Sora Free Plan: What You Actually Get Before Paying
Sora has no free plan to sign up for. OpenAI shut the app in April 2026 and the API in September 2026. Here is what the free tier offered, and what to use.
By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-12T22:38:11+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-12T22:38:11+00:00
Sora Free Plan: What You Actually Get Before Paying
The direct answer is nothing. Sora has no free plan to sign up for. OpenAI discontinued the Sora web and app experiences on April 26, 2026. The Sora API followed on September 24, 2026. There is no free tier, no trial, and no paid plan to buy. This guide covers what the free tier used to offer, what happened to existing users, and what to use instead.
The Sora free plan no longer exists
Sora was OpenAI's text-to-video generator. It turned written prompts into short video clips. The standalone Sora app launched with a free tier in 2025. It is now closed at every level. The app, the website, and the API are all gone.
OpenAI's help page states the dates plainly. The web and app experiences ended on April 26, 2026. The API ended on September 24, 2026. No replacement API was named. If you find a site offering Sora access or a Sora free plan today, treat it as out of date or as a third party. The only official source is OpenAI's discontinuation page.
ChatGPT plans no longer include video generation either. The ChatGPT pricing page lists image creation on every plan. It has no video row on any of them. Paying for ChatGPT Plus does not bring Sora back.
What the Sora free tier used to give you
The free tier changed several times during Sora's short life. The table below shows the key figures from its final months. These are historical facts, not current offers.
| Item | What it was | Status now |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier, October 2025 | 30 video generations a day | Closed April 26, 2026 |
| Free tier, from November 28, 2025 | 6 video generations a day | Closed April 26, 2026 |
| Extra generations | $4 for 10 videos | Closed April 26, 2026 |
| ChatGPT Plus, $20 a month | Sora included, up to 50 videos a month at 480p at launch | No video included now |
| ChatGPT Pro, $200 a month | About 10 times Plus usage, plus Sora 2 Pro | No video included now |
| API, sora-2 | $0.10 per second at 720p | Shut down September 24, 2026 |
| API, sora-2-pro | $0.30 to $0.70 per second by resolution | Shut down September 24, 2026 |
The free tier was generous at first. Thirty free videos a day was enough for real testing. OpenAI cut that to six a day in late November 2025. It also started selling extra generations at $4 for 10. The cuts signaled that free access was shrinking long before the shutdown.
Paid access came through ChatGPT plans. Plus at $20 a month included Sora at launch. Pro at $200 a month gave roughly ten times the Plus usage. The Sora 2 app later moved to a daily count system with its own credit packs. Developers could also pay per second through the API. All of those routes are closed now.
What happened to your Sora videos and credits
If you made videos in Sora, you can still export them. OpenAI points users to sora.chatgpt.com/sunset. Go there and click Export. You get an email when the file is ready. Export as soon as possible. OpenAI says it will permanently delete Sora data after the final export window passes.
Credits you bought did not vanish entirely. OpenAI says purchased ChatGPT and Sora credits can still be used in Codex. Refunds for subscriptions follow the normal ChatGPT refund policy. Check OpenAI's help page for the current terms before you assume a refund applies.
Sora alternatives with free tiers
Several video generators still offer free access. The table below lists the options with the prices verified in October 2026. Credit systems differ between tools, so compare finished clips, not credit counts.
| Tool | Free access | Paid starting point |
|---|---|---|
| Google Flow | Free account, 30 credits a clip, about one clip a day from a daily 50 credits | Paid credit packs available |
| Hailuo | Free tier available | About $0.21 for one 5-second clip at 480p on the Standard plan |
| Runway | Free tier available | Check the live pricing page before buying |
| Kling AI | Free tier available | Check the live pricing page before buying |
| Pika | Free tier available | Check the live pricing page before buying |
Google Flow is the closest free starting point. It runs Google's Veo video models. A free account gets a small daily credit allowance. That covers about one short clip a day. Hailuo is the cheapest paid option per clip in the October 2026 checks. Runway, Kling, and Pika all keep free tiers, but their limits change often. Read each pricing page before you commit.
None of these tools is a one-to-one Sora replacement. Each has its own models, limits, and style. Test the free tier first. Make a few clips with your own prompts. Then judge the quality against what you need.
Bottom line
The Sora free plan is gone because Sora is gone. The app closed in April 2026 and the API closed in September 2026. The free tier once gave 30 videos a day, then 6, before the shutdown ended it. If you made Sora videos, export them now from the sunset page. If you need video generation today, start with Google Flow's free tier or Hailuo's low per-clip cost. Do not pay any site that claims to sell Sora access.