HeyGenvsRunway

Saas55

Saas

Score Comparison

Overall

Pricing

Usability

Performance

Support

Reliability

Onboarding

–

Mobile

Security

Integrations

HeyGenRunway

Signals Comparison

Reliability

HeyGen

Platform full of bugs, updates break features(6/10)
Videos held in pending until you pay more(8/10)
~49 outages in the past year(6/10)
Inconsistent results affect agency client quality(7/10)

Runway

Platform full of bugs with failing renders(7/10)
Heavy users get suspended on Unlimited plan(7/10)

Pricing

HeyGen

Unlimited plan bait-and-switch to 120 minutes(10/10)
Credits exhausted after 7 videos in 18 hours(9/10)
Avatar IV limited to 5 minutes despite Creator plan(8/10)
$30/month plans billed as $119 with no warning(9/10)

Runway

Credits burn extremely quickly with Gen-4(9/10)
No refunds even when service clearly fails(9/10)
Credits don't roll over - expire at billing cycle end(7/10)
'Unlimited' plan still requires credits for quality(7/10)
Exorbitant pricing for unreliable features(7/10)

Support

HeyGen

80% of Trustpilot reviews cite support failures(9/10)
Videos rejected for false reasons, only bots respond(7/10)
No way to change payment or properly cancel(7/10)

Runway

Abysmal customer support with 1.4/5 Trustpilot rating(9/10)

Performance

HeyGen

Processing time jumps from instant to 5-6 hours(7/10)

Runway

AI misunderstands prompts and produces irrelevant clips(8/10)
All videos come out silent requiring post-production(6/10)
Video quality inconsistent and often unusable(8/10)
Max video length much shorter than competitors(5/10)

Usability

HeyGen

Files locked after submission - no modifications(6/10)
Cannot control avatar gestures(5/10)
Voice tone control is missing(5/10)

Runway

Slow 'relaxed' queues on non-Unlimited plans(5/10)
Opaque moderation and account actions(6/10)

Onboarding

HeyGen

No signals

Runway

Free tier only 125 one-time credits(5/10)

Pricing Comparison

HeyGen

Free

Users: 1 user

Storage: 3 videos/month

Limits: 3 videos total, watermarked, limited avatars, no commercial use

Not enough to test platform properly - essentially demo only

Creator

$29/mo

Users: 1 user

Storage: Limited credits

Limits: Avatar IV only 5 min, credit-based not truly unlimited, no API

Avatar IV limited to 5 min/month despite 'unlimited' claim. Credits burn fast - 7 videos can exhaust monthly allocation.

Pro (Annual)

Popular

$24/yr

Users: 1 user

Storage: 200 credits/month

Limits: Annual lock-in, same credit restrictions, subject to mid-term changes

$288 upfront commitment. Same credit limitations. 'Unlimited' plans have been changed mid-subscription.

Business

$149/mo

Users: Team (2+ seats)

Storage: More credits

Limits: Per-seat costs add up quickly, still credit-based

$20/additional seat/month. Or $39/seat/month with 2-seat minimum for monthly. Enterprise features require custom pricing.

Enterprise

$0/mo

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Custom

Limits: Sales process required, terms subject to change

Custom pricing - must contact sales. Given billing history, scrutinize contract terms carefully.

Runway

Free

Users: 1 user

Limits: One-time credits only, No recurring allowance, Watermarked output

Credits don't renew, Very limited usage (10-25 sec Gen-4), Must upgrade quickly

Standard

$15/mo

Users: 1 user

Limits: 625 credits = ~50 sec Gen-4, Slow relaxed queue, No priority

$12/mo annual, Gen-4 burns 12 credits/second, Credits don't roll over

Pro

Popular

$35/mo

Users: 1 user

Limits: 2,250 credits = ~3 min Gen-4, Still limited for heavy use

$28/mo annual, Credits still burn fast, No rollover

Unlimited

$95/mo

Users: 1 user

Limits: Heavy users report suspensions, Relaxed queue is slow, Not truly unlimited for Gen-4

$76/mo annual, 'Unlimited' only for basic models, Quality outputs still need credits

Feature Comparison

Feature	HeyGen	Runway
Video Generation
AI avatars with micro-expressions Avatar IV - limited to 5 min/month on Creator
LiveAvatar real-time Unique feature for live interactions
Instant generation No human review unlike Synthesia
Core
Text-to-video generation Gen-3 and Gen-4 models
Image-to-video Strong capability
Audio generation All videos silent
Localization
175+ languages Industry-leading
Video translation Native-quality lip-sync
Usability
Camera controls Best-in-class precision
Background removal Masking tools available
Integrations
Pro editor integration Premiere, Final Cut, DaVinci
API access From $5, pay-as-you-go
Customization
Avatar gesture control Constrained to onboarding video motions
Pricing
Free tier 125 one-time credits only
Credit rollover Credits expire monthly
Unlimited video generation Credit-based, terms changed mid-subscription
Audio
Voice inflection control No tone/inflection control
Support
Refunds available No refunds offered
Responsive support 1.4/5 Trustpilot rating
Billing
Easy cancellation No self-service cancellation

