ClipCost · Last checked Oct 17, 2026 · Prices from verified data
Runway vs Kling: cost per video
What a 5s, 30s and 60s video actually costs on Runway and Kling, using each company’s own published credit rates, plan prices and the retries most creators really need.
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Quick answer
Kling is cheaper per generated second at every comparable setting we can verify. Runway Gen-4.5 and Kling VIDEO 3.0 at 1080p with native audio both burn 12 credits per second, but a Kling Standard credit is worth about $0.0100 against about $0.0192 for Runway Standard (both on annual billing). That makes one 30-second try about $6.91 on Runway Gen-4.5 vs $3.60 on Kling 3.0 1080p with audio, and just $1.80 on Kling 3.0 720p without audio. With 2 retries per finished clip, budget $20.74 vs $10.80 vs $5.40. Runway’s cheaper Gen-4 Turbo (5 credits/sec) narrows the gap to $2.88 per 30s try.
Basis: Runway rates and plans re-verified Oct 17, 2026 from Runway’s pricing page and help docs. Kling per-second rates verified Oct 17, 2026 from Kling’s official VIDEO 3.0 model guide and VIDEO 2.6 guide; Kling plan prices from the official membership page (Oct 16, 2026). This page compares cost only — no quality ranking.
Credits per second, side by side
| Tool & model / mode | Credits per second (official) | Per 5s | Max per generation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runway Gen-4.5 | 12 | 60 | 10s (2–10s) |
| Runway Gen-4 | 12 | 60 | 10s |
| Runway Gen-4 Turbo | 5 | 25 | 10s |
| Kling 3.0 · 1080p, native audio | 12 | 60 | 15s (3–15s) |
| Kling 3.0 · 720p, native audio | 9 | 45 | 15s |
| Kling 3.0 · 1080p, no audio | 8 | 40 | 15s |
| Kling 3.0 · 720p, no audio | 6 | 30 | 15s |
| Kling 3.0 · voice control add-on | +2 | +10 | — |
| Kling 2.6 · Professional, audio on | 10 | 50 | 5s or 10s |
| Kling 2.6 · Professional, audio off | 5 | 25 | 5s or 10s |
| Kling 2.6 · Standard mode, audio off | 3 | 15 | 5s or 10s |
Kling’s own examples: a 5s 3.0 1080p native-audio video costs 60 credits; 5s 3.0 720p without audio costs 30 credits. Runway: 60 credits per 5s and 120 per 10s on Gen-4.5. Longer finished videos are several generations stitched together on both tools — but Kling 3.0’s 15s limit means a 30s video is 2 generations instead of 3 on Runway.
What a credit is worth on each plan
| Plan (annual billing) | Price | Credits / month | $ per credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runway Standard | $12/mo ($15 monthly) | 625 | $0.0192 ($0.0240 monthly) |
| Runway Pro | $28/mo ($35 monthly) | 2,250 | $0.0124 |
| Runway Max | $76/mo ($95 monthly) | 9,500 | $0.0080 |
| Runway top-up credits | $10 per 1,000 (min.) | never expire | $0.0100 |
| Kling Standard | $6.60/mo ($79.20/yr) | 660 | $0.0100 |
| Kling Pro | $24.42/mo ($293.04/yr) | 3,000 | $0.0081 |
| Kling Premier | $60.72/mo ($728.64/yr) | 8,000 | $0.0076 |
| Kling purchased credits | $1 = 66 credits | valid 2 years | $0.0152 |
$ per credit = plan price ÷ monthly credits, assuming you use them all. Kling monthly (non-annual) prices were not verified, so Kling is compared on annual pricing throughout. Kling Ultra (26,000 credits) is left out because its price was not verified.
Cost per video: 5s, 10s, 30s, 60s
Entry plans on annual billing: Runway Standard ($0.0192/credit) and Kling Standard ($0.0100/credit). “Usable” = 1 try + 2 retries (3 attempts), our default for a clip you would actually publish.
| Model | $/sec | 5s try | 10s try | 30s try | 30s usable | 60s try | 60s usable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runway Gen-4.5 | $0.230 | $1.15 | $2.30 | $6.91 | $20.74 | $13.82 | $41.47 |
| Runway Gen-4 Turbo | $0.096 | $0.48 | $0.96 | $2.88 | $8.64 | $5.76 | $17.28 |
| Kling 3.0 1080p + audio | $0.120 | $0.60 | $1.20 | $3.60 | $10.80 | $7.20 | $21.60 |
| Kling 3.0 720p + audio | $0.090 | $0.45 | $0.90 | $2.70 | $8.10 | $5.40 | $16.20 |
| Kling 3.0 1080p, no audio | $0.080 | $0.40 | $0.80 | $2.40 | $7.20 | $4.80 | $14.40 |
| Kling 3.0 720p, no audio | $0.060 | $0.30 | $0.60 | $1.80 | $5.40 | $3.60 | $10.80 |
| Kling 2.6 Standard mode | $0.030 | $0.15 | $0.30 | $0.90 | $2.70 | $1.80 | $5.40 |
Maths: credits/sec × seconds × $ per credit. Example: Kling 3.0 1080p + audio, 30s = 12 × 30 = 360 credits × $0.0100 = $3.60. Runway Gen-4.5, 30s = 360 credits × $0.0192 = $6.91. Same credits, different credit price. On bigger plans the gap shrinks but stays: a 30s 12-credits/sec try is $4.48 on Runway Pro vs $2.93 on Kling Pro, and $2.88 on Runway Max vs $2.73 on Kling Premier.
