AI Short Video Production · Deepege Editorial Team
Sora Alternatives: 5 AI Video Generators After the Sora Shutdown
The main Sora alternatives in 2026 are Runway, Kling AI, Luma Dream Machine and Google's Gemini app with Google Flow. OpenAI discontinued the Sora app and website on April 26, 2026, and its developer docs say the Sora 2 models and Videos API were shut down on September 24, 2026, with no one-to-one replacement API. So the question is no longer whether to switch, but which tool covers the Sora jobs you relied on.
Key points (every status, plan and price below comes from official pages we opened on October 23, 2026):
- OpenAI's help center says Sora content can still be exported at sora.chatgpt.com/sunset, and data is permanently deleted after any final export window.
- Runway starts at $12 a month billed annually for 625 credits, which Runway says equals 52 seconds of Gen-4.5 video; its free plan gives a one-time 125 credits.
- Kling AI has a free Basic plan, but Kling's own guide says Basic content is not for commercial use; paid plans start at 660 credits a month.
- Luma's Plus plan costs $30 a month ($25 billed yearly) for 10,000 credits and also runs third-party models such as Kling, Seedance and Veo 3.1.
- Deepege, our own product, is not a text-to-video model; it is listed last and is not ranked.
What happened to Sora?
Sora was shut down in two stages. According to OpenAI's help center, the Sora web and app experiences were discontinued on April 26, 2026 (OpenAI Help Center). The developer guide for video generation now states that the Sora 2 models and the Videos API were shut down on September 24, 2026, are no longer available, and have no one-to-one replacement API (OpenAI video generation guide). The API deprecation table lists the Videos API, sora-2, sora-2-pro and their snapshots with a shutdown date of 2026-09-24 and no recommended replacement (OpenAI deprecations).
One wording difference is worth knowing: on October 23, 2026 the help center article still described the API date in the future tense, while the developer docs described it as done. Both give the same date.
Before you switch: save your Sora files
The first step after a shutdown is getting your own work out. OpenAI's help center gives four practical answers:
- Export: go to sora.chatgpt.com/sunset and click Export; you get an email when the file is ready.
- Final window: if OpenAI offers a final export window, it will notify you by email before it begins.
- Deletion: after Sora is discontinued and any final export window passes, data associated with your use of Sora is permanently deleted.
- Credits and refunds: purchased ChatGPT/Sora credits can still be used for Codex, and refund questions go through the ChatGPT subscription refund process.
Keep your prompts as well as your videos. A prompt library that describes shot type, subject, action, setting and lighting (the structure OpenAI's own guide recommended) moves between tools far more easily than a finished clip.
Sora alternatives at a glance
This table summarizes what each official page listed on October 23, 2026. Prices are in USD.
| Tool | Best for | Free option | Entry paid plan | Notes from the official page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runway | One subscription for Runway's own models plus Kling and Seedance | One-time 125 credits | Standard $12/month billed annually, 625 credits | Gen-4.5 uses 12 credits per second |
| Kling AI | Longer single clips with native audio | Basic: free, not for commercial use | Standard: 660 credits/month (price varies with first-month offers) | 3 to 15 seconds per Kling 3.0 generation; native 4K |
| Luma Dream Machine | Trying several video models from one credit pool | None listed on the pricing page | Plus $30/month ($25 billed yearly), 10,000 credits | Ray3.2 1080p: 1,200 credits per 10 seconds |
| Gemini app and Google Flow | People already paying for a Google AI plan | Not covered on the plans page | Google AI Plus, Pro or Ultra (price not quoted) | Video model listed: Gemini Omni Flash |
| Deepege (our product) | Product marketing videos for China and overseas platforms | Start for free | Fit assessment, no public price list | Not a text-to-video model |
How we chose and compared these tools
We started from what people search after the shutdown ("sora alternatives", "sora alternative free", "apps like sora", "sora alternatives for video generation") and kept the general-purpose text-to-video and image-to-video tools whose official pricing or product pages we could open and read on October 23, 2026. For each one we recorded the free option, the entry plan, what the credits buy according to the vendor's own numbers, and which Sora jobs the vendor says it supports.
We did not generate test videos, so this guide does not judge realism, motion or prompt accuracy. Some figures were left out on purpose: Kling AI's prices, because its plans showed first-month discounts with different renewal prices; Google's US plan prices and Flow credit amounts, because they did not appear in the page text we could read; and Pika and Adobe Firefly, because their plan pages did not render readable plan details for us that day. Deepege is our own product; it is listed last and is not ranked.
What your entry plan buys, in the vendors' own numbers
Credits are not comparable across vendors, so the safest comparison is what each vendor says its entry plan produces.
| Entry plan | Credits | What the vendor says that buys |
|---|---|---|
| Runway Standard ($12/month billed annually) | 625 per month | 52 seconds of Gen-4.5, 104 seconds of Gen-4 Turbo, or 78 Gen-4 images at 1080p |
| Kling AI Standard | 660 per month | 660 images or 33 videos at 720p (Kling's reference figure) |
| Luma Plus ($30/month, $25 billed yearly) | 10,000 per month | About 8 ten-second Ray3.2 clips at 1080p or 33 at 720p (our arithmetic from Luma's cost table: 1,200 and 300 credits per 10 seconds) |
The table shows why a cheaper plan is not always cheaper per clip: resolution and model choice change the cost per second several times over, and Runway and Luma both charge different rates for third-party models.
