Short answer
- You can’t buy Sora any more. OpenAI discontinued the Sora web and app experiences on April 26, 2026 and shut down the Sora 2 models and Videos API on September 24, 2026.
- Last API price, Sora 2: $0.10 per second of video at 720p (1280x720 or 720x1280).
- Last API price, Sora 2 Pro: $0.30 per second at 720p, $0.50 at 1792x1024 and $0.70 at 1080p (1920x1080).
- No free API tier: both model pages list the free tier as not supported.
- Leftover credits: OpenAI says purchased ChatGPT/Sora credits can still be used for Codex.
- Need a video model now? Google’s Veo 3.1 lists $0.05 to $0.60 a second; see Veo pricing.
Is Sora still available?
No. OpenAI’s help center article on the Sora discontinuation, read on October 23, 2026, says: “The Sora web and app experiences were discontinued on April 26, 2026. The Sora API will be discontinued on September 24, 2026.” That second date has now passed. OpenAI’s API deprecations page records that on March 24, 2026 it notified developers that the Videos API and every Sora 2 alias and snapshot would be removed on September 24, 2026.
| What | Shutdown date | Replacement OpenAI lists |
|---|---|---|
| Sora web and app | April 26, 2026 | None listed |
| Videos API | September 24, 2026 | None |
| sora-2 (and snapshots sora-2-2025-10-06, sora-2-2025-12-08) | September 24, 2026 | None |
| sora-2-pro (and snapshot sora-2-pro-2025-10-06) | September 24, 2026 | None |
The Sora 2 and Sora 2 Pro model pages now open with the same notice: the models and Videos API “were shut down on September 24, 2026 and are no longer available. There is no one-to-one replacement API.” OpenAI’s main API pricing page no longer lists any video model.
Sora 2 API price per second
While it ran, the OpenAI API charged for Sora by the second of generated video, with synced audio included. These are the prices the model pages still show:
| Model | 720p (1280x720 / 720x1280) | 1792x1024 / 1024x1792 | 1080p (1920x1080 / 1080x1920) | Free tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sora 2 | $0.10 | Not offered | Not offered | Not supported |
| Sora 2 Pro | $0.30 | $0.50 | $0.70 | Not supported |
OpenAI’s video generation guide described Sora 2 as the faster, cheaper model for drafts and social content, and Sora 2 Pro as the slower, higher-quality model needed for 1080p exports. It says both supported 16- and 20-second generations, and its code examples used 8-second clips.
What a Sora clip cost
Because Sora was billed per second, a clip’s price was its length times the rate. Our multiplication of OpenAI’s per-second prices:
| Model and resolution | 8-second clip | 20-second clip | One minute |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sora 2, 720p | $0.80 | $2.00 | $6.00 |
| Sora 2 Pro, 720p | $2.40 | $6.00 | $18.00 |
| Sora 2 Pro, 1792x1024 | $4.00 | $10.00 | $30.00 |
| Sora 2 Pro, 1080p | $5.60 | $14.00 | $42.00 |
These totals assume every generation was kept. Real projects needed several takes per usable shot, so actual spend was higher.
Sora app and ChatGPT plans
Most people used Sora through the Sora app and ChatGPT rather than the API. The app was discontinued on April 26, 2026. We could not read any current OpenAI page that lists what each ChatGPT plan included for Sora before the shutdown, so we do not quote plan prices or video limits here (unverified). OpenAI’s ChatGPT pricing page and Sora product page did not load for our checker on October 23, 2026.
Refunds, leftover credits and your videos
- Credits: OpenAI says “any purchased ChatGPT/Sora credits can still be used for Codex”.
- Refunds: OpenAI points refund questions to its standard ChatGPT subscription refund process. It does not state a Sora-specific refund amount (unverified).
- Your videos: export them at sora.chatgpt.com/sunset. OpenAI says it emails you when the export is ready, and will permanently delete Sora data after any final export window.
What to use instead, and what it costs
OpenAI lists no replacement, so Sora users have moved to other video models. Prices from our own checks of each vendor’s official pages:
- Google Veo 3.1: $0.40 a second with audio at 720p or 1080p, Fast from $0.10 and Lite from $0.05. Details, and Google’s October 2026 model changes, on Veo pricing.
- Seedance 2.0: BytePlus’s examples work out at about $0.37 a second at 1080p. See Seedance pricing.
- App subscriptions: Kling, Runway and Higgsfield sell video in monthly credits instead of per second. Compare Kling AI pricing, Runway pricing and Higgsfield AI pricing, or the tools on Kling AI alternatives.
For a side-by-side view of every tool we track, use the AI video pricing tracker or our AI video generator picker.
How we checked Sora pricing
On October 23, 2026 we downloaded OpenAI’s Sora 2 and Sora 2 Pro model pages, the API deprecations page, the video generation guide and the main API pricing page from OpenAI’s developer docs, and read OpenAI’s help center article on the Sora discontinuation. All prices are in USD as OpenAI lists them. The per-clip and per-minute totals are our own multiplication. OpenAI’s consumer ChatGPT pricing page and Sora product page blocked our checker that day, so consumer plan details are not included and are marked unverified. We have not used Sora ourselves.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Sora cost?
Nothing today, because you can no longer buy it. OpenAI’s help center says the Sora web and app experiences were discontinued on April 26, 2026, and OpenAI’s API docs say the Sora 2 models and Videos API were shut down on September 24, 2026. The last API prices OpenAI still shows are $0.10 per second for Sora 2 and $0.30, $0.50 or $0.70 per second for Sora 2 Pro, depending on resolution.
How much did an 8-second Sora video cost?
By our multiplication of OpenAI’s per-second prices, an 8-second clip cost $0.80 on Sora 2 at 720p, $2.40 on Sora 2 Pro at 720p and $5.60 on Sora 2 Pro at 1080p.
Is Sora free?
No. The Sora app has been discontinued, and on the API the Sora 2 model pages listed the free tier as not supported.
What happened to Sora credits I bought?
OpenAI’s help center says purchased ChatGPT/Sora credits can still be used for Codex, and points refund questions to its standard ChatGPT subscription refund process.
Can I still download my Sora videos?
OpenAI’s help center says you can export content you made at sora.chatgpt.com/sunset, and that it will permanently delete Sora data after any final export window.
What replaced the Sora API?
OpenAI’s deprecations page lists no recommended replacement for the Videos API or any Sora 2 model. The model pages say there is no one-to-one replacement API.
Have you tested Sora?
No. This page is a documentation check of OpenAI’s public pages. We have not scored output quality.
Sources
Vendor facts on this page come from these public pages, checked October 23, 2026. Prices and plan limits change; confirm them at checkout.
- OpenAI API docs: Sora 2 model page (price per second, shutdown notice)
- OpenAI API docs: Sora 2 Pro model page (price per second by resolution)
- OpenAI API docs: Deprecations (Sora 2 and Videos API shutdown, September 24, 2026)
- OpenAI API docs: Video generation with Sora guide (clip lengths)
- OpenAI Help Center: What to know about the Sora discontinuation