Runway vs HeyGen: Which One Should You Actually Buy (2026)
People ask “which is best” — the real question is which fits how you work. We ran both through identical tasks.
Pricing
| Runway | HeyGen | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | from ~$12/mo | from ~$29/mo |
How they compare
Runway — Most complete generative video toolkit. The creative’s Swiss Army knife.
HeyGen — Avatar + lip-sync video. Best for localized explainer content at scale.
Who should buy which
Runway
Most complete generative video toolkit. The creative's Swiss Army knife.
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HeyGen
Avatar + lip-sync video. Best for localized explainer content at scale.
PaperLab may earn a commission from qualifying purchases through links on this page. This does not affect our editorial independence.
Bottom line: Runway if editors doing heavy generative work. HeyGen if localized marketing video.
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