Monthly reality: how much video each plan really covers
| Plan | Seconds at 12 cr/s | Seconds at 6 cr/s | Usable 30s clips at 12 cr/s* | Usable 30s clips at 6 cr/s* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runway Standard (625) | 52s | 104s (Turbo 5 cr/s: 125s) | 0 | 1 |
| Kling Standard (660) | 55s | 110s | 0 | 1 |
| Runway Pro (2,250) | 187s | 375s | 2 | 4 |
| Kling Pro (3,000) | 250s | 500s | 2 | 5 |
| Runway Max (9,500) | 791s | 1,583s | 8 | 17 |
| Kling Premier (8,000) | 666s | 1,333s | 7 | 14 |
*Usable 30s clip = 90 generated seconds (3 attempts), rounded down. Runway has no 6 credits/sec model; its closest is Gen-4 Turbo at 5. Entry plans on both tools are sampling plans, not production plans: neither covers one usable 30s 1080p clip with 2 retries.
Credit expiry: the hidden cost difference
- Runway: Standard and Pro monthly credits reset on your billing date; Max rolls over up to one month; Free gets 125 one-time credits; purchased credits (min. 1,000 for $10) never expire and are spent after plan credits.
- Kling: membership credits are valid for 1 month from distribution; purchased credits ($1 = 66) last 2 years.
- What that means: the per-credit prices above assume you use every credit. Unused credits push your real cost per video up on both tools. Runway’s never-expiring top-ups at $0.0100 are a useful buffer; Kling’s purchased credits cost more ($0.0152) but survive quiet months.
Which should you pick on cost?
- Cheapest per second: Kling. Even Kling’s most expensive standard setting (3.0 1080p with audio, $0.12/s on Standard) is about half of Runway Gen-4.5 ($0.23/s).
- Cheapest Runway option: Gen-4 Turbo at $0.096/s on Standard, close to Kling 3.0 720p with audio ($0.09/s).
- Longer single shots: Kling 3.0 generates up to 15s per generation vs 10s on Runway, so fewer stitches for a 30s or 60s piece.
- Retries decide the bill: if one tool gets your shot in 1 try and the other in 3, the “cheaper” tool can lose. Test the exact shot on both, then plug your real retry count into the calculator.
- Rights and watermarks: confirm commercial-use and watermark terms on each official page before client work — we do not infer rights from a credit balance.
More context: Runway vs Kling vs Pika vs Veo, Kling credits explained, Runway cost per video, the cheapest AI video generator ranking and how much 1 minute of AI video costs.
Sources
Runway: runway.com/pricing and Runway help docs (credit rates, rollover, top-ups), re-verified Oct 17, 2026. Kling: Kling VIDEO 3.0 model guide — pricing section and Kling VIDEO 2.6 guide — pricing section (per-second credits, verified Oct 17, 2026); Kling membership page and point policy for plans, credit prices and expiry (Oct 16, 2026). Prices change — Kling shows the exact credit cost before each generation, so confirm in-product before you buy.
FAQ
Is Kling cheaper than Runway per video?
On verified official rates, yes for comparable settings. Runway Gen-4.5 and Kling 3.0 1080p with native audio both use 12 credits per second, but a Kling Standard annual credit is worth about $0.0100 versus about $0.0192 for Runway Standard annual. So one 30-second try is about $3.60 on Kling versus $6.91 on Runway Gen-4.5. We make no claim about which looks better.
How many credits per second do Runway and Kling use?
Runway: Gen-4.5 and Gen-4 use 12 credits per second and Gen-4 Turbo uses 5. Kling VIDEO 3.0: 12 credits per second at 1080p with native audio, 9 at 720p with audio, 8 at 1080p without audio and 6 at 720p without audio, plus 2 per second for voice control. Kling VIDEO 2.6: 10 with audio (Professional), 5 without audio (Professional), 3 in Standard mode.
How much does a 30-second video cost on Runway vs Kling?
At entry-plan annual credit prices, one 30-second try costs $6.91 on Runway Gen-4.5, $2.88 on Runway Gen-4 Turbo, $3.60 on Kling 3.0 1080p with audio and $1.80 on Kling 3.0 720p without audio. With 2 retries (3 attempts) those become $20.74, $8.64, $10.80 and $5.40.
Which entry plan gives more video per month?
Runway Standard ($12/mo annual, 625 credits) covers about 52 seconds of Gen-4.5 or 125 seconds of Gen-4 Turbo. Kling Standard ($6.60/mo annual, 660 credits) covers about 55 seconds of Kling 3.0 1080p with audio or 110 seconds of 720p without audio. Neither entry plan covers one usable 30-second 1080p clip with 2 retries.
Do Runway and Kling credits roll over?
Runway Standard and Pro monthly credits reset on the billing date; Max rolls up to one month; purchased Runway credits never expire. Kling membership credits are valid for 1 month from distribution; purchased Kling credits are valid for 2 years.
Should I pick Runway or Kling for cost?
If price per generated second is the deciding factor, Kling's verified rates are lower at every comparable setting we can price. Runway can still make sense if you already rely on its editing tools or other models in one place. Test both on the exact shot you need and count your real retries before committing to an annual plan.