Google Flow (Veo 3.1) vs Runway
Trailers & marketing · checked · Compare different tools
Google Flow (Veo 3.1) is the stronger pick for most game devs (71 vs 56). How we score
How they differ
How each one works, from its own docs.
Built on Google's Veo and Omni models around a shot workflow (frames, ingredients, extend, Scenebuilder). Omni adds chat-driven edits of uploaded footage. Kling and Seedance are single-generator rivals. Runway and Luma are multi-model suites.
Best for: Storyboarding and producing short trailer sequences shot by shot, keeping characters consistent with ingredient images.
Less a single model than a production suite: its own Gen-4.5 and Aleph editing plus many third-party models, an agent and a timeline. Luma is the closest suite rival. Kling, Seedance and Flow centre on their own models.
Best for: Trailer and social-ad production where you generate, edit and assemble shots in one place. Also mood reels and concept frames.
Google Flow
Runway
Web app at flow.google.com (labs.google/flow redirects there), included with Google AI subscriptions. Has a built-in Flow Agent.
Web app, iOS and Android apps, developer API and MCP server. The main site has moved to runway.com.
Text prompts, start and end frames, ingredient reference images (uploaded or made with Nano Banana), uploaded video up to 60 seconds for Omni edits, voice presets.
Text prompts, first-frame images, reference images, existing video to edit, and scripts or audio. Or a brief given to Runway Agent.
Veo 3.1 clips of 4–8 seconds or Gemini Omni Flash clips of 4–10 seconds (720p, 360p draft), 16:9 or 9:16, with sound. Scenes download from Scenebuilder.
Clips from its own Gen-4.5 and hosted models (Seedance, Kling, Veo, Wan), footage edited with Aleph 2.0, plus images, voice, music and sound effects.
Model per shot (Veo 3.1 Lite/Fast/Quality, Omni Flash), frames-to-video, ingredients-to-video, conversational video-to-video edits, Flow Agent for multi-step tasks, no-code custom Tools.
Model choice, reference images, keyframe-guided Aleph edits, Act-Two performance capture, node-based Workflows and Agent Skills.
Extend Veo clips, edit through up to three chat turns, keep versions in History, save frames as new start frames, and arrange and trim shots in Scenebuilder.
Chat with Runway Agent, edit one frame and let Aleph carry it through the clip, cut in the built-in timeline, rerun Workflows, upscale or convert to HDR.
Pick Google Flow (Veo 3.1) if you want
- Native dialogue, SFX and ambience generated with the picture
- Gemini Omni Flash (same Flow plan) is #1 on AA image-to-video (silent) and #4 with audio, useful for animating key art or screenshots
- Commercial use allowed on every plan, including free
Watch out: Veo 3.1 itself ranks #19-31 on AA and lost to Seedance and Kling in two same-prompt tests; Clips capped at 8 s for Veo 3.1 (10 s for Omni Flash, extendable to 40 s)
Pick Runway if you want
- Fine camera and motion control (motion brush, keyframes)
- Character consistency across shots
- Good lighting on human subjects
Watch out: No native audio; Mid-to-low rank on the current AA text-to-video board
How they score
Each signal is out of 100. Higher wins.
Google Flow (Veo 3.1)RunwaySee all 11 sources
Google Flow (Veo 3.1)
- Artificial Analysis Video Arena AA-Video-T2V-Silent v2.1: Gemini Omni Flash 1.1 #8 of 32
- Artificial Analysis Video Arena AA-Video-T2V v2.1 (with audio): Gemini Omni Flash 1.1 #10 of 30
- Artificial Analysis Video Arena AA-Video-I2V-Silent v1.0: Gemini Omni Flash (1.0, May 2026) #1 of 81
- Artificial Analysis Video Arena AA-Video-I2V v1.1 (with audio): Gemini Omni Flash 1.1 #4 of 23
- UD Veo 3.1 was rated best on prompt adherence (87% vs 72% Runway, 68% Kling, quoting a 'Pixflow' benchmark) and praised for native dialogue/SFX/ambience in one pass, saving time on narrated clips; but it sometimes produced an 'AI face' and had the wrong number of fingers in 2 of 5 generations. Recommended for marketing and narrated content.
- YouTube: Dan Kuda AI, 'I Tested 3 AI Video Generators: Which Keeps Character Consistency?' Veo 3.1 'disappointed me completely': unnatural motion, the character barely held to the references, extra first/last-frame steps, same cost as Seedance for worse results, and a rooftop-sniper scene was blocked by safety filters. Verdict: skip it (in Runway).
- YouTube: Ans, 'I tested Seedance 2.0 vs Kling 3.0 vs VEO 3.1' Veo 3.1 came third on most of 10 prompts (poor fight choreography and dialogue scenes, odd extra actions, wrong product colour), with one good POV/weather result; the tester notes Veo is limited to 8 s per generation.
- Android Police: 'I tried Gemini Omni, and I wasn't ready for how futuristic it felt' Hands-on with Gemini Omni (Gemini app, paid tier): templates, a physically accurate camera-sensor explainer, photo-to-video with lip-synced singing, and conversational edits that kept continuity. 'I went in skeptical, and I came out thoroughly blown away.'
Runway
- Artificial Analysis Video Arena AA-Video-T2V-Silent v2.1 (text-to-video, no audio): Runway Gen-4.5 (720p) #24 of 32
- Artificial Analysis Video Arena AA-Video-I2V-Silent v1.0 (image-to-video, no audio): Runway Gen-4.5 (720p) #25 of 81
- UD Same six prompts run through Veo 3.1, Gen-4.5 and Kling 3.0. Gen-4.5 was rated the clear winner for camera control, motion brush and character consistency across shots, second for realistic humans (good lighting, stiff arms), and behind Veo on prompt adherence. It also lacks native audio.
Vendor claims (not scored): Google Flow (Veo 3.1): Flow offers Veo 3.1 Lite/Fast/Quality plus Gemini Omni Flash 1.1, which adds 10 s clips, start and end frames, editing of uploaded and generated video, custom voices and cheaper 360p drafts; all users can access Omni models. source · Google Flow (Veo 3.1): Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra plans include Flow credits 'with access to Gemini Omni Flash'. source · Runway: At launch (Dec 2025), Runway said Gen-4.5 was the world's top-rated video model, citing #1 on the Artificial Analysis T2V board at 1,247 Elo as of 30 Nov 2025. That board has since been replaced by v2.1, where Gen-4.5 is 24th of 32 (silent). source · Runway: Runway's app and MCP now also offer third-party models, including Kling 3.0/O3 (Sep 2026) and Seedance 2.5 Draft Mode (Oct 2026), plus Mirelo SFX 2.0 for sound (Oct 2026). source
At a glance
Google Flow (Veo 3.1)RunwayFull comparison: every fact, with sources
Google Terms of Service (effective 30 Jul 2026), 'Your content': Google won't claim ownership of original content you generate. Flow's help centre answers the commercial-use question with this clause. The ToS bars using generated content to build ML models; all outputs carry SynthID, and a visible watermark is forced for users in India, South Korea and Vietnam below the top Ultra plan. source
Terms of Use 4.4: Runway does not claim ownership of Inputs or Outputs and does not restrict your commercial use of Outputs. Inputs and Outputs may be used to train its models. source
Rows marked ● differ between the two tools. Licence badges: green = commercial use allowed (including any free plan or trial), amber = paid plans only, restricted, or allowed but with no free plan, red = not allowed, grey = not stated by vendor or not applicable. Read the vendor's current terms before you ship.