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Luma vs Runway cost (2026): Ray3.2 vs Gen-4.5 and the same partner models, per second
Luma and Runway both sell their own video models (Ray3.2; Gen-4.5 and Gen-4 Turbo) and many of the same partner models: Seedance, Kling, Veo 3.1 and MiniMax H3. Runway sells them twice, in the app on plan credits and on its developer API. This page puts all three side by side, per second and per usable 30 seconds, using the official price pages.
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Quick answer
Luma is cheaper. On Luma Plus annual credits ($0.0025 each), Luma is the cheapest of the three in 22 of 24 same-model comparisons below. Veo 3.1 with audio: $31.50 per usable 30s on Luma vs $36.00 on the Runway API and $69.12 in the Runway app. Seedance 2.0 1080p: $28.35 vs $36.00 vs $69.12. The exception is Kling 4.0: the Runway API’s 20% promo ($11.30 at 720p) beats Luma ($11.93) until November 30, 2026 UTC; at the December 1 list price ($14.13) Luma wins again. For their own models, Ray3.2 540p is $2.25 per usable 30s (#3= of 237) vs Gen-4 Turbo $8.64 and Gen-4.5 $20.74 in the Runway app. The Runway app is the dearest option for every shared model. Prices checked Nov 9, 2026.
Basis: usable = 3 attempts (1 + 2 retries). Luma at Plus annual credits ($25/mo for 10,000), the Runway app at Standard annual ($12/mo for 625 = $0.0192/credit; Seedance 2.5 needs a Pro or Max plan, so it is valued at Pro annual, $28 for 2,250), the Runway API at $0.01 per credit, pay-as-you-go. Ranks are the site-wide usable-30s ranking used by the calculator (237 ranked rates); “not ranked, ~#N” marks official rates that are not calculator rows yet. Cost only, not quality.
Luma vs Runway: their own models
Ray3.2 is Luma’s model (priced per 5s generation; no audio). Gen-4.5, Gen-4 and Gen-4 Turbo are Runway’s (priced per second, not by resolution).
| Rank of 237 | Model | Rate | $/sec | 30s try | Usable 30s (2 retries) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #3= | Ray3.2 · 540p (Dream Machine) | 10 cr/s | $0.025 | $0.75 | $2.25 |
| #8= | Ray3.2 · 540p (Luma API) | pay-as-you-go | $0.03 | $0.90 | $2.70 |
| not ranked (would be ~#39) | Gen-4 Turbo (Runway API) | 5 cr/s ($0.01/credit) | $0.05 | $1.50 | $4.50 |
| #39= | Ray3.2 · 720p (Dream Machine) | 20 cr/s | $0.05 | $1.50 | $4.50 |
| #51= | Ray3.2 · 720p (Luma API) | pay-as-you-go | $0.06 | $1.80 | $5.40 |
| #93= | Gen-4 Turbo (Runway app) | 5 cr/s | $0.096 | $2.88 | $8.64 |
| not ranked (would be ~#119) | Gen-4.5 (Runway API) | 12 cr/s ($0.01/credit) | $0.12 | $3.60 | $10.80 |
| #171= | Ray3.2 · 1080p (Dream Machine) | 80 cr/s | $0.20 | $6.00 | $18.00 |
| #175= | Gen-4 (Runway app) | 12 cr/s | $0.2304 | $6.91 | $20.74 |
| #175= | Gen-4.5 (Runway app) | 12 cr/s | $0.2304 | $6.91 | $20.74 |
| #182= | Ray3.2 · 1080p (Luma API) | pay-as-you-go | $0.24 | $7.20 | $21.60 |
Same model, three storefronts
Each cell: $/sec · usable 30s, then the credit rate and rank. Kling 3.0: Luma prices by resolution, Runway by Std / Pro tier; the rows pair Luma 720p with Std and 1080p with Pro for comparison (Runway does not state the resolution). With audio, Luma is cheaper even comparing its 1080p price ($0.1225/sec) with Runway’s Std ($0.13 on the API); without audio, the Runway API Std ($0.09) undercuts Luma 1080p ($0.10) but not Luma 720p ($0.075).
