Wavemaker vs Runway
Runway compared with Wavemaker: Runway's own Gen-4.5, Aleph and Act-Two models against an agent that picks among many models, with prices checked 2026-10-26.
Checked . Prices and features change often; each fact links to its source, so check there before you decide.
What Runway is
Runway builds its own video models, Gen-4.5 for generation, Aleph 2.0 for editing existing video and Act-Two for performance transfer, and sells them in a web app and a developer API.
Its app adds an agent, Runway Ads, brand kits, voice cloning and studio outputs such as ProRes and HDR on the top plan.
Side by side
| Topic | Runway | Wavemaker |
|---|---|---|
| How you direct it | Generate and edit clip by clip in the app, or ask Runway's agent; developers call models and recipes through the API. | A conversation with Wavemaker's agent in the web app, or your own agent (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and others) over MCP, the CLI or the HTTP API. The agent chooses the models and the method for each piece and keeps that method so you can run it again. |
| What it makes | Video, images, music, voice and sound effects; 4K upscaling. | Stills, video with sound, voiceover, music, sound effects and HTML5 display ads, assembled into ads, UGC-style spots, short films, music videos and explainers. |
| Models | Its own Gen-4.5, Aleph 2.0 and Act-Two, with Kling, Seedance, Veo 3.1 and others on the API. | Self-hosted MiniMax H3 is the default for video, alongside LTX and SeedVR2 upscaling. Partner models include Kling, Seedance, Runway, Luma, Gemini image and video, OpenAI image, xAI image and video, Ideogram, and ElevenLabs voice and music. |
| Editing | Aleph 2.0 changes an existing clip from a description; Act-Two transfers a performance. | The agent trims, crops, reframes, upscales, retimes, grades, mixes and captions, and can watch and listen to the result to check it. A simple timeline editor lets you trim and reorder clips yourself. There is no full multitrack editor. |
| Ads and UGC | Runway Ads makes video and image ads and publishes them to Meta, Google and TikTok; API recipes cover product ads and UGC. | Product ads, UGC-style creator spots, presenter ads and display sets from a brief, with placement specs for YouTube, TikTok, Meta, Pinterest, Reddit and CTV. Characters are made for each piece; there is no stock library of AI actors. Wavemaker does not publish ads or track their performance. |
| API, MCP and CLI | Developer API at $0.01 a credit, and an MCP server on Pro and above. | Twelve tools over MCP with OAuth, the same tools over HTTP, a CLI and SDKs. Every surface spends the same credits. |
| Pricing | Standard $15 a month for 625 credits, Pro $35 for 2,250, Max $95 for 9,500 (less when billed yearly). | Credit packs from $19.99 for 300 credits, with no subscription needed, and a Pro plan in four sizes from $49 a month. Pack credits never expire. Work on Wavemaker's own GPUs and servers is charged at twice its cost, and partner models and services at cost plus 10%. A fully animated, finished 1-minute video typically costs about $31 at pack prices. |
| Free use | 125 credits once on the free plan. | 300 starter credits once, valid for 14 days. A video made before the workspace's first payment carries a small Wavemaker badge. |
Where Runway is stronger
- Runway's own models for editing existing footage (Aleph) and performance transfer (Act-Two).
- Studio deliverables: ProRes, HDR and image sequences on Max.
- Ad publishing to Meta, Google and TikTok.
- A mature developer API with per-second pricing.
Where Wavemaker is different
- Wavemaker can call Runway Gen-4.5, Aleph and Act-Two as partner models inside a larger plan.
- The agent writes the script, casts voices, scores and edits, then reviews the cut.
- Self-hosted H3 is the default for video, so a shot can start from a still you approved.
Which to choose
Choose Runway if you want frontier video editing of footage you shot, studio output formats, or to build on Runway's API directly.
Choose Wavemaker if you want a finished ad, film or music video from a brief, with Runway available as one of the models when it fits.
Made with Wavemaker
The Birches That Watch
A 55-second scene from an AI-made dark-fantasy film: a knight and a blind oracle walk a birch wood where the village dead stand watching.
Porto Quay, One Take
A 24-second single take with no cuts: a woman in a mustard coat walks along the Porto riverside quay toward the camera, the iron bridge behind her, and stops to sip her coffee.
Rooftop Unstoppable
A 15-second cel-shaded anime product ad: a neon city, a hero with a real bottle, a speed-line sprint and a hero pose.
Try it
Make a 60-second short film about [character] who [wants something] in [place], in [look], with an original score.