Sora is gone. OpenAI shut down the Sora app on April 26, 2026 and retired the Sora 2 API on September 24, 2026. If you used Sora for longer, cinematic clips, the closest replacements today are Kling 3.0 (up to 15-second clips with sound, and a free plan), Google Veo 3.1 (native audio and up to 4K), and Runway Gen-4.5 (the most complete professional toolset). Here’s how they compare and which to pick.
Quick Comparison
| Tool | Current model | Clip length | Native audio | Free option | Paid from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kling | Kling 3.0 / 3.0 Omni | 3-15 s | Yes | Free plan | About $10/mo |
| Google Veo (in Flow) | Veo 3.1 | 8 s, extendable | Yes | Check Google’s current offer | Google AI Plus, $4.99/mo |
| Runway | Gen-4.5 | Varies by model | Model-dependent | 125 one-time credits | $12/mo billed annually |
| Seedance (in Dreamina) | Seedance 2.5 | Up to 30 s (advertised) | Yes | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Luma | Ray3.2 | 5 s per unit | Not confirmed | No free plan | $30/mo |
| Pika | Pika 2.5 | Around 5 s | Yes (audio tools) | Free plan | $10/mo |
Checked September 29, 2026 against each company’s own pages. Prices and limits change often; confirm on the linked sites before you pay.
If You Used Sora for Long, Cinematic Clips: Kling 3.0
Kling is the most direct Sora replacement. The 3.0 series, launched in February 2026, generates clips from 3 to 15 seconds in one go, creates dialogue, ambience and sound effects together with the video, and lip-syncs speech in English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Spanish. Kling Video 3.0 Omni adds a multi-shot storyboard, where you describe each shot and keep characters and voices consistent across cuts.
- Best for: narrative scenes, dialogue, longer single clips
- Price: free Basic plan; Standard is about $10/month for 660 credits
- Watch out for: 4K costs 30 credits per second, so test at lower resolution first
If You Want Sound and Top Quality from Google: Veo 3.1
Google’s Veo 3.1 generates video with synchronized dialogue, sound effects and ambience in a single pass, supports image-to-video, and outputs up to 4K. Clips are 8 seconds per generation and can be extended. You can use it in Google Flow, Google’s filmmaking tool, or through the Gemini API and Vertex AI. The consumer Gemini app now uses Google’s newer Gemini Omni model for video.
- Best for: realistic footage with built-in sound, short cinematic shots
- Price: Google AI Plus starts at $4.99/month and includes Flow access; higher Google AI plans raise limits
- Watch out for: 4K and 1080p need 8-second clips, and extensions render at 720p
If You Need a Professional Toolkit: Runway Gen-4.5
Runway is where many filmmakers and agencies ended up. Gen-4.5 is Runway’s flagship model and focuses on motion quality, physics and prompt adherence. The workspace also includes Aleph 2.0 for re-rendering existing footage and third-party models such as Seedance 2.0, so you can compare results without switching apps.
- Best for: commercial work, editing existing footage, image-to-video with control
- Price: free plan with 125 one-time credits; Standard $12/month billed annually ($15 monthly), Pro $28, Max $76
- Watch out for: credits go quickly at higher settings
If You Want the Longest Clips: Seedance 2.5
ByteDance’s Seedance 2.5 is advertised at up to 4K and 30 seconds, with native audio, which are the biggest numbers of any consumer video model right now. It’s available in ByteDance’s Dreamina app and in CapCut in some regions, and third-party apps such as Pika and Runway also offer Seedance models. Limits depend on where you use it: Pika’s integration, for example, caps Seedance clips at 5 seconds and 720p.
- Best for: long single takes and high resolution
- Price: check Dreamina for current plans; we couldn’t confirm free-tier details
Other Options
- Luma (Ray3.2): strong cinematic realism and keyframe control. Plans start at $30/month, and there’s no longer an ongoing free plan.
- Pika (Pika 2.5): the cheapest way to try several models in one place. The free plan has no watermark but no commercial license; Starter is $10/month.
Which Should You Choose?
| If you want… | Choose |
|---|---|
| The closest thing to Sora, free to try | Kling 3.0 |
| Video with realistic built-in sound | Veo 3.1 or Kling 3.0 |
| Professional control and editing tools | Runway Gen-4.5 |
| The longest single clips | Seedance 2.5 |
| One subscription, several models | Pika |
Before You Switch
- Export anything left in Sora. OpenAI pointed users to its Sora sunset page to download their content before the shutdown deadlines, after which content is deleted.
- Rewrite long prompts as shots. Sora rewarded long scene descriptions. Kling’s storyboard and Veo’s 8-second clips work better when you describe one shot at a time: framing, action, camera move, sound.
- Start with image-to-video. A strong still image as the first frame gives you far more control over the look than text alone.
Next Steps
- Compare everything in our Best AI Video Generators guide
- Write better video prompts with our AI Video Prompting Guide
- Build a prompt in the Prompt Builder