MiniMax Video API vs Runway API

MiniMax Video API

2K with stereo audio at $0.13 a second, 768P at $0.08. No statement found on whether API inputs train models, and the privacy policy needs a browser.

Runway API

OpenAPI 3.1, llms.txt and Markdown copies of every docs page. Gen-3 Alpha Turbo and Gen-4 Aleph were removed on 2026-07-30 with no prior notice in the changelog.

MiniMax Video API

1. Use POST /v2/video_generation for H3 and poll GET /v2/query/video_generation/{task_id}. Tasks stay queryable for 7 days
2. Set ratio for text-to-video. adaptive isn't allowed there
3. Pass callback_url to skip polling. Your endpoint must echo the challenge within 3 seconds
4. A 402 means the balance is empty and a 422 means moderation blocked the content. Don't retry either unchanged

Runway API

1. Send X-Runway-Version: 2024-11-06 on every request or it fails
2. Use the SDK's wait-for-output helper or poll GET /v1/tasks/{id} until SUCCEEDED or FAILED
3. Don't retry a SAFETY.* failure unchanged. It's moderation, not an outage
4. Take model IDs from the models page, not memory. Two were removed without notice on 2026-07-30
5. Copy outputs to your own storage. URLs expire within 24 to 48 hours