PPluckly
Comparison

Buffer vs Runway

Side-by-side comparison of Buffer and Runway.

Tool
Buffer

Schedule social posts across every major platform

Runway

AI video generation and editing for visual creators

Starting price
5/mo
12/mo
Founded
2010
2018
Pricing model
freemium
freemium
Free option
Free tier
Free tier

What they are

Buffer

Buffer is a social media scheduling tool that lets creators and small teams queue posts for Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok, and more from a single dashboard. It suits solo creators, freelancers, and small businesses who want a straightforward publishing workflow without a steep learning curve. The analytics cover the basics but stop short of the depth that larger teams or agencies typically need.

Runway

Runway is a browser-based AI video platform used by filmmakers, social media creators, and marketing teams to generate, edit, and transform video with text and image prompts. Its Gen-4 Alpha model produces short video clips from text or images, while traditional editing tools sit alongside AI features in one workspace. Output quality impresses at short durations, but longer or complex scenes still require significant iteration.

Choose
Buffer

if you need scheduling. It has a usable free tier to start with.

  • +Free plan supports 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts each
  • +Clean, minimal interface with a short onboarding curve
  • +Paid plans start at $5 per channel/month (when billed annually)
Choose
Runway

if you need video editing and ai video. It has a usable free tier to start with.

  • +Gen-4 Alpha produces some of the most coherent AI video clips currently available
  • +Combines AI generation with practical editing tools in one interface
  • +Text-to-video, image-to-video, and video-to-video modes cover multiple workflows

Which to choose

Buffer and Runway solve different problems, so most people would not choose between them directly. The comparison below helps if you are weighing where to spend budget, or deciding whether you need both.

Read the full reviews for Buffer and Runway.

Pricing checked 5 Jun 2026.