CapCut vs Runway
A side-by-side comparison of CapCut and Runway — pricing, free tiers, and who each tool is genuinely best for.
| Tagline | Free all-in-one video editor with AI tools for social | Pro-grade generative video with Gen-4 and a full creative suite |
| Category | AI Video | AI Video |
| Pricing | Generous free tier; CapCut Pro from ~$9.99/mo or ~$74.99/yr | Free trial credits; Standard from ~$12/mo, Pro ~$28/mo, Unlimited ~$76/mo (billed annually) |
| Free tier | ||
| Best for | Social creators who want a free, full-featured editor with built-in AI helpers for short-form video. | Creative professionals who want maximum control over cinematic AI video with fine-grained motion and camera direction. |
| Not for | Studios needing high-end generative cinematic footage or enterprise governance and SSO. | Users who just want a talking-head avatar video from a script with no editing involved. |
| Use cases | Short-form social editing Auto-captions and subtitles Background removal Template-based video creation | Text-to-video generation Image-to-video animation Music video VFX Video inpainting and object removal |
| Visit CapCut | Visit Runway |