HAI by HCloud vs Runway: Token Pricing, Speed & Intelligence
Full comparison of HAI by HCloud and Runway — live token pricing, latency, throughput, context window, strengths, weaknesses, and best use cases. Rates sourced from public APIs — verify before use.
HAI by HCloud
Japan-based inference — zero data retention, JPY pricing, TEE-secured Kimi K3
HAI is HCloud's LLM inference platform based in Japan, offering DeepSeek, GLM-5.3, Kimi K3, and Gemma 4 models with a zero data retention policy. Prices are in JPY per 1M tokens, tax included. The Kimi K3 (TEE) variant runs in a Trusted Execution Environment for confidential inference. Suited for Japanese enterprises and APAC workloads requiring data residency.
Runway
Gen-4 video generation API — cinematic quality text-to-video and image-to-video
Runway is a creative AI company best known for its Gen series of video generation models. Gen-4 and Gen-4 Turbo are available via API, producing cinematic-quality video from text or image prompts. Runway is widely used in professional film and advertising production. Pricing is per second of generated video.
Key metric comparison
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Live token pricing
Strengths and weaknesses
HAI by HCloud
Runway
Key differentiators
Japan-based inference with zero data retention and a TEE-secured Kimi K3 variant for confidential workloads.
Gen-4 is Runway's cinematic-quality video generation model, trusted by professional film and advertising studios — with Gen-4 Turbo offering a faster, lower-cost alternative via the same API.
Frequently asked questions
HAI by HCloud FAQs
What is HAI by HCloud?
HAI is HCloud's LLM inference API based in Japan. It offers DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, GLM-5.3, Kimi K3 (TEE), and Gemma 4 31B with a zero data retention policy and JPY pricing. See hai.hcloud.ltd/pricing for current rates.
What is the Kimi K3 TEE variant?
The Kimi K3 (TEE) variant runs inside a Trusted Execution Environment, providing hardware-level isolation for confidential inference. This is suited for workloads where prompt and response data must not be accessible to the infrastructure operator.
Does HAI retain my data?
No. HAI operates a zero data retention policy — prompts and responses are not stored after the request completes.
Runway FAQs
How is Runway priced?
Runway charges per second of generated video. Gen-4 is $0.100/second and Gen-4 Turbo is $0.050/second. See runwayml.com/pricing for current rates.
What is Gen-4?
Gen-4 is Runway's latest video generation model, producing cinematic-quality output from text or image prompts. It is used in professional film, advertising, and visual effects production.
What is the difference between Gen-4 and Gen-4 Turbo?
Gen-4 produces higher-quality output at $0.100/second. Gen-4 Turbo is faster and cheaper at $0.050/second, with slightly lower quality. Both support text-to-video and image-to-video generation.
Provider resources
HAI by HCloud — Japan-based inference — zero data retention, JPY pricing, TEE-secured Kimi K3
HAI is HCloud's LLM inference platform based in Japan, offering DeepSeek, GLM-5.3, Kimi K3, and Gemma 4 models with a zero data retention policy. Prices are in JPY per 1M tokens, tax included. The Kimi K3 (TEE) variant runs in a Trusted Execution Environment for confidential inference. Suited for Japanese enterprises and APAC workloads requiring data residency.
Japan-based inference with zero data retention and a TEE-secured Kimi K3 variant for confidential workloads.
Runway — Gen-4 video generation API — cinematic quality text-to-video and image-to-video
Runway is a creative AI company best known for its Gen series of video generation models. Gen-4 and Gen-4 Turbo are available via API, producing cinematic-quality video from text or image prompts. Runway is widely used in professional film and advertising production. Pricing is per second of generated video.
Gen-4 is Runway's cinematic-quality video generation model, trusted by professional film and advertising studios — with Gen-4 Turbo offering a faster, lower-cost alternative via the same API.
Key strengths compared
HAI by HCloud
- Zero data retention policy — suitable for privacy-sensitive workloads
- Japan-based infrastructure — low latency for APAC users
- TEE-secured Kimi K3 variant for confidential inference
- JPY pricing excluded from USD cross-provider comparisons
- Smaller catalog vs global inference hubs
Runway
- Gen-4 produces cinematic-quality video used in professional film and advertising
- Gen-4 Turbo at $0.050/second offers faster generation at lower cost
- Strong motion quality and temporal consistency
- Video generation only — no text, image, or audio LLM models
- Gen-4 at $0.100/second is among the higher-priced video generation APIs
Key weaknesses compared
HAI by HCloud
- JPY pricing excluded from USD cross-provider comparisons
- Smaller catalog vs global inference hubs
- Newer provider — limited third-party benchmark transparency
Runway
- Video generation only — no text, image, or audio LLM models
- Gen-4 at $0.100/second is among the higher-priced video generation APIs
- Generation latency is higher than text inference
Provider category context
HAI by HCloud is a inference api, founded in 2024. Runway is a frontier lab, founded in 2018. HAI by HCloud as an inference API provider hosts open-weight models — typically offering lower prices for equivalent capability tiers. Runway as a frontier lab trains and serves proprietary models with capabilities not available elsewhere.
How to choose between them
Choose HAI by HCloud if you need Privacy-sensitive workloads. Choose Runway if you need Professional video production. For high-volume production workloads, run a cost comparison using the token pricing table above with your actual prompt/completion token ratio — the cheapest provider depends heavily on your input-to-output token ratio.