Sora is gone, but these three AI video tools are already replacing it

OpenAI’s decision to discontinue Sora, its popular AI video generation tool, with little notice has left many people who started relying on it wondering where to turn next.

The good news is that there are many capable AI video generation tools that are as good or better than Sora. But there are also many AI video generation tools that are actually just gimmicks designed to create disposable clips for social media. Meta AI is a good example.

Many of the ones on the market are best avoided, so here are my top three recommendations if you’re a Sora user left high and dry and are seriously looking for a good alternative AI video generation tool.

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1. Google Veo 3.1 — closest to Sora and probably better

Create a video using Gemini Pro.

(Image source: Google)

Google would like to let you know that although OpenAI has retired video generation with Sora, there are no plans to shelve Gemini’s video generation capabilities in Veo 3.1.

A big selling point of Veo 3.1 is that it can produce true 4K video with native audio, allowing you to create scenes with dialogue, background atmosphere, and even music all in one pass. It also handles multi-scene storytelling and allows you to use reference images, allowing you to create consistent characters similar to Sora.

And the best part is, it’s all built into Gemini, so if you’re already familiar with using Gemini, you’ll be up and running in no time.

Gemini has 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). Veo 3.1 on the Basic plan does not allow video generation.

With AI Plus, you can get up to 2 videos per day using Veo 3.1 Fast. AI Pro allows you to retrieve up to 3 videos per day using Veo 3.1 Fast. Ultra uses Veo 3.1 to deliver up to 5 videos per day.

Using Runway 4.5

(Image credit: Runway)

Runway is for people who want to not only create videos from prompts, but also direct them. This is basically a complete editing suite with AI video generation built-in. Although it’s not comparable to Sora, it’s a much better option if you want to go further with serious video production.

Visit the Runway site and[Get Started]Click to get started. Like Kling, it uses a credit system for payments and gives you some free credits to get started. I got 125 credits.

Runway’s learning curve can be steep, but once you sign up, it helps by showing you what’s possible. Or, you can skip that option and have complete control over your creative.

3. Kling AI 3.0 — Practical and easy to use

Kling 3

(Image credit: Kling)

Kling offers 120 second clips, which is much longer than most competitors. Like Sora, it has powerful motion realism and image-to-video conversion capabilities. And because it’s widely available, there’s no waiting list and you can start today.

It’s easier to use than the runway. To get started, you need to visit Kling’s official website (or a host AI creation platform that includes it) and create an account. You usually get free credits at first.

Which one should you choose?

Sora’s disappearance was very unfortunate for everyone. There’s no “successor to Sora,” but if you want something that recreates the Sora experience, Gemini’s Veo 3.1 is the way to go. If you want complete control over what you’re creating, check out Runway. Kling is somewhere in between.

Without the big-name OpenAI products dominating the market, the landscape in the generated AI video space is certainly more fragmented than before, but there are still plenty of good options.