Is PaintTool SAI or Runway better?

Neither clearly leads. PaintTool SAI starts at 5500/month and Runway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, PaintTool SAI or Runway?

Runway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at 5500/month for PaintTool SAI and Free for Runway.

Does PaintTool SAI or Runway run on more platforms?

PaintTool SAI runs on windows. Runway runs on Web.

Can I use Runway for free?

Yes. Runway has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. PaintTool SAI starts at 5500/month.

What is PaintTool SAI best used for?

PaintTool SAI is most often used for digital illustration and manga art, line art and inking with pressure-sensitive pens, lightweight painting on lower-spec computers, character and concept art sketching. Of those, digital illustration and manga art and line art and inking with pressure-sensitive pens are not what Runway is typically brought in for.

What can PaintTool SAI do that Runway cannot?

PaintTool SAI covers Pressure-Sensitive Tablet Support, Anti-Aliased Brushes, 16-bit ARGB Color Channels, Lightweight Performance. Runway covers Gen-2 video generation, Green screen, Inpainting, Super resolution.

Software · head to head

PaintTool SAI vs Runway

PaintTool SAI

Software

Lightweight digital painting and illustration software for Windows

From: 5500/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

Runway

Software

AI-powered creative tools for video and images

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Runway has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: PaintTool SAI windows-only software with no native Mac or Linux version.; Runway the free tier is 125 one-time credits rather than a monthly allowance, so it runs out and does not refill
They diverge on capability: PaintTool SAI covers Pressure-Sensitive Tablet Support, Runway covers Gen-2 video generation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PaintTool SAI and Runway actually diverge.

Attributes where PaintTool SAI and Runway differ
Attribute	PaintTool SAI	Runway
Starting price	5500/month	Free
Pricing model	one-time	subscription
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	windows	Web
Founded	Unknown	2018

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in PaintTool SAI

Pressure-Sensitive Tablet Support
Anti-Aliased Brushes
16-bit ARGB Color Channels
Lightweight Performance
Crash Data Protection

Only in Runway

Gen-2 video generation
Green screen
Inpainting
Super resolution
Motion tracking
Adobe Premiere
Final Cut Pro
API access

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

PaintTool SAI

Digital illustration and manga artnot Runway
Line art and inking with pressure-sensitive pensnot Runway
Lightweight painting on lower-spec computersnot Runway
Character and concept art sketchingnot Runway

Runway

Generating video clips from text or image promptsnot PaintTool SAI
Extending or editing existing footage with generative modelsnot PaintTool SAI
Removing objects and backgrounds from videonot PaintTool SAI
Storyboarding and previsualisation for productionnot PaintTool SAI

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

PaintTool SAI

Windows-only software with no native Mac or Linux version.
Only supports 32-bit operation, lacking modern 64-bit performance benefits.
Lacks the advanced brush engine customization and layer effects found in tools like Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint.
No cloud sync or mobile app, unlike many modern illustration tools.

Runway

The free tier is 125 one-time credits rather than a monthly allowance, so it runs out and does not refill
Outputs carry a watermark until the Standard plan at $12 a month
Everything is metered in credits, and Gen-4.5 video costs 60 credits per 5 seconds, so a Standard plan covers roughly 125 short videos a year
Only the Max plan at $76 a month rolls unused credits over, and only for one month
The free tier gives a selection of models rather than the full set

Pricing, plan by plan

PaintTool SAI

5500/month

Standard License$5500/month
- Perpetual license
- All 1.x.x minor updates
- Free upgrade path to version 2

Runway

Free

FreeFree
- 125 credits
- Basic tools
- 720p exports
Standard$12/month
- 625 credits/month
- Gen-2 access
- 4K exports
Pro$28/month
- 2250 credits/month
- All tools
- Priority processing
Unlimited$76/month
- Unlimited generations
- Custom models
- API access

Which should you pick?

Choose PaintTool SAI if

You need pressure-sensitive tablet support.
You work on windows.
You also want anti-aliased brushes.

PaintTool SAI review

Choose Runway if

You need gen-2 video generation.
You want to start without paying.
You also want green screen.

Runway review

Questions people ask

Is PaintTool SAI or Runway better?: Neither clearly leads. PaintTool SAI starts at 5500/month and Runway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PaintTool SAI or Runway?: Runway has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at 5500/month for PaintTool SAI and Free for Runway.
Does PaintTool SAI or Runway run on more platforms?: PaintTool SAI runs on windows. Runway runs on Web.
Can I use Runway for free?: Yes. Runway has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. PaintTool SAI starts at 5500/month.
What is PaintTool SAI best used for?: PaintTool SAI is most often used for digital illustration and manga art, line art and inking with pressure-sensitive pens, lightweight painting on lower-spec computers, character and concept art sketching. Of those, digital illustration and manga art and line art and inking with pressure-sensitive pens are not what Runway is typically brought in for.
What can PaintTool SAI do that Runway cannot?: PaintTool SAI covers Pressure-Sensitive Tablet Support, Anti-Aliased Brushes, 16-bit ARGB Color Channels, Lightweight Performance. Runway covers Gen-2 video generation, Green screen, Inpainting, Super resolution.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PaintTool SAI: Is there a free trial for PaintTool SAI?

Yes, PaintTool SAI offers a 31-day free trial with full functionality before requiring purchase of a license.

Source

PaintTool SAI: What does the license cover?

The one-time 5,500 JPY purchase provides a perpetual license covering all minor updates within version 1.x.x; a major version 2 upgrade is offered for free.

Source

PaintTool SAI: What operating systems are supported?

PaintTool SAI runs on Windows XP through Windows 11, but only in 32-bit mode, requiring at least a 450MHz Pentium processor and 256MB of RAM.

Source

PaintTool SAI vs Runway

PaintTool SAI

Runway

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in PaintTool SAI

Only in Runway

What people use each for

PaintTool SAI

Runway

Where each one falls short

PaintTool SAI

Runway

Pricing, plan by plan

PaintTool SAI

Runway

Which should you pick?

Choose PaintTool SAI if

Choose Runway if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on PaintTool SAI

More on Runway

Keep looking

Other head to heads