Seedance 2.0 and 2.5
| Model · resolution | Luma (Plus annual) | Runway app (Standard annual) | Runway API | Cheapest | Dearest vs cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seedance 2.0 Mini · 480p | $0.03/sec · $2.70 12 cr/s; #8= | $0.3072/sec · $27.65 16 cr/s; #204= | $0.07/sec · $6.30 7 cr/s; not ranked, ~#64 | Luma | 10.2× |
| Seedance 2.0 Mini · 720p | $0.065/sec · $5.85 26 cr/s; #60= | $0.3072/sec · $27.65 16 cr/s; #204= | $0.15/sec · $13.50 15 cr/s; not ranked, ~#146 | Luma | 4.7× |
| Seedance 2.0 · 480p | $0.06/sec · $5.40 24 cr/s; #51= | $0.6912/sec · $62.21 36 cr/s; not ranked, ~#234 | $0.14/sec · $12.60 14 cr/s; not ranked, ~#137 | Luma | 11.5× |
| Seedance 2.0 · 720p | $0.1275/sec · $11.48 51 cr/s; #132 | $0.6912/sec · $62.21 36 cr/s; not ranked, ~#234 | $0.30/sec · $27.00 30 cr/s; not ranked, ~#200 | Luma | 5.4× |
| Seedance 2.0 · 1080p | $0.315/sec · $28.35 126 cr/s; #206 | $0.768/sec · $69.12 40 cr/s; #234= | $0.40/sec · $36.00 40 cr/s; not ranked, ~#220 | Luma | 2.4× |
| Seedance 2.0 · 4K | $0.6525/sec · $58.73 261 cr/s; #233 | $2.88/sec · $259.20 150 cr/s; not ranked, dearer than all 237 | $1.50/sec · $135.00 150 cr/s; not ranked, dearer than all 237 | Luma | 4.4× |
| Seedance 2.5 · 480p | $0.09/sec · $8.10 36 cr/s; #87= | $0.2489/sec · $22.40 20 cr/s (Pro plan); #186 | $0.20/sec · $18.00 20 cr/s; not ranked, ~#171 | Luma | 2.8× |
| Seedance 2.5 · 720p | $0.195/sec · $17.55 78 cr/s; #169 | $0.3733/sec · $33.60 30 cr/s (Pro plan); #214 | $0.30/sec · $27.00 30 cr/s; not ranked, ~#200 | Luma | 1.9× |
| Seedance 2.5 · 1080p | $0.4775/sec · $42.98 191 cr/s; #226 | $0.8462/sec · $76.16 68 cr/s (Pro plan); #237 | $0.68/sec · $61.20 68 cr/s; not ranked, ~#234 | Luma | 1.8× |
Kling 3.0, 3.0 Turbo and 4.0
| Model · resolution | Luma (Plus annual) | Runway app (Standard annual) | Runway API | Cheapest | Dearest vs cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kling 3.0 · 720p / Std, no audio | $0.075/sec · $6.75 30 cr/s; #70= | $0.1728/sec · $15.55 9 cr/s; #159= | $0.09/sec · $8.10 9 cr/s; #87= | Luma | 2.3× |
| Kling 3.0 · 720p / Std, with audio | $0.10/sec · $9.00 40 cr/s; #97= | $0.2496/sec · $22.46 13 cr/s; #187= | $0.13/sec · $11.70 13 cr/s; #133= | Luma | 2.5× |
| Kling 3.0 · 1080p / Pro, no audio | $0.10/sec · $9.00 40 cr/s; #97= | $0.2304/sec · $20.74 12 cr/s; #175= | $0.12/sec · $10.80 12 cr/s; #119= | Luma | 2.3× |
| Kling 3.0 · 1080p / Pro, with audio | $0.1225/sec · $11.03 49 cr/s; #127= | $0.3264/sec · $29.38 17 cr/s; #208= | $0.17/sec · $15.30 17 cr/s; #157= | Luma | 2.7× |
