Runway AI Video Generator Guide: Gen-3, Gen-4 Turbo, Gen-4.5

VdoBloom hosts three Runway models, and each one is a different trade-off. Runway Gen-3 is the cheapest and the only one the 10 free signup credits cover outright, Gen-4 Turbo is image-to-video only, and Gen-4.5 is the newest and the most expensive at every matching length. All three top out at 1080p, share a 1,800-character prompt cap, and run a content filter rated STRICT.

Updated October 2026.

What each Runway model is

Runway builds proprietary video models that are reachable only through an API, so nothing here needs a GPU, a download or an install. On VdoBloom all three Runway generations sit inside the same video picker that filters by input type, which means you can move between them without changing accounts or funding a second balance. Each model answers a slightly different question, and the differences are big enough to plan around.

Runway Gen-3 is the generalist. It handles text-to-video and image-to-video in a single picker, offers 5 or 10 seconds, and gives you a real 720p or 1080p choice rather than a fixed frame. It also carries the widest aspect-ratio range of the three: 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 3:4 and 9:16. It is the entry point of the family and the cheapest Runway option on VdoBloom.

Runway Gen-4 Turbo is image-to-video only. There is no text mode at all, so you always start from a still. Output is a fixed 1280x720 for 16:9 and proportional sizes for 9:16, 4:3, 3:4 and 1:1, with no quality selector to change. Durations are 5, 8 and 10 seconds.

Runway Gen-4.5 is the newest Runway generation available here. It accepts both text and image input and keeps the same fixed 1280x720 output and the same five ratios as Turbo. It is the most expensive Runway model at every matching length.

Because all three are proprietary and API-only, none of them is open source and none can be installed locally. Everything runs through VdoBloom’s hosted access, which is also why plan and credit maths matter more than hardware does.

Runway credits on VdoBloom

The cost of every generation is shown before you press generate, and a failed generation is refunded automatically instead of silently charging you.

Model	Input	Durations	Resolution	Credits
Gen-3	Text and image	5s, 10s	720p or 1080p	10 (5s/720p), 20 (5s/1080p), 20 (10s/720p), 30 (10s/1080p)
Gen-4 Turbo	Image only	5s, 8s, 10s	Fixed 1280x720	20 (5s), 32 (8s), 40 (10s)
Gen-4.5	Text and image	5s, 8s, 10s	Fixed 1280x720	48 (5s), 77 (8s), 96 (10s)

All of it draws on one credit balance. Lite is $15 per month for 300 credits, or $10 per month billed yearly, and one-time credit packs start at $10.39 for 200 credits and never expire. That is exactly why the 10 free signup credits are worth noting: they cover a single 5s 720p Gen-3 clip outright, and nothing else in the Runway family.

Read the table again with that in mind. A 300-credit month on Lite is thirty 5s 720p Gen-3 clips, or six 5s Gen-4.5 clips, or a mix of the two. The model choice changes how far the same balance stretches far more than the duration alone does.

What each Runway model is good at

Gen-3 is the model to reach for while you are still searching. It is the cheapest Runway model for testing a text prompt against a shot idea, it is the only Runway model on VdoBloom that gives you a genuine 1080p option, and its five-ratio range makes it the most flexible of the three for vertical, square and landscape output from the same account. It is also the model to pick when a client wants to see three different framings of the same beat.

Gen-4 Turbo is a motion pass. You bring the still — a product photo, a character frame, a piece of key art — and the model animates it inside a fixed 720p frame that stays consistent across clips, which helps when you are stitching a sequence together. Because there is no text mode and no resolution toggle, there is almost nothing to configure beyond duration, and that predictability is the point.

Gen-4.5 is the finishing model. When a shot is the deliverable rather than a test, the newest generation is where the highest credit price buys the newest motion quality. It takes both a text prompt and an image start, so it can sit at the front of a pipeline and at the end of one without a format change.

The prompt cap and the STRICT filter

Every Runway model on VdoBloom accepts prompts up to 1,800 characters and runs a content filter rated STRICT, the tightest tier the platform offers. In practice, 1,800 characters is plenty for one well-described shot but nowhere near enough for a whole scene breakdown, and the STRICT rating means a prompt the filter dislikes is rejected rather than queued and retried. Write tight: subject, action, camera, light, and stop.

Six Runway prompt examples

These are written the way Runway reads cinematic direction: a concrete subject, one clear action, and a single camera sentence that does not fight the action.

• Product turn: “A matte-black camera on a wet stone plinth, one soft key from the left, deep shadow falloff. The camera slowly pushes in as reflections slide across the metal body.”
• Portrait: “A woman in a wool coat stands in a doorway, cold blue window light on one side and a warm lamp on the other. The camera drifts in on a slow dolly; her eyes lift to the lens at the end.”
• Landscape: “Dawn over a fogged valley, layered ridges receding into haze. The camera cranes up and forward over the treeline as the sun breaks the horizon.”
• Action beat: “A motorcycle leans through a rain-soaked alley, spray fanning from the rear tyre. The camera tracks low and parallel, then whips to the exhaust as it passes.”
• Interior: “A chef plates a dish under a single overhead lamp, steam curling upward. The camera orbits slowly to reveal the pass behind, hands never leaving frame.”
• Texture: “Macro of water beads on a green leaf, morning light refracted through each drop. The camera pushes in until the surface fills the frame, focus racking gently.”

Notice how short each one is. That is not laziness — the STRICT filter rewards a prompt it can read clearly, and Runway pays more attention to one decisive camera instruction than to three conflicting ones.

Which Runway model to pick

Choose Gen-3 to test cheaply, to start from text without a still, or to use the full five-ratio range with a real 720p or 1080p decision. Choose Gen-4 Turbo when you already have an image and want consistent, predictable motion at a fixed frame. Choose Gen-4.5 when the clip is the finished deliverable and the newest generation is worth the highest credit price. If you would rather not carry a recurring subscription while you experiment, it is worth reading about running Runway-style generation without one first.

Runway limits to know

• No Runway model on VdoBloom outputs 4K. The ceiling is 1080p, and only Gen-3 offers it.
• Gen-4 Turbo cannot start from a text prompt.
• Gen-4 Turbo and Gen-4.5 are fixed at 1280x720 with no quality selector.
• Gen-4.5 costs the most credits of the three at every matching length.
• Gen-3 is the only Runway model the 10 free credits cover outright.
• All three are proprietary, API-only and not open source.

Frequently asked questions

Does VdoBloom offer Runway Gen-4.5?

Yes. Gen-4.5 is the newest Runway model on VdoBloom and supports both text-to-video and image-to-video. It runs at a fixed 1280x720 with 5, 8 and 10 second options at 48, 77 and 96 credits.

Can Runway Gen-4 Turbo generate video from text?

No. Gen-4 Turbo is image-to-video only. You need to supply a starting image, and there is no text mode and no resolution selector.

How many credits do Runway models cost?

Gen-3 runs 10 to 30 credits per clip depending on length and resolution, Gen-4 Turbo runs 20 to 40, and Gen-4.5 runs 48 to 96. The exact cost is shown before you generate.

Do any Runway models on VdoBloom output 4K?

No. The Runway family on VdoBloom tops out at 1080p, and 1080p is available only on Gen-3. The two newer models are fixed at 1280x720.

What can I make with the 10 free signup credits?

Exactly one 5s 720p Gen-3 clip. Gen-3 is the only Runway generation the free credits cover outright, which makes it the cheapest way to compare Runway output before topping up.

Ready to try all three generations side by side? Open the video creation dashboard and switch Runway models in the picker without losing your credit balance.