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Best alternatives to Sora
Sora is impressive but it isn’t the only option if you want to create realistic-looking AI video. There are a multitude of offerings including Runway, Kling and Pika Labs. On top of that you’ve got open-source offerings from Genmo and LTX Studio.
All of the platforms have their own unique features, models have their own quirks and capabilities and they all come at different price points. Some are almost indistinguishable in performance to what we’re seeing from Sora Turbo, others have a more social focus, adding templates or pre-designed styles to make creation easier.
My personal favorite is Runway because I’ve used it the most but there is something special about the way Hailuo handles human emotion. I’ve compiled a list of my top five AI video generator alternatives to Sora.
The video above was created using an image generated by Grok Aurora and animated in Runway Gen-3 Turbo without any additional prompt.
A rocky start for Sora
we significantly underestimated demand for sora; it is going to take awhile to get everyone access.trying to figure out how to do it as fast as possible!December 10, 2024
OpenAI’s Sora offers users the ability to create hyperrealistic videos, but there are currently some issues with both the cost and the service itself. Especially if you want to create more than a handful of videos per day.
It was recently revealed that OpenAI’s video generator Sora will be included in the different paid tiers for ChatGPT, including the $20 ChatGPT Plus plan and the $200 Pro.
However, there are some limitations regarding the quality of video your credits can produce and just how many you get per month without paying for the more expensive Pro plan. Add this to massive server issues causing the company to block sign-ups and its been a bit of a rocky start for the new AI video platform.
In a recent post on X, user kimmonismus revealed how many videos users can make while running the Plus subscription. The plan includes enough credits to create 50 5-second priority videos at 720p.
For reference, a priority video is granted a leading position in the server queue, meaning it’s created faster. Meanwhile, the $200 Pro model offers up to 500 20-second videos that run at 1080p. It also gives you unlimited ‘slow’ generations.
Hands on with Sora
After the Sora announcement today, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the tool and try it for myself. Like many, I’ve been patiently waiting for OpenAI to finally release its advanced image and video generator. Needless to say, today’s demo during the third of OpenAI’s ’12 Days of OpenAI’ was very exciting.
Overall, I was generally impressed. I’ve used other video generators, that have stunned me with similar results, however other generators take much longer to generate. Sora created the videos quickly. In less than 5 minutes my prompt was turned into a fairly realistic 3 to 5 second video.
The site was easy to use and all the features and what they did were clear, especially after watching them demoed today. I did find it a little tricky to navigate back home after a video was created. I ended up just using the back arrows to get back home and create a new prompt.
OpenAI continues its 12 Days release event
OpenAI is releasing something new every weekday until December 20 and so far we’ve had one small announcement in the form of fine-tuning for scientists, and two big ones including Sora and o1 full. We’ve also had ChatGPT Pro for $200 per month.
CEO Sam Altman says there will be something for everyone, with some big and some “stocking stuffer” style announcements. If today’s announcement follows the pattern set last week then today should be a stocking stuffer rather than a big product.
Rumors point to it being an update to ChatGPT, possibly a way to run code inside a Canvas, which would be a huge improvement for developers.
Whatever the AI lab announces, we will have full coverage and if its something we can try — we’ll follow up with a how to guide and a hands on with the new toy.
Sora comes with some limitations
I’ve created hundreds of AI-generated videos over the past few years using everything from Pika Labs to Hailuo and each model brings with it different quirks and features. But, it goes beyond that as they also have their own approaches to user interface and interactivity.
With Sora, OpenAI seems to have borrowed heavily from the design Midjourney adopted when it moved from Discord to the web, but with a bit of Haiper thrown in through its floating prompt box. The most unique element is the Storyboard, where you can drop clips, images and text prompts and have Sora fill in the gaps.
But, there are other limitations facing Sora users, especially those not paying $200 per month for a ChatGPT Pro subscription. Most users will be on the $20/month ChatGPT Plus.
Limits on $20 per month plan
For a start you only get 50 generations per month, then they are limited to 720p and 5 seconds duration. This is less than most other models even when you pay a similar monthly subscription, although those other models don’t also include ChatGPT access.
You can also only generate video of people if you pay for the higher subscription tier, although OpenAI says it is working on adjusting guardrails and restrictions based on use.
Many of these problems will be tackled next year though, as OpenAI is actively working on new subscription plans and payment options for different types of Sora users outside of the ChatGPT subscriptions. So you could pay $20 for ChatGPT plus a Sora subscription to get unlimited, without having to shell out for the full ChatGPT Pro.
I just want it available in the UK, which the company tells me is something they’re actively working on but there are content laws posing difficulties in the rollout.
Check back tomorrow for Day 4 of OpenAI’s 12 Days of announcements
Sora was the big bad beast of an announcement for OpenAI, but there are several more days ahead. What else could they have planned?
