Start with Adobe Firefly if
The workflow already uses Adobe products and spans images, video, audio, or design.
Look elsewhere if: Generated video is the main output and you need deeper control over sequences.
Adobe Firefly vs Runway for creating visual assets
Adobe-connected media generation and a video-centered creative suite, compared for creating, revising, and handing off visual assets. This guidance is based on company pages linked from the profiles below.
Which tool fits your work?
Start with Runway if
Generated and transformed video is the center of the workflow, with editing in the same service.
Look elsewhere if: You need an offline media pipeline, or you cannot accept Runway’s standard non-Enterprise terms, which permit it to use inputs and outputs for model training under a perpetual, transferable, sublicensable license. Its Enterprise terms exclude Customer Content from training.
| Detail | Adobe FireflyAdobe | RunwayRunway AI |
|---|---|---|
| Made for | Creative suite | Creative suite |
| US price | Free; Standard $9.99/mo (opens in a new tab) Full Adobe Firefly plan detailsA free plan includes limited daily generations. Standard is $9.99 monthly, Pro $19.99, Pro Plus has a regular price of $49.99 monthly, and Premium has a regular price of $199.99 monthly. | Free (videos watermarked); Standard from $12/editor/mo annually (opens in a new tab) Full Runway plan detailsFree includes 125 one-time credits, but all videos generated on Free carry a Runway watermark; watermark-free generation requires Standard or above. Paid prices are per editor: Standard is listed at $15 month-to-month or $12 monthly billed annually; Pro at $35 or $28; Max at $95 or $76. Each added editor costs the same plan rate, while all editors in a workspace share one plan credit pool. |
| Ways to use it | Web, iOS, Android, Adobe Creative Cloud integrations | Web (Chrome), iOS, Android |
| Access | Firefly web and mobile apps with compatible Creative Cloud integrations. | Web application with iOS and Android apps. |
| Where it runs | Online service from Adobe. | Online service from Runway AI. |
| Profile evidence | Capabilities · Access · Limits · collected Aug 2, 2026 | Capabilities · Access · Limits · collected Aug 2, 2026 |
Questions to answer before choosing
- 01
Is generated video the center of the workflow?
Firefly also offers Runway Gen-4.5 as a partner model for video generation and editing, though partner availability varies by country or region. Choose the host product by workflow, plan, and terms rather than assuming exclusive model access. Do not assume Adobe’s Firefly IP indemnity follows the hosted model. Adobe’s current public supplemental-coverage list names Google and OpenAI models but does not list Runway, and its product description otherwise excludes non-Adobe models from Firefly indemnity. Coverage depends on the signed agreement, so verify the selected model and governing terms before client delivery. Start with Runway when generated and transformed video is the main output. Start with Firefly when the same workflow spans images, video, audio, design, and Adobe products.
Company sources: Partner models in Adobe products (opens in a new tab) · Adobe partner-model coverage (opens in a new tab) - 02
How much usable output will each plan's credits cover?
Firefly Standard includes 2,000 monthly credits. At Adobe's current Firefly Video rates, that covers twenty 5-second generations at 540p, eight at 720p, or four at 1080p. Paid Firefly plans include unlimited standard image and vector generation. Runway Standard includes 625 monthly credits. Runway equates that to 52 seconds of Gen-4.5—which generates at 720p—104 seconds of Gen-4 Turbo, or 78 Gen-4 images at 1080p. Those figures describe generation capacity before retries or discarded results, not a count of finished assets. For one like-for-like check, Runway Gen-4.5 at 720p costs 35 Firefly credits per second in Adobe and 12 Runway credits per second directly; Adobe marks its rate limited-time. Other credit totals are not comparable across services.
Company sources: Adobe Firefly plans (opens in a new tab) · Adobe generative credits FAQ (opens in a new tab) · Partner models in Adobe products (opens in a new tab) · Runway pricing (opens in a new tab) · Runway credits guide (opens in a new tab) · Runway Gen-4.5 guide (opens in a new tab) - 03
What video resolution and export format must you deliver?
Runway documents Gen-4.5 generation at 720p and says completed generative video can be upscaled to 4K. Its Gen-4.5 guide says completed outputs can be downloaded but does not name the download file format. For Runway’s Video Editor, the plan guide says Standard exports compositions in 4K; Pro adds ProRes and PNG-sequence exports, and Unlimited and Max include Pro’s options. That page does not identify the Standard container or codec or the ProRes variant. Runway says the editor is no longer actively maintained. Firefly’s video editor exports completed projects as MP4 at 720p, 1080p, or 4K. These are upscaled or editor-project exports, not proof that either service generates video natively at 4K.
Company sources: Runway Gen-4.5 guide (opens in a new tab) · Runway 4K upscale (opens in a new tab) · Runway plan guide (opens in a new tab) · Firefly video editor exports (opens in a new tab) - 04
Where should editing continue after the first generation?
Start with Firefly when work should continue in compatible Adobe Creative Cloud products. Adobe labels its Firefly video editor beta and currently supports it on Chrome and Edge; Firefox, Safari, and other browsers may not provide every feature. Start with Runway when generation, editing, and repeatable workflows should stay together; Runway says its web app is optimized for Chrome, does not support iPad, and recommends desktop or laptop for the full experience.
Company sources: Firefly video editor known limitations (opens in a new tab) · Runway generative video guide (opens in a new tab) · Runway mobile support (opens in a new tab) - 05
Can the source material be used under each service's training and input-license terms?
Adobe says content used in its apps is not used to train Adobe or partner generative AI models. Choosing a partner model still sends that provider the prompt and any reference files needed for generation. Under Runway's standard, non-Enterprise terms, inputs and outputs may be used to train and improve its models, and Runway receives a perpetual, transferable, sublicensable license for that purpose. Runway's Enterprise Services Terms instead prohibit using Customer Content, including inputs and customer-specific outputs, as training data. Confirm which terms govern before uploading client or confidential material.
Company sources: Partner models in Adobe products (opens in a new tab) · Runway terms of use (opens in a new tab) · Runway Enterprise Services Terms (opens in a new tab)