Sora alternatives after the shutdown: 8 options, what they cost and what they replace

Sora is no longer a working option, so any list that still ranks it first is out of date. This page confirms when it closed, prices eight options and shows which Sora strength each one covers.

Is Sora shut down? The dates

Sora is shut down: the web and app closed on 26 April 2026 and the Sora 2 API was removed on 24 September 2026.

OpenAI's deprecation table lists no replacement model. The April date comes from a vendor blog that quotes OpenAI's help page. Some popular lists still show Sora 2 as a selectable model; it is gone.

What to use instead of Sora

The right replacement depends on which Sora feature you used. Sora 2's launch coverage named three: sound that matches the picture, physically plausible motion and cameos of a person's likeness.

The Runway table lists audio for Veo 3.1, Kling 3.0 and Kling 4.0 as separate rates. Grok Imagine 1.5 and Lite add lip-synced speech by default; set generate_audio to false for silent output.

How much does each Sora alternative cost per 10-second clip?

Ten seconds of footage costs from $0.20 to $4.00 at list price, as of 2026-10-26.

Runway sells credits at $0.01, so credits per second times 10 gives cents. Grok Imagine is priced directly by xAI. Math: Veo 3.1 with audio is 40 credits times 10 seconds, which is 400 credits, or $4.00. Veo 3.1 clips on Runway run 4, 6 or 8 seconds (Runway SDK), so an 8-second clip is $3.20.

Resolution tiers differ, and a single clip can be shorter than 10 seconds, so the table prices footage, not one request. Kling 3.0 and Veo 3.1 bill audio as a separate rate; Kling 4.0 and Grok Imagine include it. Hailuo 3 adds $0.02 per reference image or keyframe. Kling 4.0 is discounted to 12.56 credits per second at 720p through 30 November 2026 UTC, so a clip would be $1.26 then. Seedance 2.5 charges 15 credits per second of reference video at 720p.

Which Sora alternative suits which job?

Pick by the job, then by price. The jobs below follow the Sora 2 strengths in the table above.

• Talking scenes: Choose a model that bills audio. Veo 3.1 costs about three times Kling 3.0 per second with sound on Runway, so test one line of dialogue on Kling first. For a head-to-head with the old leader, see Veo 3 vs Sora 2.
• Likeness and characters: Grok Imagine 1.5 accepts voice references for up to 3 speakers. Seedance and Hailuo also take references. For motion copied onto a character image, see our guide to Kling Motion Control.
• High volume and tests: Run drafts on Grok Imagine Lite or Wan 3.0 at 480p, which Runway lists at 5 credits per second ($0.50 per 10 seconds), and finish on a pricier model.
• Free tries: Check the maker's page. Our write-up on Seedance 2.0 free routes shows where to look.

Can Sora prompts be reused on these models?

Sora prompts carry over as plain descriptions; the model-specific parts need a swap.

1. Keep the scene, action and camera sentences as written.
2. Move any dialogue into quotation marks with a short speaker label, and pick a model that generates audio.
3. Replace "cameo" and username references with an uploaded reference image you have the right to use.
4. Cut any request for a single long take to the clip length your model allows, and split longer scenes into shots.
5. Generate one draft on a cheap model, then spend on a better one.

What about real people, brands and characters?

Consent and licensing rules depend on the use and the country. For commercial work with a real face or a known character, use material you own or have permission to use, and follow the platform's rules.

Sora cameos worked because the owner recorded a sample and could revoke access. On the replacements, you supply the reference yourself, so the consent step is yours. xAI reviews generated media against its content policy. Use your own face, people who have agreed in writing, or original characters.

For a wider view of models and costs, see the Veo and Sora guides, the HoneyVid learn section or make a video on HoneyVid.