We’ll continue to keep an eye on OpenAI this week. If you’re curious, check back in with Tom’s Guide to see what’s coming.
For now, here’s what we think could be announced tomorrow:
Advanced search gets more advanced: We’ve seen rumors and leaks about Voice Engine being able to recreate human voices with just a 15-second recording. This would be a wild announcement if it happens, but I’m only 50/50 on it actually seeing a launch this year. Instead, I’d look more to small but significant tweaks like getting access to live search or being able to look through a camera (such as your webcam or phone snapper).Canvas improvements: Finally, Canvas has become one of our favorite writing tools that fuses the assistance of generative AI with your workload in a way that feels slick and actually helpful. We predict some updates coming that we saw subtly hinted towards — like stacking different elements within a chat.ChatGPT-tweaks: And finally, turning to ChatGPT itself, we’re anticipating some improvements to the capability of OpenAI’s bread and butter chatbot — including video analysis.
What you need to know about Sora
Sora is here, at least in the United States, and assuming you can get through the heavy traffic.
There is a lot going on in with the AI video generation tool including story boarding, impressive capabilities and integration with ChatGPT if you are a paid subscriber.
For more details and to learn how to access Sora, check out our full breakdown of what’s new and what Sora is capable of.
Sora access limited
We’ve tried logging into Sora and have had trouble getting in either locally or via an VPN.
Users on Reddit and other social platforms are also reporting an inability to sign up for the platform. One user said that they couldn’t even generate videos because the queue is full.
Additionally, those of you in Europe and the UK won’t be able to access the platform (without a VPN) because of local content laws which requires extra compliance measures. OpenAI is working with the governments there but we don’t know when Sora will actually be available in those regions.
OpenAI staff share Sora examples
Sora is here for Plus and Pro users at no additional cost! Pushing the boundaries of visual generation will require breakthroughs both in ML and HCI. Really proud to have worked on this brand new product with @billpeeb @rohanjamin @cmikeh2 and the rest of the Sora team!… pic.twitter.com/OjZMDDc7maDecember 9, 2024
OpenAI VP of Research Aditya Ramesh has shared a video made using Sora that shows jellyfish in the sky. He wrote on X that: “Pushing the boundaries of visual generation will require breakthroughs both in ML and HCI.”
Bill Peebles, Sora lead for OpenAI shared a cute, looped image of “superpup” with a city in front of him. The loop feature looks like an interesting one to try.
The Sora feed is available to view at Sora.com, even if you are in the EU or UK. If you are anywhere else in the world you can also start creating videos.
Access to Sora starts today
Users will get 50 generations per month if they have a ChatGPT Plus, unlimited slow generations with ChatGPT Pro or 500 per month normal generations. Plus costs $20 a month and Pro is $200 per month but does include unlimited o1 and Advanced Voice.
Sora is a standalone product but tied to a ChatGPT subscription. Any ChatGPT account can view the feed — with videos made by others — but only paid accounts can make videos.
It will be available everywhere but the UK and EU from today, but those places will get access “at some point”. Altman says they are “working very hard to bring it to those places”.
“Sora is a tool that lets you try multiple ideas at once and try things not possible before. It is an extension of the creator behind it,” the company says, adding that you won’t be able to just make a full movie at the click of the button.
Altman says this is early and will get a lot, lot better.
Sora is a whole new product for OpenAI
There was some speculation that Sora would be incorporated into ChatGPT but OpenAI confirmed it is a completely standalone product found at Sora.com. However, if you have a ChatGPT Plus or Pro subscription access to Sora will be included.
It has a similar interface to Midjourney with menu down the side, but with a prompt box that floats over the top. The biggest new feature is the Storyboard view which looks more like a traditional video editing platform.
Other key features include the ability to remix in a video. In one example they turned wooly mammoths into robots. Another is blending one video into another. You can also manipulate different elements within a video and share them with others.
You can also remix other videos shared by others in the community feed.
Storyboard view in Sora is a huge update
OpenAI’s Sora includes a new ‘Storyboard’ view that lets you generate videos and place them on a timeline. Sora can then fill in the gaps from the start of the timeline to where you place the image or prompt.
If you place an image at the start Sora will create a prompt at the appropriate point in the timeline. So if you add it 10 seconds in it will generate the motion from your image to the prompt. This allows you to fully customize the flow of the video by adding keyframes to the timeline view.
When the video is generated you get more control over how it displays. Remix is one such feature that lets you describe changes to the video — such as swapping mammoths for robots — and it will handle the change, leaving everything else the same.
They were able to demonstrate the changes in real-time, suggesting it takes less than a minute to generate lower-resolution videos — roughly inline with Runway timing.
