OpenAI’s decision to shelve Sora, its popular AI video generation tool, with little notice has left many people who had started to rely on it wondering where to turn next.
The good news is that there are plenty of capable AI video generation tools out there that compare with Sora or exceed what it could do. But there are also a lot of AI video generation tools that are really just gimmicks designed for making throwaway clips for social media — Meta AI is a good example.
You’re better off avoiding a lot of what’s on the market, so here are my top three recommendations if you’re a Sora user who has been left high and dry and is serious about finding a good replacement AI video generation tool.
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1. Google Veo 3.1 — the closest thing to Sora, and arguably better
(Image credit: Google)
Google is very keen to let you know that while OpenAI has killed off video generation with Sora, it has no plans to shelve Gemini’s video generation capability in Veo 3.1.
A big selling point of Veo 3.1 is that it can generate true 4K video with native audio, so you can create scenes with dialogue, background ambience, and even music, all in one pass. It can also handle multi-scene storytelling and use reference images, so you can have consistent characters, just like you could in Sora.
And the best thing is that it’s all built into Gemini, so if you’re already familiar with using Gemini, then you’ll be right at home.
Gemini offers four plans — Basic (free), AI Plus ($7.99/£6.99/AU$12.99), AI Pro ($19.99/£18.99/AU$32.99), and AI Ultra ($249/£233.99/AU$360). You don’t get any video generation with Veo 3.1 on the Basic plan.
On AI Plus, you get up to 2 videos/day using Veo 3.1 Fast. On AI Pro, you get up to 3 videos/day using Veo 3.1 Fast. Ultra gives you up to 5 videos/day using Veo 3.1.
(Image credit: Runway)
Runway is for people who want to direct a video, not just create one from prompts. It’s basically a full editing suite with AI video generation thrown in. It’s not really comparable to Sora, but if you want to take things further into serious video production, then it’s a much better option.
Head to the Runway site and click on Get Started to begin. Like Kling, it uses a credits system for payment, and you’ll be given some credits for free to get you started — I got 125 credits.
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The learning curve with Runway can be steep, but when you sign up, it will help you by offering to show you what’s possible, which can help, or you can forgo that option for full creative control instead.
3. Kling AI 3.0 — practical and usable
(Image credit: Kling)
Kling offers 120-second clips, which is a lot longer than most rivals. It has strong motion realism and image-to-video capabilities, just like Sora had. It’s also widely available, so there’s no waitlist — you can get started today.
It’s easier to use than Runway. Getting started involves visiting the official Kling website (or a host AI creation platform that includes it) and creating an account. You’ll usually get free credits to start with.
Which one should you choose?
Sora’s disappearance was massively disappointing for everybody, and while there is no single ‘Sora replacement,’ if you want something that replicates the Sora experience, then Veo 3.1 in Gemini is your closest fit. If you want full control over what you’re producing, then look into Runway, and Kling sits somewhere in the middle.
Without the big-name OpenAI product to dominate the market, things are definitely more fragmented in the generative AI video space than before, but there are still plenty of good options.
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