Head-to-head · profiles checked Sep 30, 2026
Runway fits video work that needs several models, an API, mobile apps and editor plugins; Pika fits cheaper, web-only short clips. Pika starts at $10/mo for 900 credits, Runway at $15/mo for 625 credits. Neither Runway's nor Pika's free plan gives monthly credits. Pika adds no watermark on any plan and licenses commercial use from Creator.
We based this comparison on our verified profiles of Runway (checked 2026-09-30) and Pika (checked 2026-09-29), drawn from official pricing and terms pages; we ran no benchmark, used no third-party benchmarks and took no vendor payments.
Pick Runway if you want one credit balance across many video and image models, an API, mobile apps and editor plugins for Premiere Pro, After Effects and DaVinci Resolve. Pick Pika if you want a lower entry price ($10/mo versus $15/mo) and a web platform with no watermark on any plan. Pika's commercial license starts at Creator ($35/mo), while Runway's terms do not restrict commercial use of outputs, but they also allow Runway to train on your inputs and outputs. Neither the Runway nor the Pika free plan gives monthly credits.
Based on our verified profiles of Runway (verified 2026-09-30) and Pika (verified 2026-09-29), drawn from official pricing and terms pages; no benchmark run.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Make a short clip from a text prompt | Either | Runway and Pika both list text-to-video generation |
| Animate a still image | Runway | Runway documents image-to-video generation |
| Edit or transform footage you already shot | Runway | Runway lists editing and transforming existing footage as a use case |
| Extend an existing video clip | Pika | Pika lists an Extend Video app |
| Make a product ad video | Pika | Pika lists a Product Ad app and short-ad use cases |
| Work inside Premiere Pro, After Effects or DaVinci Resolve | Runway | Runway documents plugins for all three |
| Generate speech, music or sound effects | Either | Runway lists audio tools; Pika lists speech, music and SFX generation |
| Generate video from your own app via API | Runway | Runway Dev API is documented at $0.01 per credit; Pika's API billing is not stated |
| Share credits and Brand Kits across a team | Runway | Runway Team pools credits and includes Brand Kits |
| Publish client work with a clear license | Either | Runway terms do not restrict commercial use; Pika licenses it from Creator |
| Plan | Tool | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runway Free | Runway | $0 | 125 one-time credits (do not expire); 5GB storage |
| Runway Standard | Runway | $15/mo ($12/mo annual) | 625 credits monthly, no rollover; 5 parallel generations |
| Runway Pro | Runway | $35/mo ($28/mo annual) | 2,250 credits monthly, no rollover; 15 parallel generations |
| Runway Max | Runway | $95/mo ($76/mo annual) | 9,500 credits monthly; 1-month rollover; 20 parallel generations |
| Runway Team | Runway | $69/seat/mo ($55 annual) | 6,900 credits per seat, pooled; 2 to 9 seats |
| Runway Enterprise | Runway | Custom | Custom credits; SSO, no training on your data |
| Runway Dev (API) | Runway | $0.01 per credit | Per-model credit rates; minimum charges on some models |
| Pika Free | Pika | $0 | 0 monthly credits (packs only); 2 video and 2 image in parallel |
| Pika Starter | Pika | $10/mo (about $8 annual) | 900 credits per month; 2 video and 8 image in parallel |
| Pika Creator | Pika | $35/mo (about $28 annual) | 3,150 credits per month; 8 video and 32 image in parallel |
| Pika Fancy | Pika | $95 to $880/mo | 8,550 credits per month and up; unlimited parallel generations |
| Pika Enterprise | Pika | Custom | Custom credits |
USD as published on each vendor's pricing page, checked Sep 30, 2026. Runway pricing in full · Pika pricing in full
| Runway | Pika | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly credits on entry paid plan | 625 (Standard), no rollover | 900 (Starter); plan credits do not roll over |
| Parallel generations | 5 on Standard, up to 24 on Team | 2 video on Starter, unlimited on Fancy |
| Storage | 20GB on Standard, 1TB on Team | Not stated |
| Seats / team | Team: 2 to 9 seats, pooled credits | Not stated; Enterprise is listed for studios and teams |
| Extra credits | Top-ups from 1,000 credits; purchased credits never expire | Packs from $25 for 1,500 credits; expire 365 days after purchase |
| Feature | Runway | Pika |
|---|---|---|
| Text-to-video | Yes | Yes |
| Image-to-video | Yes | Not stated |
| Image generation | Yes | Yes |
| Audio / speech / music | Yes | Yes |
| Third-party models | Yes (Kling, Seedance, Veo, Nano Banana and others) | Yes (including GPT Image and Nano Banana) |
| Editor plugins | Yes (Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve) | Not stated |
| API | Yes | Offered; billing and docs not stated |
| Mobile apps | Yes (iOS and Android) | Not stated; pricing page mentions an iOS app |
| Runway | Pika | |
|---|---|---|
| Training on your data | Terms allow Runway to use inputs and outputs to train its models; Enterprise lists no training | Not stated (privacy pages were login-gated) |
| Retention | Kept as long as necessary; face scans and voiceprints up to three years after last interaction | Not stated |
| Business controls | SOC 2 Type 2, ISO/IEC 27001 and custom SSO (Enterprise); roles and permissions; C2PA provenance | Not stated |
| Commercial use of outputs | Not restricted, subject to the agreement | Commercial license from Creator and above |
Taken from each vendor's published policy pages at the time of our check. Policies change; the source links are at the bottom.
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
AI creation platform for generating videos, images and audio using Pika's own and third-party models.
Free stops at: 0 monthly credits (packs only), 2 video and 2 image plus audio in parallel
Free · paid from $10/mo US · checked Sep 29
Pika starts lower: Starter is $10/mo for 900 credits, versus $15/mo for 625 credits on Runway Standard. Credit costs differ per model, so the credit counts are not a like-for-like comparison.
Yes, Runway and Pika both have free plans, with a catch. Runway Free gives 125 one-time credits. Pika Free gives no monthly credits, so you buy a credit pack, starting at $25 for 1,500 credits.
On Pika, the commercial license starts at the Creator plan ($35/mo). Runway's terms say it does not restrict commercial use of outputs, subject to compliance with the agreement.
Runway's Terms of Use say inputs and outputs may be used to train and improve its models, and only Enterprise lists a no-training commitment. Pika's training policy is not stated in our profile because those pages were login-gated.
Only official vendor pages. No third-party benchmarks, forum threads or press were used. How we review.
compare>
