How much money does Sora by OpenAI cost?
OpenAI’s Sora, a cutting-edge text-to-video AI tool, has garnered significant attention since its launch. By transforming text prompts into short, high-quality videos, Sora offers a glimpse into the future of content creation. However, with its advanced capabilities come questions about accessibility and cost. This article delves into Sora’s pricing structure, evaluates its value proposition, and compares it to competitors in the AI video generation landscape.
What are the current pricing tiers for Sora?
ChatGPT Plus
Sora access is bundled with the ChatGPT Plus subscription, priced at \$20 per month. Plus subscribers can generate videos up to 720p resolution with a maximum duration of 10 seconds per clip. This tier is ideal for hobbyists and small teams experimenting with short-form video content, offering an accessible entry point without additional charges beyond the monthly subscription fee.
ChatGPT Pro
For professionals requiring higher throughput and quality, the ChatGPT Pro plan is available at \$200 per month. Pro subscribers benefit from:
- Faster generation speeds to accelerate iterative workflows
- Up to 1080p resolution and 20-second video durations
- Five concurrent video generations for bulk processing
- Watermark-free downloads for seamless integration into commercial project.
What value do these plans offer for users?
Feature Highlights
Beyond raw video output, both Plus and Pro tiers unlock advanced editing capabilities such as Remix, Re-cut, Storyboard, Loop, and Blend—features that let users replace, extend, and merge footage with ease. These tools enable creative control comparable to entry-level video editing suites, all driven by natural language prompts. The Pro plan’s parallel generation and watermark-free downloads, in particular, cater to marketing teams and content studios seeking professional-grade outputs .
Cost Efficiency
When broken down by usage, Sora’s pricing often undercuts standalone AI video services. A community analysis on Reddit compared Sora’s Pro tier to Runway’s video-generation pricing, finding Sora costs about \$0.40 per 5-second video, versus \$0.60 per video on Runway’s standard plan—while also including full ChatGPT access . This integrated value proposition can translate to significant monthly savings for teams producing large batches of short clips.
How does Sora’s pricing compare to competitors?
Comparison with Runway
Runway’s Gen-3 Alpha has been a popular choice among designers and filmmakers since late 2023. Its standard monthly plan is \$15 for 25 five-second videos (about \$0.60 per video), while its Pro plan is \$35 for 90 videos (about \$0.39 per video). Although Runway offers specialized editing workflows, it does not include a conversational AI layer—meaning Sora users gain access to ChatGPT’s capabilities alongside video generation at a comparable or lower per-video cost.
Comparison with Google Veo 2
Google’s Veo 2, revealed at the end of 2024, promises up to two-minute video clips but remains in restricted beta, limiting its practical utility. Early reports highlight a waiting list and performance constraints, whereas Sora’s video lengths (up to 20 seconds at Pro) and immediate availability to millions of ChatGPT subscribers give it a competitive edge in speed and accessibility.
Are there any discounts or special offers available?
Nonprofits and Education
OpenAI has signaled plans for nonprofit and educational discounts in early 2025. According to a recent industry blog, eligible nonprofits may receive 20% off ChatGPT Team subscriptions and 50% off Enterprise plans, which would indirectly reduce Sora costs for mission-driven organizations. Educational institutions are also expected to benefit from scaled pricing through a ChatGPT Edu program, providing administrative controls alongside Sora access .
Enterprise Solutions
For large-scale deployments, Sora can be provisioned via ChatGPT Enterprise, offering custom usage quotas, dedicated support, and SLA-backed performance. Pricing for these enterprise contracts is customized based on volume and feature requirements, with prospective customers directed to Contact Sales through OpenAI’s business inquiry portal.
Conclusion
Sora represents a significant advancement in AI-driven video generation, offering powerful tools for content creators. However, its high cost and certain limitations may make it less accessible for some users. As the technology evolves and competition increases, it will be interesting to see how OpenAI adjusts Sora’s pricing and features to meet the needs of a broader audience.
Getting Started
Developers can access Sora API through CometAPI. To begin, explore the model’s capabilities in the Playground and consult the API guide for detailed instructions. Note that some developers may need to verify their organization before using the model.
