Kling vs Runway: which video generator fits your budget and workflow?
Our hands-on test of these two tools is under way. The take below is based on the official plans and documentation; scores from the test will be added here when it is finished.
Early take
Pick Kling when cost per clip and motion quality matter most; pick Runway when you need generation and editing in one shared workspace.
Side by side
| Kling | Runway | |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Kuaishou | Runway |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Paid from | $10/mo | $15/mo |
| Open weights | No | No |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Workflow | Generation-first web app | Generation plus editing suite |
| Billing | Monthly credits; cost per clip depends on model, length and mode | Monthly credits; only Max rolls unused credits over (one month) |
| Team features | Measured in our hands-on test | Shared workspaces and asset libraries |
| Model access | Kling models | Gen models plus third-party models, including Kling 4.0 |
How we test this
We are running these tasks now. Scores for each tool will appear here as soon as testing is finished.
Setup
- Kling
- Kling Pro plan ($37/month list), Kling 4.0, 1080p, 5 seconds, 16:9
- Runway
- Runway Pro plan ($35/month), Gen-4.5, 1080p-class output, 5 seconds, 16:9
Each task runs twice per tool with the English prompt and twice with the Chinese prompt (24 clips per tool). Same day, default settings, no prompt enhancement unless it is on by default (we note it when it is). Before scoring, the clips are shuffled and relabelled so the two editors who rate them independently cannot tell which tool made which.
Runway also sells Kling 4.0 inside its own credits, so we rerun the dance and balloon prompts with Kling 4.0 on Runway to compare what the same model costs on each platform.
Tasks and prompts
01Product turntable
The camera slowly orbits 180 degrees around the mug. Steam rises from the coffee. Keep the logo and the shape of the mug unchanged.镜头缓慢环绕杯子旋转 180 度，咖啡冒出热气。杯身的标志和形状保持不变。What we check
- Logo stays legible and unchanged
- Mug shape does not warp during the orbit
- Orbit is smooth and roughly 180°
- Steam looks natural
02Fast human motion
A street dancer performs a breakdance windmill in a rainy, neon-lit alley at night. Low tracking camera. Realistic style.雨夜霓虹灯下的小巷里，一名街舞者做地板风车动作，低机位跟拍，写实风格。What we check
- Arms and legs stay anatomically correct for the whole clip
- No merging or extra limbs
- Rain and neon reflections stay consistent
- Camera follows the dancer
03Counting, colour and camera control
Static camera. Three red balloons drift upward past a yellow window. A black cat sits on the windowsill and turns its head to follow them.固定机位。三只红色气球从一扇黄色窗户前缓缓升起，一只黑猫坐在窗台上，转头目送气球。What we check
- Exactly three balloons, all red
- Window is yellow; cat is black
- Cat's head follows the balloons
- Camera does not move
04Liquid physics
Close-up: milk is poured into a glass of iced coffee on a wooden table. The glass overflows slightly and the liquid spreads across the table.特写：牛奶倒入木桌上的一杯冰咖啡，杯子微微溢出，液体在桌面上流开。What we check
- Milk mixes into the coffee realistically
- Overflow happens and spreads across the table
- Ice cubes move plausibly
- Glass keeps its shape
05Chinese cultural scene
Inside a pavilion in a classical Suzhou garden, a tea master pours tea from a Yixing clay teapot into a white porcelain cup. Early-morning mist. Close-up on the hands.苏州园林的亭子里，一位茶艺师用紫砂壶向白瓷杯中倒茶，清晨薄雾，手部特写。What we check
- Architecture reads as a Chinese garden pavilion
- Teapot looks like Yixing clay, cup is white porcelain
- Tea pours and fills the cup naturally
- Hands have five fingers and move naturally
06Keeping a real face
The person turns towards the camera, smiles and waves with their right hand.人物转向镜头，微笑并用右手挥手。What we check
- Face stays recognisably the same person
- Waves with the right hand
- Hand anatomy is correct
- Smile and expression look natural
Scoring (1–5 per criterion)
| Criterion | Weight | What the scores mean |
|---|---|---|
| Prompt adherence | 30% | 1: ignores key elements · 3: main subject right, details wrong · 5: every element, count, colour and camera move as asked |
| Motion and physics | 25% | 1: broken or frozen motion · 3: plausible with visible glitches · 5: natural motion, believable physics |
| Visual quality | 20% | 1: blurry or noisy · 3: fine for social media · 5: sharp enough for a commercial edit |
| Subject consistency | 15% | 1: subject morphs or changes identity · 3: minor drift · 5: shape, logo and face stay identical |
| Free of artifacts | 10% | 1: extra limbs, melting objects, garbled text · 3: small artifacts · 5: none visible |
Also measured
- Usable rate: clips with a weighted score of at least 3.5 and no criterion scored 1
- Cost per usable clip: credits spent × plan price per credit ÷ usable clips
- Generation time per clip
- Language gap: average score with English prompts minus Chinese prompts
Kling: Good fit for
- Short cinematic clips from a still image
- Product and character motion tests
- Teams comparing against Runway on cost per clip
Runway: Good fit for
- Agencies that need generation plus editing in one tool
- Teams with shared workspaces and asset libraries
- Western-market commercial work with clear licensing