TL;DR
For a marketing team, the choice comes down to one question: does the video need a person talking? If yes (explainers, sales outreach, onboarding, the same ad in ten languages), HeyGen wins. If the video is built from footage and atmosphere instead (product B-roll, brand spots, social ads with no presenter), Runway wins. Both now offer outside models like Seedance 2.5 on their higher plans, so the gap is smaller than it was. But each is still clearly better on its home turf. Plenty of teams end up paying for both and still spend less than one freelance shoot.
HeyGen vs Runway: what's the core difference?
HeyGen makes presenter videos. You write a script, pick a stock avatar or a custom avatar of yourself, and it reads the script to camera with lip sync. Then you can translate it into 175+ languages and dialects. Its newest avatar model, Avatar V, builds a digital twin from a 15-second video and learns how you move, gesture and express yourself.
Runway makes footage. Its own Gen-4.5 model generates shots from text or images, and Aleph 2.0 changes footage you already have. Runway also generates music, voice and sound effects, so more of the piece gets done in one place. Every paid plan lists Runway Ads, for generating, testing and publishing ads, and Pro adds a brand kit and a custom voice clone.
So one starts from a person and a script, the other starts from a shot. Most marketing videos lean clearly one way.
Which is better for each kind of marketing video?
| Marketing video | Better pick | Why | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product explainer with a presenter | HeyGen | Script in, presenter out, in minutes | A talking head can't show your interface or numbers on its own |
| The same ad in many languages | HeyGen | Translation with lip sync into 175+ languages and dialects | Have a native speaker check each version |
| Personalized sales video | HeyGen | A custom avatar of a real rep, plus HubSpot and Zapier integrations on Business | Prospects can tell when it's an avatar, so be upfront |
| Product B-roll and lifestyle shots | Runway | Gen-4.5 from a product photo, plus image references for consistency | Fine product details and text on packaging can drift |
| Brand spot or campaign teaser | Runway | Cinematic generation, plus music, voice and sound effects in the same app | Expect many takes per approved shot |
| Refreshing an old shoot | Runway | Aleph 2.0 edits footage you already have | Check that talent releases cover edited versions |
| Short social ad, no presenter | Runway, narrowly | More control over the look of each shot, and Runway Ads on every paid plan | HeyGen Pro now offers Seedance 2.5 and Veo 3.1 too |
| Training and onboarding library | HeyGen | A consistent presenter, plus SCORM export and LMS integrations on Business | Keep videos short: viewers tire of avatars faster than of people |
How much do HeyGen and Runway cost for a marketing team?
Here are the plans as listed on each company's own pricing page on October 27, 2026. Re-check every number before you buy.
HeyGen. Free gives you 3 watermarked videos a month, up to 1 minute each. Creator is US$29 a month, or US$24 a month billed yearly, with 600 credits, 1080p export and a custom avatar of you. Pro starts at US$49 a month with 1,000 credits, 4K export, more Avatar V use than Creator, and access to Seedance 2.5 and Veo 3.1. Business is US$149 a month plus US$20 per extra seat, with 1,500 credits. It adds a shared workspace, a brand kit, SSO and integrations with HubSpot, Zapier, Make and n8n.
Runway. Free gives you 125 credits once. Standard is US$15 a month, or US$12 billed yearly, with 625 credits. Pro is US$35, or US$28 billed yearly, with 2,250 credits, a brand kit and a custom voice clone. Max is US$95, or US$76 billed yearly, with 9,500 credits, ProRes and HDR output, and unused credits that roll over for a month.
Sticker prices don't tell you much, because the two spend credits very differently. On Runway, Gen-4.5 uses 12 credits per second, so Standard covers about 52 seconds of Gen-4.5 footage a month, before failed takes. A 30-second brand spot that needs four takes per shot can use up a Standard plan in one go. On HeyGen, a presenter video is a simpler scene, so a month of credits covers far more finished minutes of talking-head video than the same money buys in cinematic footage.
