Apostle

Runway Gen-4 vs Hailuo (MiniMax)

● Last verified: April 1, 2026
Runway
8/10
vs
Hailuo
7.7/10

We have tested both Runway Gen-4 and Hailuo (MiniMax) extensively in production. Runway scores higher overall (8.0/10 vs 7.7/10), but Hailuo may be the better choice depending on your specific needs. Hailuo is more affordable starting at $9.99/month. For quality-critical work, we reach for the highe...

Best for quality: Runway Best for value: Hailuo Best for ease of use: Runway

Feature comparison

Feature Runway Hailuo
Max Resolution 4K 1080p
Max Video Length 16s 6s
Text to Video ✓ ✓
Image to Video ✓ ✓
Video to Video ✓ ✗
Native Audio ✓ ✗
Lip Sync ✓ ✗
Character Consistency ✓ ✗
Camera Control ✓ ✓
API Available ✓ ✓
Open Source ✗ ✗
Batch Processing ✓ ✓
Commercial License ✓ ✓
Quality 9.2 7
Speed 7.5 9
Value 6 9.5
Ease of Use 8.5 7.5
Overall Rating 8 7.7

Pricing comparison

Pricing Runway Hailuo
Free Tier 125 credits, watermarked Limited daily credits
Starting Price $12/mo $9.99/mo
Pro Tier $35/mo $29.99/mo
Enterprise $95/mo N/A
API Cost/Second $0.12 $0.017
Pricing Model credits pay-per-use

Which should you choose?

We have tested both Runway Gen-4 and Hailuo (MiniMax) extensively in production. Runway scores higher overall (8.0/10 vs 7.7/10), but Hailuo may be the better choice depending on your specific needs. Hailuo is more affordable starting at $9.99/month. For quality-critical work, we reach for the higher-rated option. For volume production where cost matters, the more cost-effective option wins.

Key differences

  • • Runway outputs at 4K while Hailuo maxes out at 1080p
  • • Runway includes native audio generation, Hailuo does not
  • • API pricing: Runway at $0.12/sec vs Hailuo at $0.017/sec

More on Runway

Runway Review Runway Pricing Runway Alternatives

More on Hailuo

Hailuo Review Hailuo Pricing Hailuo Alternatives

Frequently asked questions

Is Runway or Hailuo better for beginners?▾
Runway has a more intuitive interface. Runway scores 8.5/10 for ease of use, while Hailuo scores 7.5/10.
Which is cheaper, Runway or Hailuo?▾
Runway starts at free, while Hailuo starts at free. Credits do not roll over. ~25 credits per second of Gen-4 video. Enterprise tier includes priority processing.
Can I use Runway and Hailuo together?▾
Yes. Many production teams, including ours at Apostle, use multiple AI tools for different stages of a project. You might use one tool for exploration and another for final delivery.

Related comparisons

Runway Gen-4 vs Kling 2.6→Runway Gen-4 vs Veo 3.1→Runway Gen-4 vs Pika 2.2→Runway Gen-4 vs Luma Dream Machine→Runway Gen-4 vs LTX Video (Lightricks)→Runway Gen-4 vs Higgsfield→Runway Gen-4 vs Sora→Runway Gen-4 vs HeyGen→

Need AI video produced by professionals, not generated by yourself?

Apostle is an AI-native video production studio. We use every tool on this page in real client work.

Get in touch