Free alternatives to Runway

Images, video, masking, upscaling and effects in one graph; it replaces tools, not Runway's polish.

Versus paying: It replaces many individual generation and masking operations, but not Runway's polished all-in-one editor, proprietary models, collaboration, or managed render farm.

Setup: Windows or macOS desktop installer, Windows portable archive, or manual Python install on Windows, macOS, or Linux

Watch for: A compatible GPU, enough VRAM and disk for multi-gigabyte models, and a working model/workflow must be chosen before useful output appears

124,207 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

Local image and video generation on Apple hardware; a creator suite only if your editor lives elsewhere.

Versus paying: It handles generation and some edits locally, but remains an Apple-only generator rather than Runway's cross-platform collaborative creative suite.

Setup: Install the signed app from Apple's App Store on macOS, iPhone, or iPad

Watch for: Apple hardware is required, and the first model download is large; older devices can be slow or memory-limited

The closest free thing to a generative video suite: local models, retakes and an actual editing timeline.

Versus paying: It is the closest integrated editor here, yet still lacks Runway's proprietary models, mature browser collaboration, and cloud-scale inference.

Setup: Download the Windows .exe or macOS .dmg from the project's GitHub Releases page

Watch for: Serious local generation currently needs a high-end NVIDIA Windows GPU and very large model downloads; macOS generation relies on an API key instead of local inference

1,854 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

The rare open app with model workflows, masking and a video timeline; no included cloud render farm.

Versus paying: It combines model workflows, masking, and a timeline, but requires BYOK or local setup and lacks Runway's polished team and editor ecosystem.

Setup: Install the macOS .dmg, signed Windows .exe, or Linux AppImage; Docker Compose is available for self-hosting

Watch for: No useful model or provider is bundled: the user must add an API key or download a multi-gigabyte local model, and some local backends add a large Python/Conda environment

450 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

A friendlier shell around local image and video workflows; editing remains thinner than Runway's.

Versus paying: It is a generation front end with deep workflows, not a full replacement for Runway's timeline editing, asset management, collaboration, and proprietary models.

Setup: Run the Windows installer script, the Linux launch script, or install .NET/Python/Homebrew prerequisites and run launch-macos.sh on macOS; Docker is optional

Watch for: The backend and models still have to be downloaded, and non-Windows installs require command-line prerequisites such as .NET, Python, and Git

4,423 GitHub stars (checked Aug 6, 2026)

A broad local image-and-video workbench; generation is free, the proprietary Runway models are not included.

Versus paying: It covers more local models than Runway exposes, but lacks Runway's cohesive editing suite and team-oriented cloud workflow.

Setup: Run the supplied Windows install.bat or Linux/macOS install.sh script; community launchers such as Pinokio are optional

Watch for: Installation must match the GPU and PyTorch/CUDA/ROCm stack, and useful models consume many gigabytes of disk and substantial VRAM