HeyGen vs Runway
What each vendor publishes about price, free plan, watermark, resolution, length and features, side by side. Checked Oct 26, 2026. We don't test tools; we compare what vendors publish, and every fact links to its source on the tool's profile.
The differences in short
- They are different kinds of tool: HeyGen is listed as ai avatar video, Runway as ai video generator.
- Runway has the lower published price: $12/month against $29/month for HeyGen (lowest published rate; may need yearly billing).
- Maximum resolution: HeyGen 4K, Runway 4K (upscaling).
- HeyGen states text to video; Runway does not say so on the pages we checked.
- HeyGen states image to video; Runway does not say so on the pages we checked.
- HeyGen states ai avatars; Runway does not say so on the pages we checked.
- HeyGen states custom avatar / digital twin; Runway does not say so on the pages we checked.
- HeyGen states lip sync; Runway does not say so on the pages we checked.
- HeyGen states translation / dubbing; Runway does not say so on the pages we checked.
- HeyGen states templates; Runway does not say so on the pages we checked.
Side by side
| Fact | HeyGen | Runway |
|---|---|---|
| Type | AI avatar video | AI video generator |
| Starts at | $29/mo | $15/mo ($12/mo yearly) |
| Billing | Subscription | Credits |
| Free plan | Free plan (3 watermarked videos a month, up to 1 minute each) | Free plan (125 one-time credits) |
| Watermark | Watermark on free | None on paid plans |
| Max resolution | 4K | 4K (upscaling) |
| Max clip / video length | 60 min | Not stated |
| Commercial use | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Text to video | Yes (vendor states it) | Not stated |
| Image to video | Yes (vendor states it) | Not stated |
| AI avatars | Yes (vendor states it) | Not stated |
| Custom avatar / digital twin | Yes (vendor states it) | Not stated |
| Lip sync | Yes (vendor states it) | Not stated |
| Voice cloning | Yes (vendor states it) | Yes (vendor states it) |
| Translation / dubbing | Yes (vendor states it) | Not stated |
| Templates | Yes (vendor states it) | Not stated |
| Upscaling | Yes (vendor states it) | Yes (vendor states it) |
| Checked | Oct 26, 2026 | Oct 26, 2026 |
| Website | Visit HeyGen | Visit Runway |
Summaries
HeyGen: AI avatar and video-translation platform with custom video avatars, Video Agent and 175+ languages.
Runway: AI video and image generation studio with its own Gen-4 and Gen-4.5 models plus third-party models, credit-based plans and 4K upscaling.
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