Pick Runway if
creators who want text-to-video or timeline edits and will burn credits.
Read the Runway pageRunway vs Synthesia
Our take
Pick Runway if creators who want text-to-video or timeline edits and will burn credits. Pick Synthesia if l&D and internal comms teams who want avatar videos without a camera crew. Skip Runway if people who need a presenter avatar (HeyGen, Synthesia) or speech-only TTS (ElevenLabs). Skip Synthesia if creators who want a consumer avatar clip (HeyGen) or a general generative video tool (Runway).
Best for
Runway Generate or edit moving pictures
Synthesia A training or explainer video with an avatar
Free plan
Runway $0 · /month. 125 one-time credits that don’t expire (not a monthly refill). 5GB storage. A selection of models to test
Synthesia No free plan
Lowest paid
Runway Standard $12/mo yearly
Synthesia Studio Express-1 avatar $1/yr
Next step up
Runway Pro $28/mo yearly
Synthesia Credit packs (annual display) $64/mo
Coding agent
Runway Agent
Synthesia
Runs where
Runway Hosted
Synthesia Hosted
Watch out
Runway Free is 125 credits once
Synthesia No Starter $29 on the live page we fetched
Last checked
Runway 2026-10-19 · runwayml.com/pricing
Synthesia 2026-10-19 · synthesia.io/pricing
Which one, then?
Pick Synthesia if
l&D and internal comms teams who want avatar videos without a camera crew.
Read the Synthesia page