Topaz Labs vs Runway

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

Tagline

Professional photo & video enhancement powered by AI

Generative video and creative tools for filmmakers

Category

Pricing

Paid
Freemium

Rating

0.0 (0)
0.0 (0)

Platforms

WebWindowsmacOSiOS
WebiOS

API

No
Yes

Open source

No
No

Description

Topaz Labs specializes in professional-grade photo and video enhancement software powered by deep learning. Its tools provide advanced solutions for image upscaling, noise reduction, motion stabilization, sharpening, and SDR-to-HDR conversion on desktop, web, and mobile platforms.

Runway offers Gen-3 text-to-video, image-to-video, and pro editing tools used by top studios.

Key features

  • Denoise & Sharpen
  • AI image upscaling up to 16x
  • Frame interpolation and stabilization
  • SDR to HDR video conversion
  • Cloud-based AI video upscale
  • Unlimited local rendering
  • Creative upscaling up to 100 MP
  • Mobile AI image upscaling
  • Face verification and restoration
  • Background Remover
  • Seat management (Pro licenses)
  • Image colorizer
  • Beat-synced cuts
  • LUT library
  • One-tap 4K export

Pros

  • Offers desktop AI image upscaling up to 16x with high-quality detail recovery and face restoration models.
  • Provides high-performance desktop AI video enhancement for both Windows and macOS systems.
  • Browser-based image processing is supported through Topaz Image Web and the Bloom tool.
  • Features a specialized AI image upscaling app dedicated for iOS mobile devices.
  • Studio Pro plans offer comprehensive unlimited local rendering, full commercial use, and seat management.
  • Video enhancement features include frame interpolation, stabilization, and advanced SDR to HDR conversion.
  • Multiple subscription options allow users to choose between monthly, annual commitment billed monthly, or full annual plans.
  • Features an entry-level image enhancement cloud plan starting from $12/month (Topaz Image Web).
  • 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 free plans or open-access free trial tiers were listed on the pricing page.
  • No public developer API or API documentation details are provided in the crawled site content.
  • The standard plans, such as Topaz Image Web and Astra Standard, restrict the user to limited commercial use.
  • Standard Topaz Image Web has resolution limits of up to 32 MP and a 2-concurrency process restriction.
  • No mobile application is mentioned for Android devices, with mobile availability listed only for iOS.
  • 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

