Async vs Runway
A 2026 side-by-side comparison of Async and Runway — pricing, key features, platforms, API access, and the trade-offs of each, based on data collected from their official sites.

Async
Chat-based AI creative suite for video content production
Runway
Generative video and creative tools for filmmakers
Tagline
Chat-based AI creative suite for video content production
Generative video and creative tools for filmmakers
Pricing
Rating
Platforms
API
Open source
Description
Async is an AI creator platform for video and audio production. Using a chat-based AI workflow, it allows creators and teams to record, edit, dub, subtitle, create clips, and clone voices, transforming raw footage and AI-generated scenes into finished videos.
Runway offers Gen-3 text-to-video, image-to-video, and pro editing tools used by top studios.
Key features
- Video recording
- Video editing via chat
- Audio recording
- Video dubbing
- Subtitling
- Clip creation
- Voice cloning
- AI-generated scenes
- Start templates
- Beat-synced cuts
- LUT library
- One-tap 4K export
Pros
- Allows users to edit videos by simply chatting with the AI.
- Provides an all-in-one workflow from raw footage and AI-generated scenes to finished videos.
- Includes voice cloning and video dubbing features directly in the platform.
- Offers pre-made templates to help users start video creation faster.
- Users can save up to 40% on subscription plans with annual billing.
- Designed for both individual creators and collaborative teams.
- Enables creation of social media clips in the same workflow.
- Integrates automatic subtitling capabilities to streamline post-production.
- State-of-the-art Gen-3 video model
- Text-to-video and image-to-video
- Motion brush and camera controls
- Green-screen and rotoscoping
- Frame interpolation
- Text-to-3D features
- Regular model releases
- Used by pro studios
Cons
- No public API or developer documentation is mentioned in the provided text.
- Specific pricing tier amounts and subscription costs are not explicitly disclosed in the snippets.
- No native mobile apps (such as iOS or Android) are explicitly listed as supported.
- No information regarding open-source code availability or GitHub repository is provided.
- Specific security certifications (e.g., SOC2, ISO) are not explicitly detailed in the provided pages.
- Credit system gets expensive fast
- Watermark on free tier
- Short max clip length
- Occasional visual artifacts
- No native audio generation
- Queue times during peak load
- Complex UI for beginners
- Shot-to-shot consistency limited
Pricing plans
- FreeUSD0/month
- • Record, edit, dub, subtitle, create clips, and clone voices
- • Start creating for free
- Essentials—
- • Record, edit, dub, subtitle, create clips, and clone voices
- • AI credits included by default
- Pro—
- • Most popular
- • Record, edit, dub, subtitle, create clips, and clone voices
- • Royalty-free music
- Teams—
- • Collaboration
- • Record, edit, dub, subtitle, create clips, and clone voices
- • AI credits included by default
- Business—
- • Custom
- • Contact us
- • Custom on-boarding
- • Advanced vulnerability checks
- FreeUSD0/month
- • Free forever
- • For individuals looking to explore Runway's AI Tools
- • Gemini 3 Pro
- StandardUSD12/month
- • Access to all models
- • All AI images and video models (Gen-4.5, Nano Banana Pro, Aleph, Veo 3.1, and more)
- • 4K Upscaling
- • No watermarks
- ProUSD28/month
- • Everything in Standard
- • Access to all models and audio tools
- • For creators leveling up their craft
- • All AI images and video models
- MaxUSD76/month
- • Everything in Pro
- • Best value for heavy usage
- • Credit roll over 1 mo.
- • For teams scaling AI video production
- Enterprise—
- • For teams scaling AI video production
- • Custom credits
- • Enterprise-wide onboarding
- • Custom team sizes
Which one should you pick?
- Choose Async if you need Video recording.
- Choose Runway if you need Beat-synced cuts and API access.
- On budget: Async is freemium, Runway is freemium.