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Both cover video editing. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
| OpenShot | Runway | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free | From $15 |
| Pricing model | Free | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | None |
| API | Not stated | Yes |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
| Runs on | macOS, Windows, Linux | Web |
| Covers | Video Editing | AI Video & Voice, Video Editing |
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
A simple open source video editor
OpenShot is an open source video editor released under the GPL, meant for somebody who wants to cut a clip without first learning a timeline suite. It runs on Linux, Mac and Windows, and the project is funded by donations rather than by a paid tier. It carries fewer features than the heavier free editors, which is the trade you are making.
Our note
Pick this over Shotcut if the simpler interface matters more than the format coverage, and pick neither if you already have DaVinci Resolve installed. The project has been going since 2008, which is worth something in free software.
Generative video with an editor around it
Runway is where the frontier video models arrive with a timeline attached, so a generated shot can be trimmed, upscaled and cut against footage you filmed. Credits are the unit of everything, and they go faster than the plan names suggest. Read the credit cost per second before picking a tier, because the gap between plans is nothing like the gap between prices.
Our note
Work out how many seconds of your chosen model each plan buys before subscribing, because the answer is usually smaller than the credit numbers suggest. Runway is the right pick when the shot cannot be filmed. For talking-head video from a script, Synthesia and HeyGen cost less and do it better.
Only on this side
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.