PPluckly
Comparison

Ghost vs Runway

Side-by-side comparison of Ghost and Runway.

Tool
Ghost

Open-source publishing platform built for serious creators

Runway

AI video generation and editing for visual creators

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

What they are

Ghost

Ghost is an independent publishing platform that combines a CMS, email newsletter tool, and membership system in one place. It is used by independent writers, journalists, and media companies who want to own their audience without relying on third-party platforms. The open-source core can be self-hosted for free, while Ghost Pro handles hosting at a monthly fee. The tradeoff is that it is more opinionated than WordPress and has a steeper learning curve for non-technical users.

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
Ghost

if you need hosting and monetization. It has a usable free tier to start with.

  • +No platform cut on membership revenue, unlike Substack
  • +Built-in email newsletter delivery included on paid plans
  • +Clean, distraction-free editor focused on writing
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

Ghost 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 Ghost and Runway.

Pricing checked 3 Jun 2026.