Runway API vs Vidu API

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.

Vidu API

Q3 Turbo from $0.035 a second at 540p, about half that off-peak. No llms.txt, OpenAPI file or error-code reference.

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

Vidu API

1. Send Authorization: Token $VIDU_API_KEY. The scheme is Token, not Bearer
2. POST the task, then poll the Get Creation endpoint by task id or set callback_url
3. Set off_peak only for jobs that can wait up to 48 hours. It roughly halves the credit rate
4. Set audio to true for dialogue and sound on Q3. It's off by default
5. Keep the AI-generated label on outputs. The terms forbid removing it