  • Topaz Image WebUSD12/month
    • • Full image enhancement workflows
    • • Unlimited cloud rendering
    • • Topaz for Mobile
    • • Process 2 images at once
  • Topaz Image WebUSD9/month
    • • Image workflows
    • • Unlimited cloud rendering
    • • Topaz for Mobile
    • • Up to 32 MP resolution
  • Image Web ProUSD35/month
    • • Image workflows
    • • Unlimited cloud rendering
    • • Topaz for Mobile
    • • Full commercial use
  • Image Web ProUSD27/month
    • • Image workflows
    • • Unlimited cloud rendering
    • • Topaz for Mobile
    • • Full commercial use
  • Topaz for Mobile PersonalUSD12/month
    • • Topaz for Mobile
    • • Up to 32 MP resolution
    • • Process 2 images at once
  • Topaz for Mobile PersonalUSD9/month
    • • Topaz for Mobile
    • • Up to 32 MP resolution
    • • Process 2 images at once
  • Topaz for Mobile ProUSD35/month
    • • Topaz for Mobile
    • • Up to 256 MP resolution
    • • Full commercial use
  • Topaz for Mobile ProUSD27/month
    • • Topaz for Mobile
    • • Up to 256 MP resolution
    • • Full commercial use
  • Astra StandardUSD19/month
    • • 4K output
    • • All render modes
    • • Fast rendering
    • • Video storage included
  • PlusUSD99/month
    • • 4K output
    • • All render modes
    • • Faster rendering
    • • Full commercial use
  • ProUSD299/month
    • • 4K output
    • • All render modes
    • • Fastest rendering
    • • Full commercial use
  • Astra PersonalUSD27/month
    • • 4K output
    • • All render modes
    • • Astra
  • Astra ProUSD210/month
    • • 4K output
    • • All render modes
    • • Astra Pro
  • Topaz StudioUSD69/month
    • • All the apps
    • • Unlimited local rendering
    • • Unlimited cloud image rendering
    • • 300 monthly video cloud credits
  • Topaz StudioUSD45/month
    • • All the apps
    • • Unlimited local rendering
    • • Unlimited cloud image rendering
    • • 300 monthly video cloud credits
  • Topaz StudioUSD399/year
    • • All the apps
    • • Unlimited local rendering
    • • Unlimited cloud image rendering
    • • 300 monthly video cloud credits
  • Topaz Studio ProUSD79/month
    • • All the apps (Pro licenses)
    • • Unlimited local rendering
    • • Unlimited cloud image rendering
    • • Seat management
  • Topaz Studio ProUSD799/year
    • • All the apps (Pro licenses)
    • • Unlimited local rendering
    • • Unlimited cloud image rendering
    • • Seat management
  • Enterprise—
    • • Enterprise-built options
    • • Offline authentication
    • • Seat management
    • • Dedicated support
  • Topaz Video PersonalUSD59/month
    • • Video models
    • • Unlimited local rendering
    • • 25 monthly video cloud credits
  • Topaz Video PersonalUSD39/month
    • • Topaz Video
    • • Personal
    • • Compare plans
  • Topaz Video PersonalUSD25/month
    • • Topaz Video
    • • Personal
    • • Compare plans
  • Topaz Video ProUSD74/month
    • • Topaz Video
    • • Pro
    • • Compare plans
  • Topaz Video ProUSD58/month
    • • Topaz Video
    • • Pro
    • • Compare plans
  • Topaz Photo PersonalUSD39/month
    • • Photo models
    • • Unlimited local rendering
    • • Unlimited cloud image rendering
  • Topaz Photo PersonalUSD25/month
    • • Topaz Photo
    • • Personal
    • • Compare plans
  • Topaz Photo PersonalUSD17/month
    • • Topaz Photo
    • • Personal
    • • Compare plans
  • Topaz Photo ProUSD63/month
    • • Topaz Photo
    • • Pro
    • • Compare plans
  • Topaz Photo ProUSD50/month
    • • Topaz Photo
    • • Pro
    • • Compare plans
  • Topaz Gigapixel PersonalUSD29/month
    • • Image models
    • • Unlimited local rendering
    • • Unlimited cloud image rendering
  • Topaz Gigapixel PersonalUSD19/month
    • • Topaz Gigapixel
    • • Personal
    • • Compare plans
  • Topaz Gigapixel PersonalUSD12/month
    • • Topaz Gigapixel
    • • Personal
    • • Compare plans
  • Topaz Gigapixel ProUSD54/month
    • • Topaz Gigapixel
    • • Pro
    • • Compare plans
  • Topaz Gigapixel ProUSD42/month
    • • Topaz Gigapixel
    • • Pro
    • • Compare plans
  • Bloom PersonalUSD39/month
    • • Bloom
    • • Personal
    • • Compare plans
  • Bloom PersonalUSD27/month
    • • Bloom
    • • Personal
    • • Compare plans
  • Bloom PersonalUSD19/month
    • • Bloom
    • • Personal
    • • Compare plans
  • Bloom ProUSD54/month
    • • Bloom
    • • Pro
    • • Compare plans
  • Bloom ProUSD41/month
    • • Bloom
    • • Pro
    • • Compare plans
  • Mosaic PersonalUSD9/month
    • • Mosaic
    • • Personal
    • • Compare plans
  • Mosaic PersonalUSD5/month
    • • Mosaic
    • • Personal
    • • Compare plans
  • Mosaic PersonalUSD3.75/month
    • • Mosaic
    • • Personal
    • • Compare plans
  • Gigapixel iOS PersonalUSD15/month
    • • Gigapixel iOS
    • • Personal
    • • Compare plans
  • Gigapixel iOS PersonalUSD12/month
    • • Gigapixel iOS
    • • Personal
    • • Compare plans
  • Gigapixel iOS ProUSD28/month
    • • Gigapixel iOS
    • • Pro
    • • Compare plans
  • Gigapixel iOS ProUSD20/month
    • • Gigapixel iOS
    • • Pro
    • • Compare plans
  • 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 Topaz Labs if you need Denoise & Sharpen.
  • Choose Runway if you need Beat-synced cuts and API access.
  • On budget: Topaz Labs is paid, Runway is freemium.