---
title: When to use Runway vs invideo
description: Runway for generating shots and for its Premiere Pro and After Effects plugins. invideo for editing those shots, with a price check before each step.
---
Use Runway to generate shots, and to generate inside Premiere Pro or After Effects with its plugin. Use invideo to edit shots into a finished video, with a dry run that prices each paid step before it runs.

Runway makes video models, Gen-4.5 among them. invideo is a video editor with a timeline that can also run many generation models, Runway Gen-4.5 included, as `runway_gen45`.

## One brief, two tools

The brief: a 30 second product ad from three product photos and one line of copy, with music and a voiceover.

**In Runway.** You upload the photos to Runway's web app and generate a short clip from each one with Gen-4.5. You try prompts until each clip looks right. Then you take the clips into an editor for the cut, the text, the voice and the music. With the plugin, that editor can be Premiere Pro, where results "land at the playhead".

**In invideo.** Your agent adds the photos with `add_media` and prices each clip with `generate` and `dry_run: true`. It tells you the price, then generates with `max_credits` set, using a model such as `runway_gen45`, `seedance_2_5.r2v` or `kling_v4.kling_v4_frames`. It makes a voiceover with `elevenlabs_text_to_speech.elevenlabs_tts_v4` and finds music with `search_library`. It places everything on a timeline, adds the line of copy with `add_text`, checks frames with `capture`, and exports.

## At a glance

Checked on 29 October 2026 against Runway's site and its plugin page. They may change.

| | Runway | invideo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Editable timeline after the cut | In Premiere Pro through the plugin | Yes, on a branch you can review |
| Generation | Its own models, Gen-4.5 among them | Many models, `runway_gen45` among them |
| Captions | Not stated on its site | `add_captions` from a transcript |
| Agent access | An API, an agent, and MCP and ChatGPT integrations | CLI and skills for terminal agents; MCP server for clients without a shell |
| Project files out | Results go into Premiere Pro or After Effects | A project for Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve |
| Offline | No, models run on Runway's servers | No, invideo runs in the cloud |
| Batch | An API | `duplicate_timeline` and `export` per row, run in parts |

## Use Runway when

Runway fits the shot, not the whole video.

- You want the newest Runway models and features first, in Runway's own app.
- You edit in Premiere Pro or After Effects and want generation inside them.
- You re-render clips on your timeline with Aleph 2.0, or isolate a subject with no hand masking.
- You build your own product on a generation API.

## Use invideo when

invideo fits the job after the shots exist.

- You want the shots cut into a video with text, voice, music and captions.
- You want a price before each paid step. `dry_run` gives it, and `max_credits` stops any call above it.
- You want to try models from several makers in one project and keep the best take.
- You want your agent to do the edit and leave a timeline you can change.

## Use both

Generate in Runway, finish in invideo. Download the clips from Runway. Your agent brings them in with `add_media` and builds the cut around them. The steps are on [Use Runway with invideo](/integrations/runway) and [Finish an AI clip from Higgsfield, Runway or Magnific](/how-to/marketing/finish-an-ai-clip).

## What Runway does better

Say it plainly. Runway is better at some things.

- **Its own models.** Runway builds the models. New Runway features appear in Runway's app, and invideo lists only the Runway models it carries.
- **Adobe plugins.** One install puts Runway inside Premiere Pro and After Effects. invideo has no plugin for them; it exports a project file instead.
- **Clip tools.** Aleph 2.0 re-renders a clip, Ruby converts to HDR, and its upscalers finish a shot. invideo exports 1080p and upscales after with `media` `video.upscale`.

## Try the brief in invideo

Set up your agent first with [invideo for AI agents](/agents). Then give it the brief in your own words, like this.

```text
Make a 30 second product ad from these three photos and this line:
"Built for the long run." Price each generated clip first. Add a
voiceover and music, check the frames, then export.
```

## Cost

Edits and exports are free in invideo. Generation and transcripts cost credits. Paid stock costs a small credit charge, or one of your workspace's iStock licenses. Your agent runs a dry run first and tells you the price before it spends anything. Models retire. If a model is not found, your agent runs `find_models` with the job in words, uses the best match, and tells you. Prices are on [Credits and what they cost](/account/credits).

## Related

- [AI video tools compared, including invideo](/compare/alternatives)
- [Use Runway with invideo](/integrations/runway)
- [Know the cost before you spend](/how-to/cost-before-you-spend)
- [Product photo to video](/how-to/marketing/product-photo-to-video)
- [When to use Higgsfield vs invideo](/compare/higgsfield)