Enterprise only |
Taken from each vendor's published policy pages at the time of our check. Policies change; the source links are at the bottom.
Luma's AI creative platform for video and image generation with agents, credit-based Plus, Pro and Ultra plans.
Watch out: Paid plans start at $30/month; team and enterprise pricing requires contacting sales.
From $30/mo US · checked Sep 29
AI creative platform for generating and editing video, images and audio, with an API for developers.
Free stops at: 125 one-time credits (do not expire), 5GB asset storage
Free · paid from $15/mo US · checked Sep 30
Runway has the lower entry price: Standard is $15/month, against $30/month for Luma Plus. Runway also has a Free plan with 125 one-time credits, and Luma offers only trial credits. At the top, Luma Ultra is $300/month and Runway Max is $95/month, but the credit amounts differ (150,000 for Luma Ultra, 9,500 for Runway Max), so the totals are not like for like.
No permanent one. Luma lists a free trial with limited credits at signup, and the exact trial credit amount is not stated in our profile. Runway's Free plan is a one-time deposit of 125 credits, not a recurring allowance.
Yes on both, with conditions. Luma states commercial use is included on all individual plans. Runway says it does not claim ownership of outputs and does not restrict commercial use, as long as you follow its Agreement and Usage Policy.
Runway's Terms say Inputs and Outputs may be used to train and improve its models, and we found no self-serve opt-out. Luma's pages do not state its training use, so check its policy first. Runway's Enterprise pages say they do not train on your data.
Only official vendor pages. No third-party benchmarks, forum threads or press were used. How we review.
compare>