1. Runway: best for one subscription across several models
Runway is a good first stop if you used Sora for short cinematic shots and want more than one model under a single plan. Its pricing page lists Standard at $12 a month billed annually with 625 credits a month, Pro at $28 with 2,250 credits and Max at $76 with 9,500 credits; the plans include Runway's Gen-4.5 and third-party models such as Kling 3.0, and Pro and Max add Seedance 2.5 and unlimited Topaz upscaling (Runway pricing). Gen-4.5 uses 12 credits per second of video.
- Keep in mind: on Standard and Pro, monthly credits don't roll over; Max rolls over up to one month of unused credits. The free plan is a one-time 125 credits rather than a monthly allowance.
2. Kling AI: best for longer single clips with native audio
Kling AI fits if you liked Sora's longer clips with sound. Kling's own credit guide says Kling VIDEO 3.0 generates from 3 to 15 seconds per clip, offers native 4K output at 30 credits per second, and supports Native Audio with dialogue, ambience, sound effects and lip movement (Kling credit guide). Kling 3.0 Omni adds element references and element voice control for recurring characters or products, which covers a similar need to Sora's reusable characters.
- Keep in mind: the free Basic plan has no monthly credits and its output is not for commercial use. Paid plans (660, 3,000, 8,000 and 26,000 credits a month) allow commercial use; check the live membership page for the current price, because Kling shows first-subscription discounts.
3. Luma Dream Machine: best for testing several models from one credit pool
Luma fits teams that want to compare models before committing. The Plus plan costs $30 a month or $25 a month billed yearly for 10,000 credits, with "Luma and third-party image and video models" and commercial use; Pro costs $90 ($75 yearly) for 40,000 credits and Ultra $300 ($250 yearly) for 150,000 credits (Luma pricing). Its cost table lists Luma's own Ray3.2 and Ray3.14 next to Seedance, Kling, Veo 3.1 and Gemini Omni Flash, plus an Extend Video option for Ray3.14.
- Keep in mind: the pricing page lists no free plan, and 1080p is expensive on Ray3.2 (1,200 credits per 10 seconds), so draft at lower resolutions first.
4. Gemini app and Google Flow: best if you already pay for Google AI
Google's video generation sits inside its Google AI plans rather than a separate product. The Google AI plans page lists Gemini Omni Flash as the video generation model on Plus, Pro and Ultra, with access in the Gemini app and in Google Flow; Plus gets limited access in the Gemini app, and limits rise on Pro and Ultra (Google AI plans). The same plans bundle storage and other Gemini features, so the value depends on whether you use those too.
- Keep in mind: usage is described as "more", "expanded" and "higher" access rather than a fixed number of seconds, so check your plan's limits inside Flow before planning a large batch.
5. Deepege (our own product): for product marketing videos, not open-ended generation
Deepege (引擎AI) is our own product, and it is not a replacement for Sora's open-ended text-to-video generation. It is a marketing agent for Chinese businesses: it reads product materials such as a manual, product page, workshop footage and photos, proposes a video plan for your approval, then adds voiceover, line-by-line subtitles, text overlays, a cover and music, and prepares Chinese and foreign-language versions for platforms such as Douyin, WeChat Channels and TikTok . You can start for free; paid pricing follows a fit assessment, with no public price list (Deepege pricing).
If you used Sora mainly to make product promos, you can draft the script with our free video script generator and the narration with the AI voiceover generator.
Which Sora alternative should you choose?
Choose by the Sora job you are replacing, not by brand:
| If you used Sora for... | Start with |
|---|---|
| Short cinematic shots, and you want several models in one plan | Runway |
| Longer clips with dialogue and sound | Kling AI |
| Comparing models before you commit | Luma Dream Machine |
| Occasional clips on a Google AI plan you already have | Gemini app or Google Flow |
| Avatar presenters or talking-head explainers | See our HeyGen alternatives guide |
| Turning scripts or blog posts into videos | See Pictory vs InVideo |
| Cutting long videos into clips | See Opus Clip alternatives |
If you relied on the Sora API, OpenAI lists no recommended replacement, and we did not compare the other vendors' APIs in this guide, so check each vendor's developer documentation before you migrate a production workflow.
Conclusion
Sora is gone as an app and as an API, so the practical move is to export your files first and then pick a tool by the job you used Sora for: Runway for one plan across several models, Kling AI for longer clips with native audio, Luma for comparing models from one credit pool, and the Gemini app or Google Flow if you already pay for a Google AI plan. Plans and credit costs change often, so recheck the linked pages, checked here on October 23, 2026, before you subscribe.
FAQ
Is Sora still available?
No. OpenAI discontinued the Sora web and app experiences on April 26, 2026, and its developer docs say the Sora 2 models and Videos API were shut down on September 24, 2026.
Can I still download my Sora videos?
OpenAI's help center says you can export content at sora.chatgpt.com/sunset by clicking Export, and you get an email when it is ready. If a final export window is offered, OpenAI will email you first; after that, Sora data is permanently deleted.
What happens to my Sora credits?
OpenAI's help center says purchased ChatGPT/Sora credits can still be used for Codex. For refunds, it points to the ChatGPT subscription refund process.
Is there a free Sora alternative?
Kling AI has a free Basic plan, but Kling says its output is not for commercial use. Runway's free plan gives a one-time 125 credits that don't expire. Luma's pricing page lists no free plan.
What replaced the Sora API?
OpenAI lists no one-to-one replacement for the Videos API or the Sora 2 models. We did not compare other vendors' APIs in this guide, so check each vendor's developer documentation before migrating.