Replace / Runway
Best free Runway alternatives (open source, self-hosted) 2026
The best open-source alternative to Runway is ComfyUI (or Invoke) with Stable Diffusion WebUI, self-hosted on Railway. Images you generate. ComfyUI is GPL-3.0; Invoke is Apache-2.0 — Midjourney and Runway without the render in someone else's Discord.
Estimated save $1,200 a year.
Open the stackStart on Railway
How Runway compares
| Runway | ComfyUI / Invoke | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Hosted subscription | Open-source or fair-code license; you pay the host |
| Hosting | Vendor cloud | Self-hosted on Railway or any VPS |
| Rough monthly cost | Public list price not verified this run | Hosting only — no SaaS seat meter in this repo |
- ComfyUI
GPL-3.0 node-graph image generation
- Invoke
Apache-2.0 Community studio UI if you want that editor
- Stable Diffusion WebUI
AGPL-3.0 Gradio UI if you want that form-based studio
FAQ
- What is the best free open-source Runway alternative?
- The best open-source alternative to Runway is ComfyUI (or Invoke) with Stable Diffusion WebUI, self-hosted on Railway. Images you generate. ComfyUI is GPL-3.0; Invoke is Apache-2.0 — Midjourney and Runway without the render in someone else's Discord.
- Is it free?
- The ComfyUI / Invoke licenses are open source or fair-code. You still pay hosting (Railway or any VPS) and any APIs the stack calls. There is no Runway seat or task bill on this path.
- Can I migrate from Runway?
- Yes. Start with the workflows or data you actually use, then cut over. The ComfyUI / Invoke stack page has the agent prompt and the cost table; most teams rebuild the slice that matters and leave old Runway links until they expire.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open the ComfyUI / Invoke stack, copy the agent prompt, and deploy on Railway (one service, PORT, and a volume when the app needs disk). Placeholder: ComfyUI or Invoke plus a volume for models. A GPU helps; CPU is slow. No one-click template in this repo yet — Start on Railway. Chat UIs stay on /stacks/open-webui-litellm.
- What does this replace?
- Midjourney / Runway. The published small-team estimate on this stack is $1,200 a year.
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