---
title: "Runware Startup Program"
slug: "runware-grant-program"
provider: "Runware"
status: "verified"
verifiedAt: "2026-10-12"
listedAt: "2026-09-12"
canonical: "https://aifree.dev/offer/runware-grant-program"
---

# Runware Startup Program

> Up to $1,000 in free Runware API credits for bootstrapped and pre-seed startups

- Provider: [Runware](https://aifree.dev/provider/runware-ai)
- What is free: $1,000
- Status: verified by a person on 2026-10-12
- Credit card: not required
- Sign-up: required
- For: Creators, Startups
- Regions: worldwide
- Claim at: https://runware.ai/startup-program

## What you get

Startups with a working product can get up to $1,000 in Runware API credits with no deposit, awarded in $100 steps. The Growth and Scale tiers add $10,000 or $30,000 on top of a $25,000 or $50,000 deposit. Credits do not expire.

## The catch

Only the Starter award (up to $1,000, scored on traction) is free; the $10K and $30K bonuses need a non-refundable $25K or $50K deposit. Up to Series A only.

## Eligibility

Early-stage teams with a real product or credible MVP, planning to build on Runware; no venture funding required.
- Early-stage teams with a real product or credible MVP
- Use a business email tied to your product/company
- Submit the application form with product, stage and usage details
- Use a business email tied to your product/company

## Limits

- Starter: up to $1,000 in free credits, no deposit, awarded in $100 steps
- Growth: deposit $25,000 and Runware adds $10,000; Scale: deposit $50,000 and Runware adds $30,000
- Deposits and bonus credits are not refundable and not transferable
- Credits do not expire on any tier
- Companies up to and including Series A; a business email on the company domain and a live website
- Reply by email, usually within a week

## Models served free

Published free-tier rate limits; "—" = not published.

| Model | API id | Context (k tokens) | Tool calling | Vision | RPM | RPD | TPM |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| FLUX 3 Image | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nano Banana 2.1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Qwen-Image-2.1-Turbo | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Kling 4.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Details

## Overview
The [Runware Startup Program](https://runware.ai/startup-program) (formerly the Grant Program) has three tiers for teams building generative media products. **Starter** is the free one: up to $1,000 in API credits with no deposit for bootstrapped and pre-seed companies. **Growth** and **Scale** are deposit bonuses: deposit $25,000 and Runware adds $10,000, or deposit $50,000 and Runware adds $30,000.

## Program Credits & Benefits
- **Starter, up to $1,000 free:** Runware scores the application and awards credits in $100 steps; more detail and evidence of traction means a higher award.
- **Growth and Scale bonuses:** +$10,000 on a $25,000 deposit or +$30,000 on a $50,000 deposit; the deposit and bonus credits are not refundable or transferable.
- **No expiry:** credits on every tier do not expire, and they work across the whole platform, from model APIs to serverless and compute.
- **Production platform:** credits run on Runware's live platform, not a limited sandbox, with the same model breadth and unit economics as production teams.
- **Direct support:** access to the Runware team and builder community channels.

## Eligibility
- A real product or a credible MVP, not just an idea on paper.
- Companies **up to and including Series A**; Starter and Growth are for bootstrapped and pre-seed teams, Scale for seed to Series A.
- AI inference (image, video, audio, 3D or language generation) is a meaningful part of the product.
- A business email on the company's own domain and a live website; personal addresses are declined.
- Committed to actively building with Runware once accepted.
- No venture funding or investor introduction is required.

## How to Apply
1. Fill in the form on the [program page](https://runware.ai/startup-program) and pick a tier (Starter for the free credits).
2. Provide company details, funding stage, traction, and intended Runware usage.
3. Runware replies by email, usually within a week. Starter credits go straight onto the Runware account; for Growth and Scale you top up with the deposit and Runware adds the bonus.

No application deadline is published.

## More

- HTML page: https://aifree.dev/offer/runware-grant-program
- Change history: https://aifree.dev/offer/runware-grant-program/history
- How it was verified: https://aifree.dev/offer/runware-grant-program/verification
- More in [Free AI API credits](https://aifree.dev/free-api-credits.md)
- JSON: https://aifree.dev/api/v1/offers/runware-grant-program