Getting Started with Runway

Turn a text prompt or a still image into short AI-generated video — a filmmaking tool you drive by describing what you want.

Current prices: $15/mo monthly or $12/mo billed annually · See all plans

Last reviewed 2026-10-14 · for Runway

How it works

You describe a clip in words, or give it a still image to animate, and it renders a few seconds of video. You watch the result, then either adjust the prompt and generate again or describe a specific change to the clip you already have.

What it is

Runway is an AI video generator (with image and audio tools alongside). You give it a prompt, or a starting image, and it produces a short video clip; you can also direct edits by describing the change you want. It's used by hobbyists making social clips all the way up to professional studios, so the ceiling is high — but the on-ramp is simple enough for a first-timer.

Before you start

The free plan is a one-time sample, not a monthly allowance: a small credit deposit that never expires (official FAQ, 2026-10-14), and clips carry a Runway watermark. The paid plans — Standard, Pro and Max — are monthly, each cheaper billed annually.

Budget for iteration. AI video rarely nails it first try; plan on multiple takes per usable clip, and know that credits mostly don't roll over (only the top plan rolls a little forward).

Web-app credits and API credits are separate pools — don't assume buying one covers the other.

Security & privacy

Runway is unusually creator-friendly on rights: it grants commercial-use rights on every tier, including the free plan, and you retain ownership of what you generate, with no attribution to Runway required. The practical catch on free is the watermark, which makes those clips fine for testing but not for client delivery — that clears on the paid plans.

Where the real risk lives — your prompt, not the license

If your prompt references a copyrighted character, a real brand, a trademark, or a real person, the output can carry legal risk no matter what Runway's license says. The license covers Runway's grant to you; it can't grant rights Runway doesn't hold.
You're responsible for the rights to anything you upload as a starting image.
Runway's license doesn't override the rules of wherever you publish (a platform can still take a video down).

Generations are processed on Runway's cloud. As with any generator, treat outputs as drafts and check them — AI video still produces artifacts, and "it looked right in the preview" isn't a rights clearance.

What it's good (and not good) at

Best at

Turning a still image into a short animated clip
Generating stylized or cinematic B-roll from a description
Directed edits — telling it what to change instead of restarting
Fast concepting for social and short-form content

Okay at

Long or perfectly consistent sequences (short clips are the sweet spot)
Exact prompt adherence (expect iteration)
Photorealistic humans without artifacts (improving, not solved)

Avoid

Prompts built on copyrighted characters, brands, or real people
Client delivery from the watermarked free tier
Assuming credits stretch far — a few HQ seconds go quickly

Starter prompts to try

Animate a still image

Take this photo and add gentle, natural motion: drifting clouds, a slight camera push-in, subtle movement in the foreground. Keep it realistic and calm.

Why this one: Image-to-video is Runway's most reliable, most beginner-friendly move and shows the quality immediately.

Tweak: Start from your own photo; describe the one motion you want most.

A short text-to-video clip

A slow cinematic shot of a coffee cup on a wooden table by a rainy window, warm morning light, soft focus, gentle steam rising.

Why this one: Specific, static-ish scenes with one clear motion are what the models do best — a fair first read on text-to-video.

Tweak: Keep it to one subject and one motion; complexity is where clips fall apart.

Direct an edit

Same scene, but change the time of day to sunset and add a person walking past in the background.

Why this one: Directed editing — describing the change rather than regenerating from scratch — is Runway's standout, and worth trying early.

Tweak: Make one change at a time so you can see what each instruction does.

Common pitfalls

The free plan doesn't refill. It's a one-time credit deposit with a watermark — a demo, not a workflow.
Credits burn by the second, times your retries. A minute of finished video can cost far more than a minute of credits suggests.
The license is generous; your prompt is where the legal risk is. Copyrighted characters and real people in prompts are the trap.

Where to next

Video Creation & Editing Image Generation & Editing

Want the full picture first? See the Runway overview for pricing, the free tier and related tools.