I need to run a single dedicated circuit in my garage for a utility sink pump. The garage has just been sheetrocked and I realized this pump needed a dedicated line after the fact :(

It's about a 25ft run from the panel to the pump location, and pretty much a straight run down the foundation wall. This line will have to be exposed, I'm not ripping out the sheetrock again. Everything else has been done in NM-B through the framing and under the sheetrock.

What's going to be the easier/less expensive way to go with this - run it in AC/MC cable, or THHN cables in EMT? I don't have an armored cable cutter, but I also don't have a conduit bender to make the offset on the panel & receptacle box.

Any real difference?

You can buy a armoured cable cutter cheap enough... at a home improvement store. Same with a conduit bender, they aren't that pricey. You might even be able to rent a conduit bender.

Having a garage with armoured cable run on the surface myself.....my opinion is conduit isn't as droopy or quite as unsightly as the armoured cable is. Paint it and it blends in a lot better.

I guess I'm not all that worried about the cost of a single tool. Is there any real difference between the two methods in terms of safety/code compliance?

I'd deffer to the opinions of a couple of the electricians who frequent the forum for that answer.

Why not NMT, poly tubing for electrical.