| Kling 3.0 · 4K | $0.3675/sec · $33.08 147 cr/s; #213 | — | $0.43/sec · $38.70 43 cr/s; #225 | Luma | 1.2× |
| Kling 3.0 Turbo · 720p | $0.10/sec · $9.00 40 cr/s; #97= | $0.2688/sec · $24.19 14 cr/s; #194 | — | Luma | 2.7× |
| Kling 3.0 Turbo · 1080p | $0.1225/sec · $11.03 49 cr/s; #127= | $0.3072/sec · $27.65 16 cr/s; #204= | — | Luma | 2.5× |
| Kling 4.0 · 720p | $0.1325/sec · $11.93 53 cr/s; #136 | $0.3072/sec · $27.65 16 cr/s; not ranked, ~#204 | $0.1256/sec · $11.30 12.56 cr/s; #130 | Runway API | 2.4× |
| Kling 4.0 · 1080p | $0.1975/sec · $17.78 79 cr/s; #170 | $0.4608/sec · $41.47 24 cr/s; not ranked, ~#226 | $0.188/sec · $16.92 18.8 cr/s; #162 | Runway API | 2.5× |
| Kling 4.0 Flash · 720p | $0.08/sec · $7.20 32 cr/s; not ranked, ~#74 | — | $0.094/sec · $8.46 9.4 cr/s; not ranked, ~#91 | Luma | 1.2× |
Veo 3.1
| Model · resolution | Luma (Plus annual) | Runway app (Standard annual) | Runway API | Cheapest | Dearest vs cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veo 3.1 with audio · 720p/1080p | $0.35/sec · $31.50 140 cr/s; #211 | $0.768/sec · $69.12 40 cr/s; #234= | $0.40/sec · $36.00 40 cr/s; not ranked, ~#220 | Luma | 2.2× |
MiniMax H3 and H3 Max
| Model · resolution | Luma (Plus annual) | Runway app (Standard annual) | Runway API | Cheapest | Dearest vs cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MiniMax H3 · 768p | $0.07/sec · $6.30 28 cr/s; #64= | $0.192/sec · $17.28 10 cr/s; not ranked, ~#165 | $0.10/sec · $9.00 10 cr/s; #97= | Luma | 2.7× |
| MiniMax H3 · 2K | $0.115/sec · $10.35 46 cr/s; #118 | $0.288/sec · $25.92 15 cr/s; not ranked, ~#197 | $0.15/sec · $13.50 15 cr/s; #146= | Luma | 2.5× |
| MiniMax H3 Max · 480p | $0.045/sec · $4.05 18 cr/s; #34= | — | $0.05/sec · $4.50 5 cr/s; #39= | Luma | 1.1× |
| MiniMax H3 Max · 768p | $0.07/sec · $6.30 28 cr/s; #64= | — | $0.08/sec · $7.20 8 cr/s; #74= | Luma | 1.1× |
Why the gap: what a credit costs
- Luma Plus: $30/mo or $25/mo billed yearly for 10,000 credits = $0.0025 per credit (Pro $75 annual for 40,000; Ultra $250 annual for 150,000).
- Runway Standard: $15/mo or $12/mo billed yearly for 625 credits = $0.0192 per credit (Pro $28 annual for 2,250 ≈ $0.0124; Max $76 annual for 9,500 = $0.008).
- Runway API: $0.01 per credit, bought in the developer portal; app and API credits are separate pools.
- Runway charges fewer credits per second than Luma for the same model, but a Runway Standard credit costs 7.7× a Luma Plus credit, so the second still costs more.
