xAIRunwayVideo model matchup
Grok Imagine Video 1.5vs.Runway Gen-4.5
Grok Imagine Video 1.5 performs better than Runway Gen-4.5 at text to video and costs about 35% less.
Grok Imagine Video 1.5
Place 4 of 23
Runway Gen-4.5
Place 17 of 23
Grok Imagine Video 1.5
Place 6 of 21
Runway Gen-4.5
Grok Imagine Video 1.5
Runway Gen-4.5
Grok Imagine Video 1.5
Runway Gen-4.5
Choose Grok Imagine Video 1.5 for
Choose Runway Gen-4.5 for
No clear advantage
Test videos
The first clip from a single request each, showing the first five seconds.
What to look for: Anatomy, object consistency, camera tracking, rain, and reflections. Sound muted, as the test protocol requires.
Grok Imagine Video 1.5
Run details
fal.ai. xai/grok-imagine-video/v1.5/text-to-video. 16:9, one request, first output, requested 5 s, seed provider random, request {"prompt":"Generate exactly one continuous five-second 16:9 cinematic video. A fictional bicycle courier in a mustard-yellow raincoat rides a red city bicycle from left to right across a rain-wet Hamburg street at blue hour for the entire clip. The camera tracks her smoothly at waist height. Both hands remain visible on the handlebars, the bicycle geometry stays physically correct, and a transparent umbrella fixed to the bicycle moves naturally in the wind. Wet-street reflections and raindrops follow realistic physics. No cuts, no slow motion, no text, no logos, no subtitles, and no audio.","duration":5,"resolution":"720p","aspect_ratio":"16:9"}, configured price estimate $0.70.
Generated Aug 24, 2026. Source
Runway Gen-4.5
Run details
OpenRouter. runway/gen-4.5. 16:9, one request, first output, requested 5 s, request {"model":"runway/gen-4.5","prompt":"Generate exactly one continuous five-second 16:9 cinematic video. A fictional bicycle courier in a mustard-yellow raincoat rides a red city bicycle from left to right across a rain-wet Hamburg street at blue hour for the entire clip. The camera tracks her smoothly at waist height. Both hands remain visible on the handlebars, the bicycle geometry stays physically correct, and a transparent umbrella fixed to the bicycle moves naturally in the wind. Wet-street reflections and raindrops follow realistic physics. No cuts, no slow motion, no text, no logos, no subtitles, and no audio.","aspect_ratio":"16:9","duration":5,"resolution":"720p","generate_audio":false}, live estimated cost $0.6000, actual cost $0.6000.
Generated Aug 24, 2026. Source
Show the prompt given to both models
Generate exactly one continuous five-second 16:9 cinematic video. A fictional bicycle courier in a mustard-yellow raincoat rides a red city bicycle from left to right across a rain-wet Hamburg street at blue hour for the entire clip. The camera tracks her smoothly at waist height. Both hands remain visible on the handlebars, the bicycle geometry stays physically correct, and a transparent umbrella fixed to the bicycle moves naturally in the wind. Wet-street reflections and raindrops follow realistic physics. No cuts, no slow motion, no text, no logos, no subtitles, and no audio.
Where is the difference?
Bar length shows the gap: for ratings full width from 60 points, for price from four times as much, for clip length from 20 seconds. Solid means clearly ahead, hatched slightly ahead, a thin grey bar level.
All data side by side
The better value is bold. For ratings only when the gap is clear.
| Metric | Grok Imagine Video 1.5 | Runway Gen-4.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | ||
| Text to videoLMArena rating | 1,492Place 4 of 23 | 1,225Place 17 of 23 |
| Image to videoLMArena rating | 1,456Place 6 of 21 | n/a |
| Cost | ||
| Price per second | $0.08 | $0.12 |
| Price per 5 s clip | $0.40 | $0.60 |
| Output | ||
| Resolution | 1080p | 720p |
| Longest clip | n/a | 10 s |
| Soundgenerated by the model | yes | n/a |
| Access | ||
| Weights | proprietary | proprietary |
| Routes | API, web | API, web |
| Released | May 30, 2026 | December 2025 |
| Status | available | available |
Prices: public API price of the documented standard configuration; resolution and sound can change it
Grok Imagine Video 1.5 and Runway Gen-4.5 in the field
Every video model of our comparison with a rating, both models of this matchup highlighted.
Text to video
Rating from anonymous comparisons in the LMArena · higher is better
As of September 22, 2026 · Source: LMArena
Image to video
Rating from anonymous comparisons in the LMArena · higher is better
As of September 22, 2026 · Source: LMArena
Is there a better choice?
Text to video 1,342, Place 13 of 23. $0.25 per 5 s clip.
Grok Imagine Video 1.5 vs. Grok Imagine VideoText to video 1,516, Place 1 of 23. $0.51 per 5 s clip.
Grok Imagine Video 1.5 vs. Gemini Omni 1.1 FlashSources and method
Show 6 sources and the method
Ratings come from the LMArena: people see two videos for the same prompt without knowing which model made them and pick the better one. Many such picks add up to a rating, higher is better. Text to video and image to video are separate lists and are never added together.
“Ahead” means one model stays clearly higher even with the rating’s uncertainty. “Slightly ahead” means its value is higher but the gap is not certain yet. Otherwise both count as level. Places count only the models of our comparison.
Prices and clip lengths come from the providers’ documentation. From a factor of 1.25 a model counts as cheaper or longer, below that as about the same.
- LMArena, Text to video, checked Sep 22, 2026
- LMArena, Image to video, checked Sep 22, 2026
- Grok Imagine Video 1.5, specifications, checked Sep 22, 2026
- Grok Imagine Video 1.5, price, checked Sep 22, 2026
- Runway Gen-4.5, specifications, checked Sep 26, 2026
- Runway Gen-4.5, price, checked Sep 26, 2026
More comparisons
Compare Grok Imagine Video 1.5 and Runway Gen-4.5 with the models people compare them with most often.