Sora 2 API is shut down: the alternatives and what they cost

OpenAI removed Sora 2 and its Videos API on 24 September 2026, with no replacement model, and API Stock took Sora 2 out of its catalog on 28 September. The closest like-for-like swap is Veo 3.1: an 8-second clip with sound costs $0.11 on Veo 3.1 Lite and $0.21 on Veo 3.1 Fast, which can also start from your image. The same 8 seconds of Sora 2 cost $0.72 through API Stock, so most jobs get cheaper, not dearer.

What exactly did OpenAI shut down, and when?

OpenAI's deprecations page says developers were notified on 24 March 2026 that the Videos API and every Sora 2 alias and snapshot would be removed on 24 September 2026. That covers sora-2, sora-2-pro and their dated versions. No successor model is named: this is OpenAI leaving video generation in its API, not an upgrade path.

The consumer Sora app and website closed earlier, on 26 April 2026. So if you, your agency or your app still made Sora videos over the summer, it was through the API — and that is what stopped last week.

On API Stock, the sora-2-official model is no longer in the catalog. A request that names it is rejected at validation, before anything is charged. Your API key, balance and the other 50-plus models are unaffected; switching is a change of model id and a few input fields.

Which model replaces Sora 2 for your kind of video?

Sora 2 through API Stock did one thing: a 4- to 20-second clip with sound, in 16:9 or 9:16, from a text prompt or one starting image. Every model below covers both aspect ratios and both starting points except where noted. Pick by the job, not by the brand.

Prices as of 28 September 2026, USD through API Stock. Per-second models are shown at their 720p rate × 8 and rounded to cents; the three Veo 3.1 tiers are a flat price per 8-second clip, the same at 720p and 1080p. Veo 3.1 Lite takes a text prompt only.

The honest caveat: none of these is Sora. Each model has its own look, its own idea of how people move and its own way of reading a prompt. Plan a small test batch — ten prompts from your real backlog on two candidates — before you move a whole pipeline.

What does an 8-second clip cost now compared with Sora 2?

Sora 2 was billed through API Stock at $0.09 per second of output: $0.36 for 4 seconds, $0.72 for 8, $1.80 for 20. Here is the same 8-second clip with a generated soundtrack on the models that produce one:

Four models come in under Sora's old price for this clip. Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash is worth a look too: $0.49 for 8 seconds with sound at 720p, and it can also transform a short source video. Kling 3.0 prices sound separately — $0.09 per second without it, $0.135 with it — so turn audio off when you will lay your own music over the clip anyway.

For a fuller comparison at 10 seconds, including the models without sound, see what a usable video clip costs; for the three Veo tiers in detail, Veo 3.1 API pricing.

Which alternative makes the longest clips?

Sora 2's longest option through API Stock was 20 seconds. Veo 3.1 cannot do that in one request — it always returns 8 seconds — so long takes need a per-second model:

Prices as of 28 September 2026: the 720p per-second rate × 20. For comparison, 20 seconds of Sora 2 cost $1.80.

A cheaper route for long videos is often several 8-second shots cut together, which is how most edited video is built anyway. Two Veo 3.1 Lite clips cost $0.22 for 16 seconds of footage. What you lose is continuity: separate requests do not share a camera move, so use it for cuts, not for one unbroken shot.

How do you move a Sora 2 prompt to another model?

Sora-style prompts — a shot, a subject doing something, a setting, a sound — carry over to every model here. Three habits make the switch smoother:

1. Say what the viewer should hear. All the models in the first table generate sound, but they guess less when you name it: "the hiss of the espresso machine, café chatter in the background, no music".
2. Put the camera first. "Slow push-in on…", "handheld, eye level, following…" or "static wide shot of…" at the start of the prompt keeps the framing you had on Sora.
3. Match the length to the model. Veo 3.1 is always 8 seconds, Gemini Omni offers 4, 6, 8 or 10, Seedance 2.0 Mini any value from 4 to 15, Wan 3.0 from 2 to 30. A prompt written for 20 seconds of action will feel rushed when squeezed into 8.

A prompt that illustrates all three, written for an 8-second vertical clip:

Handheld close-up at eye level, a barista pours milk into a flat white and draws a leaf in the foam, morning light through the café window. Sound: the milk jug tapping the counter, soft café chatter, no music.

If you used Sora with a starting image, pass that image to the new model: urls on Veo 3.1 Fast and Quality, imageUrls on Seedance and Wan. If you reused the same character across shots, send the same reference images with every request — Seedance 2.0, Wan 3.0 and MiniMax H3, which takes up to 9 images, are built for multi-reference jobs. The image-to-video guide covers first frames and references; the text-to-video guide covers prompts.

What changes in the API request?

Only the model id and the input fields. The endpoint, the task flow and the webhook stay the same. A Sora 2 request that animated one image becomes this on Veo 3.1 Fast:

curl -X POST https://api.api-stock.com/api/v1/generation/create \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_STOCK_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "veo3.1-fast",
    "input": {
      "prompt": "Slow push-in on the sneaker as it rotates on a wet concrete floor, neon reflections. Sound: rain on a tin roof.",
      "aspectRatio": "9:16",
      "resolution": "720p",
      "urls": ["https://example.com/sneaker.jpg"]
    }
  }'

Two differences to handle in code. duration does not exist on Veo — drop it, or route requests that need other lengths to a per-second model. And per-second models bill the duration you ask for, so a job that used to default to 4 seconds on Sora should set its duration explicitly. Every field of every model is on the model pages and in the Veo 3.1 Fast reference; the compare tool puts two models side by side.

FAQ

Is the Sora 2 API still available anywhere?

Not from OpenAI: it removed sora-2, sora-2-pro and all their snapshots from its API on 24 September 2026 and named no replacement. API Stock removed Sora 2 from its catalog on 28 September 2026.

What is the cheapest Sora 2 alternative with sound?

Veo 3.1 Lite, at $0.11 for an 8-second clip with sound at 720p or 1080p, as of 28 September 2026. It takes a text prompt only; to start from an image, Veo 3.1 Fast costs $0.21 per clip.

Which alternative can make a 20-second video?

Grok Imagine 1.5, Wan 3.0, FLUX 3 Video and Seedance 2.5 all accept 20 seconds in one request. At 720p that costs from $0.58 on Grok to $6.48 on Seedance 2.5; Sora 2 cost $1.80 for the same length through API Stock.

Will my Sora 2 prompts work on other models?

Yes, the structure carries over: shot, subject, action, setting, sound. Expect a different look and test a small batch first; name the sound you want and match the prompt to the new model's clip length.

Do I need a new API key to switch?

No. The same API Stock key and balance work for every model; you change the model value and its input fields. Check current prices on the pricing page before a large batch.