Side-by-side comparison · Video & Audio
Runway vs Google Veo vs Google Flow
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Runway
3.8Pick it if: Creators, marketers and agencies who need custom footage without a shoot.
Google Veo
3.8Pick it if: Marketers and creators who want realistic short AI video, with sound.
Google Flow
3.8Pick it if: Creators and marketers who want realistic AI video with sound and want to build it into longer pieces.
Overview
| Attribute | Runway | Google Veo | Google Flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Make short AI video clips from text or images, then edit footage by describing changes. | Google's video model: describe a scene or upload a photo and get a short clip with sound. | Google's AI studio for short films, built from Veo clips that come with sound. |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $15/mo | AUD $32.99/mo | AUD $7.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | No | No |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Runway | Google Veo | Google Flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 3.8 | 3.8 | 3.8 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 3.5 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| FeaturesHow much it can do, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Runway | Google Veo | Google Flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | No |
| Desktop app | No | No | No |
| Browser extension | No | No | No |
| API access | Yes | Yes | No |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | No | No |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connects to other apps | – | – | – |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Makes images | Yes | No | Yes |
| Makes video | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | No | No | No |
| Learns your brand or style | No | No | No |
| Works in many languages | – | Yes | Yes |
| Capabilities score | 9/ 17 | 8/ 17 | 6/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Runway | Google Veo | Google Flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Free Free Seeing what it can do before you pay. | Free (via Flow and Gemini) Free Trying a few clips. | Free Free Trying a few clips a day. |
Standard $15/mo, or $12/mo billed yearly Occasional clips and short social videos. | Google AI ProOur pick AUD $32.99/mo Marketers who already use Google's tools. | Google AI Plus AUD $7.99/mo Light users who also want more Gemini. | |
ProOur pick $35/mo, or $28/mo billed yearly Anyone making video most weeks. | Google AI Ultra From AUD $149.99/mo Heavy daily video makers. | Google AI ProOur pick AUD $32.99/mo Anyone making video most weeks. | |
Max $95/mo, or $76/mo billed yearly Agencies and heavy daily users. | Gemini API From $0.05 per second of video Developers building video into an app. | Google AI Ultra From AUD $149.99/mo Studios and agencies living in Flow daily. | |
Team and Enterprise See website Companies that need shared workspaces and security controls. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Use the free credits to learn what prompts work, then go straight to Pro. Standard sounds cheap, but 625 credits is only a few minutes of good video a month and you'll spend more topping up than you saved. | If you already pay for Google AI Pro, you have Veo; use it through Flow for the most control. Developers should start on the API with Veo 3.1 Fast at $0.10 a second and only move to the Standard model for hero shots. | Google AI Pro is the sensible pick. The 1,000 Flow credits a month cover regular use of the fast model, and you get Gemini, 5TB of storage and YouTube Premium Lite for the same price. Ultra is for studios living in Flow every day. |
Key features
| Attribute | Runway | Google Veo | Google Flow |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pros and cons
| Attribute | Runway | Google Veo | Google Flow |
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Runway | Google Veo | Google Flow |
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How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability. The "Visit" buttons may use affiliate links, which never affect a score.
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