Sora (OpenAI) Review (2026): Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons
OpenAI's video model. The Sora web and app experiences closed on 2026-04-26; the Sora 2 models and the Videos API shut down on 2026-09-24.
Sora 2 generates video with audio from text or a first-frame image, with reusable non-human characters (uploads depicting human likeness are blocked by default, and input images with human faces are rejected) and video extensions of up to 120 s in total. OpenAI's help center says the Sora web and app experiences were discontinued on 2026-04-26; its deprecations page lists sora-2, sora-2-pro and the Videos API for removal on 2026-09-24 (announced 2026-03-24), with no replacement named. Until then the API bills per second: $0.10 for sora-2 at 720p, $0.30–0.70 for sora-2-pro. A model, not a drama pipeline.
Pros
- Strong visuals and physical plausibility
- Extensions chain one clip up to 120 s (API)
- Published per-second API prices
Cons
- Discontinued: app and web closed 2026-04-26; API removed 2026-09-24
- No novel parsing or episode assembly
- No replacement model named by OpenAI
Against the field
Sora (OpenAI) against the field
- Script & novel parsingsame as 13 others13513221
- Character consistencysame as 1 others11141532
- Storyboard & shot controlsame as 1 others1413841
- Video generation qualitysame as 15 others311155
- Voice & audiosame as 10 others2141064
- Episode compositingsame as 4 others846872
- Cost & free tiernot scored614131—
Coverage of the six stages
| Parsing | Reference art | Storyboard | Video | Audio | Compositing | Σ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SceneMixer | 6/6 | ||||||
| Scenes AI | 6/6 | ||||||
| Pixmax | 6/6 | ||||||
| Frameo.AI | 6/6 | ||||||
| Elser AI | 6/6 | ||||||
| M Studio | 6/6 | ||||||
| PopShort AI | 6/6 | ||||||
| Katalist | 6/6 | ||||||
| LTX Studio | 6/6 | ||||||
| Melies | 6/6 | ||||||
| invideo AI | 6/6 | ||||||
| Storyboarder.ai | 5/6 | ||||||
| AutoWeeb | 5/6 | ||||||
| OnSolo | 5/6 | ||||||
| Veo / Flow (Google) | 5/6 | ||||||
| Argil | 5/6 | ||||||
| Topview | 5/6 | ||||||
| Showrunner Studio | 4/6 | ||||||
| Hailuo (MiniMax) | 4/6 | ||||||
| Morph Studio | 4/6 | ||||||
| Kling AI | 4/6 | ||||||
| Wan | 4/6 | ||||||
| PixVerse | 4/6 | ||||||
| Runway | 4/6 | ||||||
| Luma Dream Machine | 4/6 | ||||||
| MagicLight | 3/6 | ||||||
| ScreenWeaver | 3/6 | ||||||
| CapCut | 3/6 | ||||||
| Higgsfield | 3/6 | ||||||
| Vidu | 3/6 | ||||||
| SkyReels | 3/6 | ||||||
| Dreamina | 3/6 | ||||||
| OpenArt | 2/6 | ||||||
| Mootion | 2/6 | ||||||
| Sora (OpenAI) | 2/6 | ||||||
| Pika | 1/6 |
Features & pricing
Core features
- Text/image-to-video with audio
- Video extensions up to 120 s in total (API)
- Reusable non-human characters across generations (API; human likeness blocked by default)
- Per-second API billing; Batch at half price
Pricing
- Free tier
- None: the Sora app closed on 2026-04-26 and the API price list shows no free tier
- Starting price
- API until 2026-09-24: sora-2 $0.10/s (720p); sora-2-pro $0.30 / $0.50 / $0.70 per s (720p / 1024p / 1080p)
- Billing
- Per-second API billing until the 2026-09-24 shutdown
- Platforms
- API (until 2026-09-24)
Batch API runs at half price. OpenAI deletes Sora data after any final export window. Series estimate →
Scores and basis
Methodology →Scored 1–5 per criterion on our published methodology from official documentation and vendor pages; criteria without enough information are left unscored.
| Criterion | Score | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Script & novel parsing | 1 | No parsing; single prompts |
| Character consistency | 2 | |
| Storyboard & shot control | 1 | No storyboard layer |
| Video generation quality | 5 | Frontier model; stable motion, physics, faces |
| Voice & audio | 4 | |
| Episode compositing | 2 | |
| Cost & free tier | — | Service being discontinued (API removal 2026-09-24); unscored |
Best for
Models under the hood
Compare with alternatives
All alternatives →FAQ
Is Sora (OpenAI) free?
None: the Sora app closed on 2026-04-26 and the API price list shows no free tier API until 2026-09-24: sora-2 $0.10/s (720p); sora-2-pro $0.30 / $0.50 / $0.70 per s (720p / 1024p / 1080p)
Can Sora (OpenAI) turn a novel into a short drama?
No Consistency: Reusable non-human characters and a first-frame image (API); human-likeness character uploads are blocked by default and input images with human faces are rejected
Who is Sora (OpenAI) for?
Existing API users finishing work before the 2026-09-24 shutdown; not a base for new series production.
What are the alternatives to Sora (OpenAI)?
See the Sora (OpenAI) alternatives page — every option on the same rubric with the criteria where it is stronger.
Sources
Official pages opened while writing; current pricing and features are always as shown on the vendor site.
- https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001152 — Sora (OpenAI)
- https://sora.chatgpt.com/sunset — Sora (OpenAI)
- https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/deprecations — Sora (OpenAI)
- https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/guides/video-generation — Sora (OpenAI)
- https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/pricing — Sora (OpenAI)