Seconds per month on the entry plans (single attempts)
| Model | Luma Plus (10,000 cr) | Runway Standard (625 cr) | Runway Pro (2,250 cr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ray3.2 540p / Gen-4 Turbo | 10 cr/s → 1,000s | 5 cr/s → 125s | 450s |
| Ray3.2 720p / Gen-4.5 | 20 cr/s → 500s | 12 cr/s → 52s | 187s |
| Seedance 2.0 1080p | 126 cr/s → 79s | 40 cr/s → 15s | 56s |
| Kling 3.0 720p with audio (Luma) / Std with audio (Runway) | 40 cr/s → 250s | 13 cr/s → 48s | 173s |
| Veo 3.1 with audio | 140 cr/s → 71s | 40 cr/s → 15s | 56s |
| MiniMax H3 768p | 28 cr/s → 357s | 10 cr/s → 62s | 225s |
Which to pick (on cost)
- Cheapest per second overall: Luma Plus annual for Seedance, Kling 3.0, Veo 3.1 and MiniMax H3 — if you will actually use the 10,000 credits each month.
- No subscription: the Runway API (pay-as-you-go, $0.01/credit) is about half the Runway app price; for Luma’s own Ray3.2 the Luma API costs 20% more than Plus credits.
- Kling 4.0 before December 1: the Runway API promo ($11.30 at 720p, $16.92 at 1080p) edges Luma ($11.93 / $17.78). See Kling 4.0 cost.
- Already pay for Runway? Use the API instead of app credits where the model is on both; see Runway API pricing and Runway credits explained.
- Cheaper than both: some models are cheaper still at the source — see which storefront is cheapest and the cheapest AI video generator ranking.
Honest flags
- Luma and Runway app prices need a paid plan and assume you use all the credits; the Runway API is pay-as-you-go. Plan credits are not like-for-like with API pricing.
- New on Runway’s credits page (checked today, not yet calculator rows): Kling 4.0 at 16 / 24 credits per second (720p / 1080p) and MiniMax H3 at 10 / 15 (768p / 2K) in the app. Luma now also lists Kling 4.0 Flash at 32 credits per second; the Runway API lists kling_4_flash at 9.4.
- Runway’s pricing page advertises 25% off Kling 4.0 generations in the app until November 30; not applied here. The Runway API Kling 4.0 rows use the 20% promo (through November 30, 2026 UTC; list 15.7 / 23.5 credits per second from December 1).
- Runway API minimums apply (e.g. 28 / 56 credits per generation for Seedance 2.0 Mini / 2.0, 80 for Seedance 2.5, 29 for Kling 4.0 Flash). MiniMax H3 on the Runway API adds 2 credits per reference image or keyframe; Luma charges for H3 reference images after the first 5.
- Ray3.2 has no audio; a 10s Ray3.2 generation costs 3× the 5s price on Luma’s table, so it is priced at the 5s rate. Video-to-video rates are excluded on both sides.
Related: calculator · Compare · Luma tool page · Runway tool page · Luma cost · Luma partner models · Runway API partner models · Runway API pricing · Runway Gen-4.5 cost · Runway models ranked · Runway vs Kling · Runway vs Pika · Seedance 2.0 cost · Veo 3.1 variants · Kling 4.0 cost · MiniMax Hailuo cost · Which storefront · FAQ.
Sources (checked Nov 9, 2026, about 9pm Central)
- Luma pricing (pricing.md): plans (Plus $25/mo annual for 10,000 credits), Ray3.2 per-5s credits, partner credits/sec for Seedance 2.0 / Mini / 2.5, Kling 3.0 / 3.0 Turbo / 4.0 / 4.0 Flash, Veo 3.1, MiniMax H3 / H3 Max — re-read today, ranked rows unchanged.
- Runway API pricing: $0.01 per credit; gen4.5 12, gen4_turbo 5, veo3.1 (audio) 40, seedance2 / _fast / _mini, seedance2_5, kling3.0, kling_4 (promo + list), kling_4_flash, h3_max and hailuo3 credits/sec and minimums — re-read today.
