Descript vs Hailuo AI vs InVideo AI vs Runway
A side-by-side look at Descript, Hailuo AI, InVideo AI and Runway for filmmakers: what each one can do, what it costs, and where they actually differ.
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Edit video and podcasts by editing the transcript, with an AI co-editor built in
- Price
- Free (1 hr/mo, 720p, watermarked) · Hobbyist $16/mo annual ($24 monthly) · Creator $24/mo annual ($35 monthly) · Business $50/mo annual ($65 monthly, per person)
- Learning
- Easy
- Best for
- Podcast and interview editing from the transcript
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MiniMax video generator: 2K native-audio clips, camera commands, multi-reference input
- Price
- Free tier (limited credits, watermarked); paid plans: see the vendor's pricing page
- Learning
- Moderate
- Best for
- Previs and animatics that need native sound in the first pass
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AI assistant editor on a real multitrack timeline, with a free manual editor
- Price
- Free plan; paid plans per seat from €20/mo (€10/mo billed annually)
- Learning
- Moderate
- Best for
- Short social, ad and explainer videos built from generated clips, stock and talking-head footage
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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
- InVideo AI is the only one without public API.
- Hailuo AI is the only one without MCP server.
All 4 offer: AI agent, text to video, free tier.
Feature by feature
Descript vs Hailuo AI vs InVideo AI vs Runway: capabilities
| Descript | Hailuo AI | InVideo AI | Runway | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (1 hr/mo, 720p, watermarked) · Hobbyist $16/mo annual ($24 monthly) · Creator $24/mo annual ($35 monthly) · Business $50/mo annual ($65 monthly, per person) | Free tier (limited credits, watermarked); paid plans: see the vendor's pricing page | Free plan; paid plans per seat from €20/mo (€10/mo billed annually) | Free (125 one-time credits); Standard $15/mo ($12/mo billed annually) |
| Node / flow builder | No | Not confirmed | No | Yes |
| AI agent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Chat assistant | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Team collaboration | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Text to image | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Image editing | Partial | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Text to video | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Image to video | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Video to video | Not confirmed | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes |
| Native audio in video | Not confirmed | Yes | Not confirmed | Partial |
| Lip-sync | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Voice / TTS | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Music & SFX | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| Upscaling | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Character consistency | Not confirmed | Partial | Yes | Partial |
| Camera control | Not confirmed | Partial | Partial | Not confirmed |
| Custom training | Partial | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Partial |
| Third-party models | Yes | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes |
| Public API | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| MCP server | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Not confirmed | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | No | Partial | No | No |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Commercial use | Not confirmed | Yes | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
Each column comes from that tool's own researched page. "Not confirmed" means the vendor doesn't say.
Plans
Pricing compared
Descript
| Free | $0monthly |
|---|---|
| Hobbyist | $16 annual / $24 monthlyper person |
| Creator | $24 annual / $35 monthlyper person |
| Business | $50 annual / $65 monthlyper person |
| Enterprise | Customcustom |
Hailuo AI
| Free | $0monthly |
|---|
InVideo AI
| Free | €0weekly quota |
|---|---|
| Starter | €20monthly (€10/mo billed annually) |
| Plus | €60monthly (€30/mo billed annually) |
| Max | €150monthly (€75/mo billed annually) |
Runway
| Free | $0none |
|---|---|
| Standard | $15monthly |
| Pro | $35monthly |
| Max | $95monthly |
The verdict
Which one should you pick?
Descript
Pick it for
- Podcast and interview editing from the transcript
- Talking-head YouTube videos: filler word removal, retakes, captions
- Webinar and course repurposing into clips with captions and translation
Stands out
- Text-first editing: cut, reorder and remove filler words by editing the transcript, which is faster than frame-by-frame cutting for talking-head and interview footage.
- Recording and editing in one place: Rooms records each participant locally (up to 4K on paid plans) and the files open directly in the editor, with SquadCast now part of the product.
Watch out
- Underlord is still labelled beta and its per-prompt credit cost varies between runs of the same prompt
- Free plan is limited to 1 hour per month, 720p, with a watermark, and one seat
Hailuo AI
Pick it for
- Previs and animatics that need native sound in the first pass
- Stylised anime and illustration shots for music videos and short films
- Character shots driven by a reference image plus a motion or voice reference
Stands out
- Native stereo audio (dialogue, SFX, music) in the same pass as the picture, which removes a separate sound step for short clips
- Up to 12 mixed image, video and audio references in one generation, more reference types than most single-prompt video tools
Watch out
- Free tier is watermarked and small
- Clips top out at 15 seconds per generation
InVideo AI
Pick it for
- Short social, ad and explainer videos built from generated clips, stock and talking-head footage
- Cutting talking-head, podcast and multicam recordings: silences, filler, angle switching and chapters
- Editors who want an AI first pass and then finish in Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve
Stands out
- The AI works on a real multitrack timeline, and every edit it makes can be adjusted by hand afterwards.
- Exports an editable project to Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve with cuts and layers intact, so the AI cut can move into a finishing workflow.
Watch out
- Credits are per seat and do not roll over to the next month
- Seedance 2.0 at 4K and Seedance 2.5 are only on Plus and Max; Starter gets Seedance 2.0 Fast and Mini
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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