Rollover differs too. HeyGen's monthly credits roll over for one more month on paid plans. Runway's only roll over on Max.
The fair comparison is cost per approved video. Run one real brief through each tool, count the takes it took to get something you'd publish, and multiply.
Prices are in US dollars, before tax, from HeyGen and Runway. They change often.
Which one fits your brand better?
Both have brand features, but they protect different things.
HeyGen's brand kit (Business plan) keeps your logo, colors and fonts consistent across presenter videos. The custom avatar keeps the same face and voice across a whole library. That consistency is the main reason teams pick it for onboarding and sales content.
Runway's brand kit (Pro and up) and image references help keep generated shots on-style. Generative footage is still harder to keep exactly on-brand than a presenter video, though. Expect to steer it. Expect small drifts in logos, product details and on-screen text, which you'll often want to fix or add in an editor afterwards.
Neither is a motion graphics tool in the classic sense. If your ads are mostly animated text, product UI, charts and logos rather than footage or faces, you'll want something built for that. HeyGen's HyperFrames project, which turns HTML into video, is a nod in that direction for developers. Our roundup of HeyGen alternatives for motion graphics covers the options for marketers.
Should a marketing team use HeyGen and Runway together?
Often, yes, and it's a common setup. Runway makes the atmosphere: product B-roll, a short cinematic opener, lifestyle shots. HeyGen makes the presenter segment and the translated versions. An editor stitches them together. You get a human-feeling explainer with real visual variety, in several languages, for the price of two subscriptions.
If you can only afford one, go back to the first question. Count last quarter's videos and sort them into “someone talks” and “no one talks”. The bigger pile picks the tool.
Where does each one fall short?
HeyGen is only as good as your script, and a presenter can't replace showing the thing. Viewers also tire of avatars faster than of real people, so long avatar videos tend to lose attention. Credits can go quickly on premium features, and the jump from Pro to Business is steep for small teams.
Runway needs more skill. Good results depend on good prompts and reference images, and it takes several takes to land a shot you'd publish. Monthly credits don't roll over on Standard or Pro, so a quiet month is money lost. It also has no script-to-presenter workflow, so anything that needs a consistent spokesperson is harder.
For a wider view of footage models, our comparison of Higgsfield vs Runway vs HeyGen adds Higgsfield to the mix.
Frequently asked questions
- HeyGen vs Runway: which is better for marketing?
- HeyGen is better when the video needs a presenter: explainers, sales videos, onboarding and translated ads. Runway is better for footage without a presenter: product B-roll, brand spots and cinematic social ads.
- Is HeyGen or Runway cheaper?
- Runway's entry plan is cheaper on paper: US$15 a month, or US$12 billed yearly, against HeyGen's US$29, or US$24 billed yearly. But cinematic generation uses credits fast, so for talking-head content HeyGen usually gives you more finished minutes per dollar. Compare the cost of one approved video, not the plan price.
- Can Runway make AI avatar videos?
- Not the way HeyGen does. Act-Two can transfer a performance onto a character, and Runway Characters, a developer product, builds real-time conversational avatars. But Runway has no built-in workflow for a consistent presenter reading your script in many languages.
- Can HeyGen make B-roll or product shots?
- Yes. Paid plans include HeyGen's own Video 1 model, and Pro adds Seedance 2.5 and Veo 3.1. Runway still gives you more control and more editing tools for that kind of footage.
- What is the best AI video tool for a small marketing team?
- It depends on what you make most. Presenter and translated videos point to HeyGen, footage-led ads point to Runway, and many teams use both. For animated text, product UI and branded motion graphics, look at a dedicated motion design tool instead.
Prices and plan details were checked on heygen.com and runway.com on October 27, 2026 and change often. Disclosure: this comparison is published by fluos, which makes an AI motion design tool that isn't HeyGen or Runway.