- Runway Academy credits page: app credits/sec (Gen-4.5 12, Gen-4 12, Gen-4 Turbo 5, Veo 3.1 40, Seedance 2.0 36/36/40/150, Mini 16, Seedance 2.5 20/30/68, Kling 3.0 Std 9/13, Pro 12/17, Turbo 14/16, Kling 4.0 16/24, MiniMax H3 10/15) — re-read today.
- Runway pricing: Standard $12/mo annual for 625 credits, Pro $28 for 2,250; “25% off Kling 4.0 generations until November 30” — re-read today.
FAQ
Is Luma or Runway cheaper for AI video?
On per-second list prices checked Nov 9, 2026, Luma is cheaper. For 22 of the 24 same-model comparisons on this page, Luma Plus annual credits ($0.0025 each) beat both the Runway app (Standard annual, $0.0192 per credit) and the Runway API ($0.01 per credit). Example: Veo 3.1 with audio is $31.50 per usable 30 seconds on Luma, $36.00 on the Runway API and $69.12 in the Runway app. The exception is Kling 4.0, where the Runway API's 20% promo (through November 30, 2026 UTC) is slightly cheaper.
Is Ray3.2 cheaper than Runway Gen-4.5?
Yes, per second. Ray3.2 540p in Luma's app is $0.025 per second on Plus annual credits ($2.25 per usable 30s), 720p $0.05 ($4.50) and 1080p $0.20 ($18.00). Gen-4.5 is 12 credits per second: $0.2304 in the Runway app on Standard annual ($20.74) or $0.12 on the Runway API ($10.80). Gen-4 Turbo is 5 credits per second ($0.096 in the app). ClipCost compares cost only, not quality, and Runway does not price Gen-4.5 by resolution.
Why is the Runway app so much more expensive than Luma for the same model?
Runway's Standard plan is $12 a month on annual billing for 625 credits, which values a credit at $0.0192. Luma Plus is $25 a month on annual billing for 10,000 credits, or $0.0025 a credit. Runway charges fewer credits per second (for example 40 for Veo 3.1 with audio vs 140 on Luma), but each credit costs about 7.7 times more, so the second costs more. Runway's bigger plans lower the credit price (Pro $28 for 2,250 = about $0.0124) but not to Luma's level.
Is the Runway API cheaper than the Runway app?
Yes for almost every model. Runway API credits cost $0.01 and most partner models use the same credits per second as the app, so the API is about half the Standard-plan price: Veo 3.1 with audio $36.00 vs $69.12 usable 30s, Kling 3.0 Std with audio $11.70 vs $22.46. Luma Plus credits are still cheaper than the Runway API for most shared models.
Where is Kling 4.0 cheapest, Luma or Runway?
Until November 30, 2026 (UTC), the Runway API: its 20% promo is 12.56 credits per second at 720p ($0.1256, $11.30 usable 30s) vs 53 credits on Luma ($0.1325, $11.93). From December 1 the Runway API list price is 15.7 ($0.157, $14.13), so Luma becomes cheaper. The Runway app lists Kling 4.0 at 16 / 24 credits per second for 720p / 1080p ($27.65 / $41.47 on Standard annual); Runway's pricing page also advertises 25% off Kling 4.0 in the app until November 30, which ClipCost has not applied.
How many seconds of video do Luma Plus and Runway Standard give per month?
Luma Plus (10,000 credits) covers about 71 seconds of Veo 3.1 with audio, 79 seconds of Seedance 2.0 at 1080p or 500 seconds of Ray3.2 at 720p. Runway Standard (625 credits) covers about 15 seconds of Veo 3.1 with audio or Seedance 2.0 Pro at 1080p and 52 seconds of Gen-4.5. Runway Pro (2,250 credits) covers about 56 seconds of Veo 3.1. These are single attempts; plan for retries.