Programmable vs Arcade: which to choose

Who each is for

Arcade calls itself "the AI video playground for marketing teams". Its homepage lists launch videos, changelogs, talking-head videos, how-to tutorials and article-to-video, and says it is trusted by 37,000+ teams. Interactive demos are a second product with their own plans.

Programmable is for small teams that need the visual side of marketing without an editing tool. You describe what you want, or add a link, a feed or screens, and a chat makes a film of 15, 30 or 60 seconds. The same account makes graphics, decks, logos and React components, all from one brand kit.

The two overlap most on short AI video that starts from your real product. They differ most on length, on how deep the interactive demo goes, and on what else the plan covers.

The facts side by side

Arcade's column comes from its AI video pricing, credit rules and demo plans.

Where Arcade is better

• Longer and sharper video. Five minutes at 4K on Pro. Programmable stops at 60 seconds and doesn't offer 4K.
• Interactive demos with depth. Branching and AI translations come with the Growth demo plan, and HTML capture and a native Salesforce integration with Enterprise. Programmable's click-through has no branching and no HTML capture.
• Real people on screen. Arcade offers talking-head videos, and its extension records your camera. Programmable has no webcam, no presenter and no real footage in its output.
• Requests from AI assistants. Arcade MCP lets you ask for videos from assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT.
• Enterprise buying. Its pricing FAQ lists SSO, role-based access, SOC 2 reporting and data residency controls on the Enterprise plan.

If a buyer needs to explore your product and take their own path, or your video runs past a minute, Arcade fits and Programmable doesn't.

Where Programmable is better

• One plan covers more. Arcade's docs say AI video and interactive demos are billed separately unless you have a negotiated Enterprise contract. On Programmable, film and click-through share a plan, and so do graphics, decks, logos and marketplace components.
• Review before you spend. You can read a storyboard of scenes and captions first, then choose a draft, which usually uses under 15 credits, or a directed film.
• Changes cost little. Revisions and chat use a few credits. Arcade's AI edit costs 75 credits on its default High model, though its manual edits cost nothing.
• Credits stay. They never expire while your account is open, and you can top up mid-month. Arcade's docs say it doesn't sell top-ups, so an empty balance waits for a refresh or an upgrade.
• Leads and code. A share link can show an email capture card, with CSV export and webhooks. A film can also become a React component for your own site.

Prices on 31 October 2026

Both products sell credits, and a credit isn't the same size on each, so compare what the credits buy.

By Arcade's table, a video up to 30 seconds costs 100 credits and up to 60 seconds costs 150 on the default High model. So 1,000 credits buys about 10 of the shorter or 6 of the longer, before AI edits. Lighter models stretch that to about 16 and 11.

On Programmable, a typical film uses about 63 credits, so Starter covers about 5 films and Pro about 15. See the current plans and credit amounts.

If you only want short video, the two come out close per film at the first paid tier on this rough count, and Arcade gives you more length and resolution for it. Programmable's case rests on what else you use the plan for.

How to decide

Pick Arcade if any of these is true:

• Buyers need to branch or explore, and the click-through is your main demo.
• You need video over 60 seconds, or 4K.
• A person on camera is part of your format.

Pick Programmable if these are true:

• Your films are 60 seconds or less, for a homepage, a launch or a feed.
• You'd otherwise buy separate tools for graphics, decks or a logo.
• You make things in bursts, so credits that don't expire suit you.

If you're still weighing the format itself, read demo video or interactive demo first. It's the bigger decision, and it holds whichever tool you pick. To see what a film from your own screens involves, read about product demos from screenshots.

Moving between them

We found no importer in either direction, so plan to rebuild rather than convert.

Going to Programmable, start from your source screens. Add up to 8 screenshots, or upload an MP4, WebM or MOV up to 200 MB and the key screens are pulled out. Arcade lists GIF and MP4 export on its Growth demo plan, so a demo you've built there can be a starting point. Your click-through will flatten into linear steps, so branches become separate demos or go away.

Going to Arcade, the MP4, GIF and HTML files you've downloaded from Programmable keep working wherever you've put them. Hosted embeds run from a share link, and revoking the link stops them, so swap those first. Record the flow again with Arcade's own extension for a demo you can branch.

Common questions