→How to Migrate from Runway to HeyGen (Step-by-Step)
Last updated: April 2026
Migrating from Runway to HeyGen makes sense when your focus shifts from experimental AI video generation to professional, avatar-driven content creation. Runway excels at creative exploration with models like Gen-3 Alpha, while HeyGen specializes in producing polished presenter videos without filming equipment. This guide covers the complete migration process, including exporting your creative assets from Runway, adapting your workflow to HeyGen's avatar and script-based system, and mapping key features. We'll help you transition smoothly to create business presentations, training videos, and multilingual content more efficiently.
Estimated Timeline
solo user
3-5 hours (for audit, export, and recreating 1-2 key projects)
small team
2-3 days (including team training and workflow adjustment)
enterprise
2-3 weeks (for full asset audit, pilot projects, team training, and process integration)
Migration Steps
Audit Your Runway Assets and Workflow
mediumExport Final Video Assets from Runway
easySet Up Your HeyGen Account and Workspace
easyRecreate Core Projects Using HeyGen's Paradigm
hardMap and Rebuild Custom Branding Elements
mediumMigrate and Adapt Your Media Library
mediumTrain Your Team on the New Workflow
mediumFinalize Migration and Update Processes
easyFeature Mapping
| Runway | HeyGen Equivalent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gen-3 Alpha Text-to-Video | AI Avatar Video Generation | Major paradigm shift. Runway generates novel video scenes from text. HeyGen animates a selected AI avatar to speak your script. HeyGen is for presenter videos; Runway is for conceptual scenes. |
| AI Video Editing Tools | Script-to-Video Editor & Templates | Runway offers timeline-based AI tools (inpainting, motion tracking). HeyGen uses a simpler, script-driven editor where adding visual elements (text, media) is tied to script timing. |
| Green Screen & VFX | Customizable Virtual Backgrounds & Scenes | Runway provides advanced compositing. HeyGen offers pre-designed backgrounds and the ability to upload images/videos as backgrounds, but not pixel-level VFX control. |
| Audio Editing (Basic) | AI Voice Cloning & Vast Voice Library | HeyGen excels here with realistic AI voices in 300+ languages and instant voice cloning. Runway has more basic audio trimming and simple tracks. |
| Image-to-Video Generation | Photo-to-Talking Avatar (Avatarify) | Runway animates an image into a video scene. HeyGen's 'Avatarify' can create a speaking avatar from a photo, but it's for presenter-style talking heads, not full scene animation. |
| Real-time Collaboration | Team Workspace & Sharing | Both support team collaboration. HeyGen's is centered on script commenting and project sharing. Runway's may include real-time timeline editing. |
| Frame-by-Frame Control | Scene-by-Scene Script Control | Runway offers granular timeline control. HeyGen controls timing via script segmentation and scene duration settings, less granular but faster for narrative videos. |
Data Transfer Guide
Data transfer is primarily manual. From Runway, you can only export final rendered video files via the download button on each project. Project files, AI model parameters, and edit histories are not exportable. Save these videos to your computer or cloud storage. In HeyGen, you can upload these MP4/MOV files as media assets to use as backgrounds or reference clips. For a true migration, you must recreate projects: write scripts in HeyGen's editor, select avatars and voices, and use uploaded media where appropriate. There is no automated project converter. Focus on transferring the creative intent and final outputs, not the project data itself.