Sora
OpenAI's video model: app closed April 2026, API shut down September 2026
Overview
Sora was OpenAI's text-to-video product, released publicly in December 2024 and followed by Sora 2 and a social app in September 2025. OpenAI discontinued the web and mobile apps on 26 April 2026 and shut down the Sora 2 models and Videos API on 24 September 2026, naming no replacement API. Former users can still request an export of their library.
Pricing
Pricing shown for reference only. These figures reflect RECATOOLS research as of 19 Oct 2026 and may be out of date or incomplete. This is not financial or purchasing advice — always confirm the current price on the provider’s official website before making any decision.
- Export requested at sora.chatgpt.com/sunset, delivered by email
- Leftover ChatGPT/Sora credits usable for Codex
- Data deleted after any final export window
- 720x1280 or 1280x720 output
- No one-to-one replacement API, per OpenAI
- $0.30 at 720p, $0.50 at 1024x1792, $0.70 at 1080x1920
- Same shutdown date as Sora 2
Use cases
What you can produce with Sora
- An export of the videos and images you made in Sora, requested at sora.chatgpt.com/sunset and delivered by email
- Leftover ChatGPT or Sora credits redirected to Codex
- A refund request handled through the ChatGPT subscription refund process
- A historical benchmark: Sora Turbo clips of up to 20 seconds at up to 1080p, from December 2024
- A historical benchmark: Sora 2 video with synchronised dialogue and sound effects, and a verified likeness inserted as a character
- A migration checklist for former API users, since OpenAI names no replacement video API
Discontinued: the Sora app closed on 26 April 2026 and the API on 24 September 2026.
There is nothing left to adopt. Sora 2 was a strong model, with synchronised audio and convincing physics, but OpenAI wound it down within seven months of the Sora 2 launch amid reported running costs of about $1 million a day and falling usage. Former users should request an export through the sunset page; former API customers need another video model, because OpenAI offers no direct replacement.
What we found
Sora no longer exists as a product. OpenAI's help centre says the Sora web and app experiences were discontinued on 26 April 2026, and its developer documentation now states that the Sora 2 models and the Videos API were shut down on 24 September 2026 and are no longer available, with no one-to-one replacement API. sora.com now forwards to sora.chatgpt.com, which loads a blank page. This entry is kept as a record of what Sora was and what former users can still do.
The product went public on 9 December 2024, when OpenAI moved the model it had previewed in February out of research preview as Sora Turbo, included with ChatGPT Plus and Pro. It made clips of up to 20 seconds at up to 1080p, with a storyboard tool for prompting frame by frame. Earlier versions of this page said it produced 60-second videos; that was the February 2024 research preview, never the shipped product. Sora 2 followed on 30 September 2025 with synchronised dialogue and sound effects, plus an invite-based social app built around inserting a verified likeness into generated scenes, a feature launched as cameos and renamed characters after a trademark suit by the company Cameo.
OpenAI announced the two-stage wind-down on 24 March 2026. Appfigures, quoted by TechCrunch in January 2026, counted 9.6 million lifetime downloads and $1.4 million in consumer spending, with January installs down 45% month on month. The Wall Street Journal, as reported by 80 Level, put running costs at about $1 million a day and said active users had fallen from around a million to under 500,000. A Disney partnership announced in December 2025 was reported to have ended with the product.
What remains is housekeeping. OpenAI's help article points users to sora.chatgpt.com/sunset to request an export, says leftover ChatGPT or Sora credits can be spent on Codex, and routes refunds through the ChatGPT subscription process. Data is deleted after any final export window. Anyone choosing a video model today needs a different vendor.
Compiled by RECATOOLS from public sources: vendor documentation and pricing, code repositories and published reporting.
Notable facts
- Sora's February 2024 preview demonstration shocked the film industry — directors at Sundance described the technology as 'existential' for traditional visual effects workflows.
- The model was trained partly on licensed video content from Shutterstock, making it one of the first major AI video models with a transparent content licensing strategy.
- Sora can generate video in the style of different camera lenses — from wide-angle drone shots to close-up handheld footage — responding to cinematography terminology in prompts.
Frequently asked questions
About this listing
This entry was compiled from publicly available data including Sora's official website, press releases, documentation, and reputable third-party publications. RECATOOLS is not affiliated with Sora unless explicitly stated.
Third-party AI tools update their pricing, features, availability, and policies frequently. Information here may be outdated by the time you read this — we make reasonable efforts to keep listings current, but cannot guarantee absolute accuracy.
For the latest details, please refer to Sora directly →
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