Signals Comparison

Reliability

HeyGen

Platform full of bugs, updates break features(6/10)
Videos held in pending until you pay more(8/10)
~49 outages in the past year(6/10)
Inconsistent results affect agency client quality(7/10)

Runway

Platform full of bugs with failing renders(7/10)
Heavy users get suspended on Unlimited plan(7/10)

Pricing

HeyGen

Unlimited plan bait-and-switch to 120 minutes(10/10)
Credits exhausted after 7 videos in 18 hours(9/10)
Avatar IV limited to 5 minutes despite Creator plan(8/10)
$30/month plans billed as $119 with no warning(9/10)

Runway

Credits burn extremely quickly with Gen-4(9/10)
No refunds even when service clearly fails(9/10)
Credits don't roll over - expire at billing cycle end(7/10)
'Unlimited' plan still requires credits for quality(7/10)
Exorbitant pricing for unreliable features(7/10)

Support

HeyGen

80% of Trustpilot reviews cite support failures(9/10)
Videos rejected for false reasons, only bots respond(7/10)
No way to change payment or properly cancel(7/10)

Runway

Abysmal customer support with 1.4/5 Trustpilot rating(9/10)

Performance

HeyGen

Processing time jumps from instant to 5-6 hours(7/10)

Runway

AI misunderstands prompts and produces irrelevant clips(8/10)
All videos come out silent requiring post-production(6/10)
Video quality inconsistent and often unusable(8/10)
Max video length much shorter than competitors(5/10)

Usability

HeyGen

Files locked after submission - no modifications(6/10)
Cannot control avatar gestures(5/10)
Voice tone control is missing(5/10)

Runway

Slow 'relaxed' queues on non-Unlimited plans(5/10)
Opaque moderation and account actions(6/10)

Onboarding

HeyGen

No signals

Runway

Free tier only 125 one-time credits(5/10)

Pricing Comparison

HeyGen

Free

Users: 1 user

Storage: 3 videos/month

Limits: 3 videos total, watermarked, limited avatars, no commercial use

Not enough to test platform properly - essentially demo only

Creator

$29/mo

Users: 1 user

Storage: Limited credits

Limits: Avatar IV only 5 min, credit-based not truly unlimited, no API

Avatar IV limited to 5 min/month despite 'unlimited' claim. Credits burn fast - 7 videos can exhaust monthly allocation.

Pro (Annual)

Popular

$24/yr

Users: 1 user

Storage: 200 credits/month

Limits: Annual lock-in, same credit restrictions, subject to mid-term changes

$288 upfront commitment. Same credit limitations. 'Unlimited' plans have been changed mid-subscription.

Business

$149/mo

Users: Team (2+ seats)

Storage: More credits

Limits: Per-seat costs add up quickly, still credit-based

$20/additional seat/month. Or $39/seat/month with 2-seat minimum for monthly. Enterprise features require custom pricing.

Enterprise

$0/mo

Users: Unlimited

Storage: Custom

Limits: Sales process required, terms subject to change

Custom pricing - must contact sales. Given billing history, scrutinize contract terms carefully.

Runway

Free

Users: 1 user

Limits: One-time credits only, No recurring allowance, Watermarked output

Credits don't renew, Very limited usage (10-25 sec Gen-4), Must upgrade quickly

Standard

$15/mo

Users: 1 user

Limits: 625 credits = ~50 sec Gen-4, Slow relaxed queue, No priority

$12/mo annual, Gen-4 burns 12 credits/second, Credits don't roll over

Pro

Popular

$35/mo

Users: 1 user

Limits: 2,250 credits = ~3 min Gen-4, Still limited for heavy use

$28/mo annual, Credits still burn fast, No rollover

Unlimited

$95/mo

Users: 1 user

Limits: Heavy users report suspensions, Relaxed queue is slow, Not truly unlimited for Gen-4

$76/mo annual, 'Unlimited' only for basic models, Quality outputs still need credits

Feature Comparison

Feature	HeyGen	Runway
Video Generation
AI avatars with micro-expressions Avatar IV - limited to 5 min/month on Creator
LiveAvatar real-time Unique feature for live interactions
Instant generation No human review unlike Synthesia
Core
Text-to-video generation Gen-3 and Gen-4 models
Image-to-video Strong capability
Audio generation All videos silent
Localization
175+ languages Industry-leading
Video translation Native-quality lip-sync
Usability
Camera controls Best-in-class precision
Background removal Masking tools available
Integrations
Pro editor integration Premiere, Final Cut, DaVinci
API access From $5, pay-as-you-go
Customization
Avatar gesture control Constrained to onboarding video motions
Pricing
Free tier 125 one-time credits only
Credit rollover Credits expire monthly
Unlimited video generation Credit-based, terms changed mid-subscription
Audio
Voice inflection control No tone/inflection control
Support
Refunds available No refunds offered
Responsive support 1.4/5 Trustpilot rating
Billing
Easy cancellation No self-service cancellation