How does Runway Media Router choose which model to run?

Runway Media Router takes a developer's preferences — cost, quality, and latency — plus optional price caps and provider allow or deny lists, then routes each request to the model it scores best for that job. The response includes metadata that names the model that ran and why the router picked it.

Which models does Runway Media Router support today?

Runway Media Router ships with three Runway first-party models — Gen-4.5, Aleph 2.0, and Act-Two — alongside third-party models Seedance, GPT Image 2, and ElevenLabs. Coverage spans video, image, and audio, and Runway plans to add more providers over time.

Where can developers access Runway Media Router?

Runway Media Router is live now inside the Runway Dev platform at dev.runwayml.com. Developers set their preferences, call a single endpoint, and can use dry-run validation before pushing to production. Adobe, Cloudflare, ElevenLabs, Expedia, Shutterstock, and Quora are already building on Runway Dev.

Can teams block specific providers or cap spending per generation?

Yes. Runway Media Router accepts allow and deny lists at both the provider and the model level, plus a hard price cap in dollars per second for video or per image for images. If a rule leaves no eligible model, Runway returns an explicit error rather than picking a fallback silently.

Runway · 2026-07-23 · major

Runway Media Router — one API picks the best image, video, or audio model per request

Runway Media Router is a preference-optimized routing layer inside Runway Dev that automatically picks the best video, image, or audio model for each request across Gen-4.5, Aleph 2.0, Act-Two, Seedance, GPT Image 2, and ElevenLabs.

Runway Media Router announcement thumbnail

Runway ships the first preference-optimized router for generative media so developers stop hand-picking between video, image, and audio models.

Key specs

Modalities	Image, video, audio
First party models	Gen-4.5, Aleph 2.0, Act-Two
Third party models	Seedance, GPT Image 2, ElevenLabs

Quick facts

Maker	Runway
Platform	Runway Dev (dev.runwayml.com)
Modalities	Image, video, audio
First-party models	Gen-4.5, Aleph 2.0, Act-Two
Third-party models	Seedance, GPT Image 2, ElevenLabs
Routing preferences	Cost, quality, latency
Named customers	Adobe, Cloudflare, ElevenLabs, Expedia, Shutterstock, Quora

What is it?

Runway Media Router is a new routing layer inside the Runway Dev developer platform that takes a request for a video, image, or audio generation and automatically picks the model best matched to the developer's stated preferences. Runway calls it the first router built specifically for generative media.

How does it work?

A developer sets preferences on cost, quality, and latency, optional price caps, and any provider allow or deny lists, then calls a single endpoint. The router scores every eligible model against those constraints, sends the job to the winner, and returns the result plus metadata naming the model that ran and the reasoning behind the choice.

Why does it matter?

As of today, Runway Dev supports Gen-4.5, Aleph 2.0, Act-Two, Seedance, GPT Image 2, and ElevenLabs across three modalities, and the catalog keeps growing. Media Router turns that sprawl into a single call — Runway says teams told them they did not want to become part-time model researchers just to keep pace with new releases. Adobe, Cloudflare, ElevenLabs, Expedia, Shutterstock, and Quora are already building on Runway Dev.

Who is it for?

Product teams and developers shipping generative video, image, or audio through an API who don't want to hand-benchmark every new model.

Frequently asked questions

How does Runway Media Router choose which model to run?: Runway Media Router takes a developer's preferences — cost, quality, and latency — plus optional price caps and provider allow or deny lists, then routes each request to the model it scores best for that job. The response includes metadata that names the model that ran and why the router picked it.
Which models does Runway Media Router support today?: Runway Media Router ships with three Runway first-party models — Gen-4.5, Aleph 2.0, and Act-Two — alongside third-party models Seedance, GPT Image 2, and ElevenLabs. Coverage spans video, image, and audio, and Runway plans to add more providers over time.
Where can developers access Runway Media Router?: Runway Media Router is live now inside the Runway Dev platform at dev.runwayml.com. Developers set their preferences, call a single endpoint, and can use dry-run validation before pushing to production. Adobe, Cloudflare, ElevenLabs, Expedia, Shutterstock, and Quora are already building on Runway Dev.
Can teams block specific providers or cap spending per generation?: Yes. Runway Media Router accepts allow and deny lists at both the provider and the model level, plus a hard price cap in dollars per second for video or per image for images. If a rule leaves no eligible model, Runway returns an explicit error rather than picking a fallback silently.

Try it

https://dev.runwayml.com