Sora 2

What Sora 2 actually is

• Physics-aware video: OpenAI's headline claim is that Sora 2 models failure and not just success, so a missed basketball rebounds off the backboard instead of teleporting to the hoop
• Native synchronized audio: dialogue, ambience and sound effects generated together with the video
• Cameos: record a 3 to 10 second clip of yourself, set permissions, and insert your likeness and voice into scenes
• Strong on facial and character consistency, lighting and color grading across shots, and narrative continuity
• Clips up to about 15 seconds (standard) or 25 seconds (Pro) in the former consumer app, up to 1080p, in 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1
• The API create endpoint allows a seconds parameter of 4, 8 or 12, defaulting to 4, at sizes 720x1280, 1280x720, 1024x1792 and 1792x1024. The video-generation guide additionally claims 16 and 20 second generations for both sora-2 and sora-2-pro

Limits and catches

• Consumer access is gone: the app shut down on 26 April 2026 and the API sunsets on 24 September 2026. OpenAI cites roughly $1M per day in cost, low revenue, and copyright and deepfake pressure
• The physics approximates rather than simulates. Documented failures include skater legs stretching into deforming shapes, a weightless cat fall with an impossible pirouette (DataCamp), and object interactions that stay clean only about 60% of the time at Pro quality
• Typography warps: a prompted 'DHL' uniform rendered as illegible lines, and readable on-screen text is inconsistent
• Hand and gesture logic fails. Asked to count 1 to 5 on fingers, the model said '3' while holding up 5
• Fast camera moves (whip pans, spins, zooms) trigger warping, physics degrades noticeably past 20 to 30 seconds, and background crowds often stay static
• Every clip carries OpenAI's watermark and C2PA provenance metadata by default

What does Sora 2 cost?

None as of July 2026. The free consumer tier (video, audio, cameo, capped generations) existed at launch, but the entire Sora consumer app (sora.chatgpt.com, web and iOS) was discontinued on 26 April 2026 per OpenAI's Help Center. Only the paid Sora 2 API remains, and it sunsets on 24 September 2026. There is no way for a consumer to try Sora 2 for free today.

Prices verified July 2026, we re-check every 60 days.