Runway vs Luma AI vs Pika Labs vs Sora
A side-by-side look at scores, pricing and features — with RECATOOLS' ASEAN-aware verdict for each.
Runway
AI video generation and editing — Gen-4.5 adds native audio
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Luma AI
AI video generation with Dream Machine — and the leading tool for turn...
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Pika Labs
AI video generator known for physics-bending Pikaffects
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Sora
OpenAI's video model — app closed April 2026, API sunsets Sept 2026
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| RECATOOLS Score | 7.6 / 10 | 7.6 / 10 | 6.6 / 10 | 3.5 / 10 |
| Capability | ||||
| Value for money | ||||
| Ease of use | ||||
| ASEAN readiness | ||||
| API quality | ||||
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium | Freemium | Paid |
| Free tier | 125 one-time credits for video generation | 30 free video generations per month | 80 credits per month (480p resolution, watermarked, no commercial use) | — |
| Paid from | Free $0 (125 credits); Standard $12-15/mo; Pro $28-35/mo; Max $76-95/mo; Enterprise custom | Plus $30/mo (monthly, $25/mo annual); Pro $90/mo; Ultra $300/mo | $8/month (Standard) | Discontinued as a consumer product (app shut down Apr 26 2026); API sunsets Sept 24 2026 |
| Has API | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Open source | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free to use | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Users | ~4M registered users (≈1.2M monthly active, 2025-2026) | 5m+ registered users (as of August 2024 milestone; current figures reported higher) | 500k+ users | ~9.6M lifetime app downloads; ~1M peak active users, falling under 500K by shutdown |
| Founded | 2018 | 2021 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Maker | Cristobal Valenzuela, Alejandro Matamala, Anastasis Germanidis | Amit Jain, Alex Yu, Olivia Seow, Brandon Trabue | Demi Guo, Chenlin Meng | OpenAI |
| Verdict | Runway is one of the most established AI video platforms, pairing generative models with a real editing suite — inpainting, green-screen, motion tracking, frame interpolation. Gen-4.5 closed the category's oldest gap by... |
Luma AI pairs a top-tier NeRF/Gaussian-splatting 3D capture app with Ray 3, a video model built around physically plausible motion — water, cloth and object weight behave correctly, which still separates it from Runway a... |
Pika built its following on Discord with genuinely odd, likeable effects — melt, inflate, or explode an object with one click via Pikaffects — before moving to a standalone web app at pika.art. Pika 2.5 is the current mo... |
Note: the consumer Sora product was discontinued 26 April 2026; only the developer API remains, sunsetting 24 September 2026.Sora is winding down. The consumer app and sora.com were discontinued on April 26, 2026 — about... |
| Full review → | Full review → | Full review → | Full review → |
Comparisons cover up to 4 tools. Scores are RECATOOLS editorial assessments; verify current pricing on each vendor's site.