“Half of hte story of Sora is taking a video, editing it and building on top of it,” OpenAI explained during the live.
Sora works a lot like other video platforms
During a demo of Sora during the livestream OpenAI was able to generate a video of wooly mammoths, revealing the system of creation including a Haiper like toolbar.
The video took a few minutes to create and included options like resolution (480p, 720p and 1080p) as well as duration of the clip starting at 10 seconds.
Videos seem to be as good as we expected from previews and you only need a ChatGPT account to sign up for Sora.com. It is available today, so I’d love to see what you create.
Sora confirmed — and it looks great
Sam Altman is back to announce Sora and with it we get our first ‘official’ look at the new video model. So far, so good. It looks impressive and Altman explains that “video is important” on the path to artificial general intelligence.
The company confirmed Sora would be launching today from sora.com. It is a “completely new product experience” but would be covered by the cost of ChatGPT Plus.
Today’s announcement is Sora Turbo which runs faster than the previous version. It includes a Midjourney-style community view with videos generated by others.
Day 3 livestream is … live
Watch On
Day 3 of OpenAI’s 12 Days of OpenAI announcement event is live on YouTube. By this point we pretty much know what is going to be announced, but we don’t know how or specifics.
Sora is going to be the most visual of all the announcements coming out of these 12 days, and so I’m hoping for something a little more than a roundtable — but who knows.
We will have all the details and information as it happens, and with follow up stories over the coming days.
What can we expect from OpenAI Sora?
I have been waiting impatiently for the best part of a year for OpenAI to release its AI video generator Sora to the general public. Every new video drop or project added to my impatience.
Now, it looks like we’re a mere hour away from the launch of what looks to be a generation ahead of any other commercial or open-source model currently on the market.
What we don’t know is how much it will cost, how you will access it or where it will be available. There are some possible leaks pointing to this on X including one from Kol Tregaskes showing some screenshots that ‘may’ be from a Sora site.
This includes requiring you to commit to not using it for certain types of content, ensuring you have rights to any images you upload and not creating depictions of people without permission. The UI seems very similar to Haiper with elements of Midjourney and appears to be able to do landscape and portrait. It will run independently of ChatGPT.
We will know for sure after 1pm ET.
Sora IS coming and MKHB gives us a first look
Watch On
Sora, OpenAI’s state-of-the-art AI video generator IS launching today, at least according to Marques Brownlee. Speeding to X and YouTube with a post on the new model, the tech reviewer shared video footage generated with Sora two hours before the live stream.
OpenAI is scheduled to go live at 1pm ET with a fresh announcement as part of its 12 Days of OpenAI event. So far we’ve had the full o1 model and a research update. It was strongly hinted that today’s announcement would be the long-awaited Sora.
If Brownlee’s video is real then we’re in for something special from the OpenAI flagship, offering degrees of realism barely even dreamt of by other models. In his X thread, Brownlee talks about it being particularly good at landscapes and drone shots but struggles with text and physics.
We’ll find out for sure just how good it is at 1pm. I wonder if Sam Altman will be there for this one, or even if they’ll move beyond the simple roundtable format.
A Sora is brewing…
While we’re all at the edge of our seat waiting for a Sora announcement, one user on X noticed that the OpenAI page listed Sora availability by country. However, it looks like that page was pulled. Whoever let the cat out of the bag, gave us all hope that something about Sora will be announced soon.
This mysterious page listing raises more questions than answers. Does the inclusion of availability by country suggest that Sora is poised for a global rollout sooner than we think? The post originally stated that it would not be available in the EU and UK. Could this imply features tailored for specific regions or languages? OpenAI has been tight-lipped about the details, but the leak has sparked rampant discussions on X and other platforms, with users theorizing everything from enhanced language capabilities to integration with existing OpenAI tools like Copilot. The abrupt removal of the page has only amplified the excitement, with fans now convinced that an official announcement could be imminent.
For now, all we can do is wait and speculate. OpenAI has a history of building anticipation for its projects, and the Sora leak has only added to the intrigue.
OpenAI continues its 12 Days release event
OpenAI is releasing something new every weekday until December 20 and so far the focus has been on the advanced research and coding side of artificial intelligence.
CEO Sam Altman says there will be something for everyone, with some big and some “stocking stuffer” style announcements. With day one giving us the full version of o1 and and day two offering up a way for scientists to fine-tune o1 — that is bearing fruit.
All roads point to Sora getting a release today. This includes a leak over the weekend showing a version 2 of OpenAI’s AI video model, and today the documentation was updated to show which countries Sora will be available in — everywhere but EU and UK.
Whatever the AI lab announces, we will have full coverage and if its something we can try — we’ll follow up with a how to guide and a hands on with the new toy.