ComfyUI vs Ideogram vs Midjourney vs Runway
A side-by-side look at ComfyUI, Ideogram, Midjourney and Runway for filmmakers: what each one can do, what it costs, and where they actually differ.
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Node-based workflows for image, video and audio generation, run locally or on Comfy Cloud
- Price
- Local app free (GPL-3.0); Comfy Cloud Standard $20/mo ($16/mo billed yearly)
- Learning
- Steep
- Best for
- Filmmakers who need a repeatable, documented process for a series of shots
-
Text-accurate AI images for title cards, posters, key art and on-screen type
- Price
- Free plan; API pay-per-image from $0.03 (4.0 Turbo)
- Learning
- Easy
- Best for
- Title cards and text plates that must be spelled exactly, composited over footage in Premiere or DaVinci Resolve
-
AI image generator for concept art, previs, boards and client-safe stills, with private Stealth mode
- Price
- From $10/mo ($8/mo billed annually); 20% off on annual plans
- Learning
- Easy
- Best for
- Concept art, key art and look development for features and series
-
Gen-4.5 video, Aleph 2.0 video editing and an agent that builds whole ad campaigns
- Price
- Free (125 one-time credits); Standard $15/mo ($12/mo billed annually)
- Learning
- Easy
- Best for
- Previs and shot tests with Gen-4.5 before committing to a shoot
The short version
Where they differ
- Midjourney is the only one without public API.
- Midjourney is the only one without free tier.
All 4 offer: text to image, image editing.
Feature by feature
ComfyUI vs Ideogram vs Midjourney vs Runway: capabilities
| ComfyUI | Ideogram | Midjourney | Runway | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Local app free (GPL-3.0); Comfy Cloud Standard $20/mo ($16/mo billed yearly) | Free plan; API pay-per-image from $0.03 (4.0 Turbo) | From $10/mo ($8/mo billed annually); 20% off on annual plans | Free (125 one-time credits); Standard $15/mo ($12/mo billed annually) |
| Infinite canvas | Partial | Partial | Partial | Not confirmed |
| Node / flow builder | Yes | Not confirmed | No | Yes |
| AI agent | Partial | Not confirmed | No | Yes |
| Chat assistant | Yes | Not confirmed | No | Yes |
| Team collaboration | Partial | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Text to image | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Image editing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Text to video | Yes | Partial | Not confirmed | Yes |
| Image to video | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| Video to video | Partial | Not confirmed | No | Yes |
| Native audio in video | Not confirmed | No | Not confirmed | Partial |
| Voice / TTS | Not confirmed | No | No | Yes |
| Music & SFX | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Upscaling | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Character consistency | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Partial | Partial |
| Custom training | Partial | Not confirmed | Partial | Partial |
| Third-party models | Yes | Partial | No | Yes |
| Public API | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | Not confirmed | No | Yes |
| Mobile app | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Yes |
| Desktop / local | Yes | Partial | No | No |
| Open source | Yes | Partial | No | No |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Commercial use | Partial | Partial | Yes | Not confirmed |
Each column comes from that tool's own researched page. "Not confirmed" means the vendor doesn't say.
Plans
Pricing compared
ComfyUI
| Local | Freenone |
|---|---|
| Standard | $20/mo or $16/mo yearlymonthly or yearly |
| Creator | $35/mo or $28/mo yearlymonthly or yearly |
| Pro | $100/mo or $80/mo yearlymonthly or yearly |
| Team | $700/mo or $630/mo yearlymonthly or yearly |
| Enterprise | Customcustom |
Ideogram
| Free | $0monthly |
|---|
Midjourney
| Basic | $10monthly ($8/mo billed annually) |
|---|---|
| Standard | $30monthly ($24/mo billed annually) |
| Pro | $60monthly ($48/mo billed annually) |
| Mega | $120monthly ($96/mo billed annually) |
Runway
| Free | $0none |
|---|---|
| Standard | $15monthly |
| Pro | $35monthly |
| Max | $95monthly |
The verdict
Which one should you pick?
ComfyUI
Pick it for
- Filmmakers who need a repeatable, documented process for a series of shots
- Motion and VFX teams combining several models in one pass
- Studios that want local GPU generation with a free app and no per-render fee
Stands out
- Open source under GPL-3.0 with a free local app; Comfy Cloud is optional and billed in credits
- Every step of a generation is a visible node, so a workflow can be saved, versioned and rerun for the same shot
Watch out
- Node graphs take time to learn; App Mode hides the detail until you need it
- Local speed depends entirely on your GPU and model choice
Ideogram
Pick it for
- Title cards and text plates that must be spelled exactly, composited over footage in Premiere or DaVinci Resolve
- Movie poster and key-art concepts with a title treatment
- Festival, screening and social thumbnails with readable copy
Stands out
- Typography is the product: text inside the image is the main claim, and 4.0 coverage stresses small type, multilingual copy and signage over general aesthetics.
- Cheapest hosted route to exact-text stills: 4.0 API at $0.03 to $0.10 per image, and a free tier for testing.
Watch out
- Video is only offered through partner models in the API; there is no native Ideogram video model
- Credit costs and plan allowances changed several times in 2026, so budgets drift
Midjourney
Pick it for
- Concept art, key art and look development for features and series
- Storyboard frames and mood boards where the look matters more than shot control
- Client-confidential previs on Pro or Mega using Stealth mode
Stands out
- Stealth mode on Pro and Mega keeps confidential client and NDA work out of the public gallery, which the tools above do not offer on an equal basis.
- Consistent, art-directed default look across prompts with the V8.2 personalization profile, which is trained on your ratings rather than a LoRA you build.
Watch out
- No free trial
- Video is still the 2025 V1 image-to-video model, with no text-to-video or audio
Runway
Pick it for
- Previs and shot tests with Gen-4.5 before committing to a shoot
- Fixing finished footage with Aleph 2.0, such as swapping backgrounds or wardrobe across a clip
- Agency ad and campaign work using Agent, Brand Kits and Projects
Stands out
- Gen-4.5 and Aleph 2.0 sit in one credit pool with third-party models such as Kling 3.0, Seedance 2.5, Wan 3.0 and Nano Banana Pro, so you can compare models without separate subscriptions.
- Aleph 2.0 edits existing footage rather than generating new clips, which keeps the rest of a shot stable.
Watch out
- Credits burn fast: about 12 credits per second for Gen-4.5 and about 28 for Aleph 2.0
- Single generations run about 10 seconds, so longer scenes need stitching
Each column comes from that tool's own researched page, checked against vendor pricing and changelog pages (oldest check: ). Sources are listed on each tool's page.
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