Sora Is Gone: Why It Shut Down & The Best AI Video Alternatives for Shorts, Reels & UGC

On September 24, 2026, OpenAI officially pulled the plug on Sora, its video generator. The app and website were shut down back in April, and now developer access has been cut off as well. Yet, people are still widely searching for “Sora 2 download for Android” and “Sora 2 free”—and falling for fakes.

We’ve dug into the primary sources to figure out: why Sora was shut down, what happened to user videos, which video generators are still running, which ones are best for Shorts, Reels, and UGC, what’s available in Russia—and how to avoid losing reach and monetization due to AI labels.

In Brief

• Sora is no more: The app and website were closed on April 26, 2026, and developer access on September 24. OpenAI has no official replacement.
• Any “Sora 2 APK” is a fake. The official app has been removed from app stores.
• The main alternatives: Google's Gemini Omni and Veo 3.1, Kling 3.0, Seedance 2.5, Grok Imagine 1.5, Runway Gen-4.5, MiniMax H3, and Luma Ray3.2.
• To start for free, you can use Gemini Omni within YouTube Shorts and YouTube Create, Kling's daily free credits, and Runway's trial credits.
• In Russia, Google services are officially unavailable, and paying for most foreign services with a Russian card is usually not possible.
• AI labels on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram are being applied automatically more often. The label itself doesn't hurt reach, but YouTube won't monetize repetitive AI content.

What Happened to Sora

OpenAI announced the shutdown on March 24, 2026, and split it into two phases:

The official reason is that the computing power is needed for more critical tasks, and the Sora team is shifting to modeling the physical world for robotics. The American press, citing The Wall Street Journal, adds that the service cost about $1 million a day to run, and its audience had dropped by roughly half. The $1 billion deal with Disney, which was supposed to feature Marvel and Pixar characters in videos, also fell through with Sora's closure.

What about user videos? Users could download an archive via the Sora closure page, which was sent to their email. OpenAI warned that after the final download window, all data would be permanently deleted with no chance of recovery.

Is video in ChatGPT? Sources differ: some publications reported that the model would remain behind the paid ChatGPT subscription, while others said there were no plans to integrate it. As of now, OpenAI does not have an official video generator.

Warning: “Sora 2 APK” and “Sora without watermark”

Sora fakes were popping up even before the shutdown: in the fall of 2025, “Sora 2” clones on the App Store and Google Play racked up about 300,000 installs. Now that the service is closed, any “Sora 2 download,” “mod,” or “no watermark” version is, at best, a dud and, at worst, data-stealing malware. Kaspersky Lab has recorded a sharp increase in attacks disguised as popular AI services: nearly five times more in January–April 2026 than in the same period a year earlier.

The rule is simple: only download video generators from official websites and app stores, using the link provided on the service's own site.

Sora Alternatives: A Comparison Table

Prices and limits for these services change frequently, and some figures are only known from reviews. Always check the service's own pricing page before buying.

Important: Veo 4, Kling 4, and Runway Gen-5 do not exist. If someone offers you “access to Veo 4,” it’s a scam.

Gemini Omni and Veo 3.1 from Google

In May 2026, Google replaced Veo in the Gemini app with a new model: Gemini Omni. It generates video with sound right away, supports vertical formats, and can create video from photos. The Omni 1.1 Flash version was released at the end of August: it creates videos up to 10 seconds in the app, which can be extended via API in 10-second increments up to 40 seconds.

Gemini Omni replaced Veo in the Gemini app. Source: Google

Where to use it:

• YouTube Shorts and YouTube Create — free for users 18 and older. Omni is built into Shorts remixes: you can remake a suitable Short from another creator using your own prompt.
• Google Vids — available on desktop in 1080p since September 23.
• Gemini app and Flow — with a Google AI subscription; Flow includes 200 credits per month.

For developers, Veo 3.1 remains available in three versions: standard, Fast, and Lite. Lite is the cheapest: 4–8 second videos, vertical format, starting at $0.05 per second.

Veo 3.1 Lite: short videos at a low price via API. Source: Google

All Google videos are marked with an invisible SynthID watermark, which platforms use to identify generated content.

Kling 3.0

Kling, from Kuaishou, is one of the most popular generators among short-form video creators. Version 3.0 was released on February 5, 2026, offering videos up to 15 seconds, up to six shots in a single video, and speech with lip-sync in several languages, including English and Spanish. Kuaishou specifically notes that the model can maintain text and logos on clothing and objects—a key feature for product videos.

You get free credits daily, but the free plan includes a visible watermark on videos. According to reviews, paid plans start at around $7–9 per month.

Seedance 2.5 from ByteDance

Seedance is the model from ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok. Version 2.5 was released on July 31, 2026, offering up to 30 seconds in a single clip with extension capabilities, up to 50 photo references, and sound. In its use cases, ByteDance explicitly mentions short series.

Seedance is integrated into CapCut and Dreamina—generation and editing in one place. Source: ByteDance

You can use it via Dreamina and CapCut. Videos are marked in three ways: an invisible watermark, C2PA data, and a visible AI label. At launch, Seedance 2.5 in Dreamina was available to paid subscribers over 16 in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and South America. In CapCut, the model does not allow uploading photos of real faces.

Grok Imagine 1.5 from xAI

The video generator from xAI, Elon Musk's company, has been publicly available since June 16, 2026. It creates videos from 1 to 15 seconds in 16:9, 9:16, and 1:1 formats, with sound generated alongside the video. The main mode is animating still images. Since spring 2026, video generation has only been available with a SuperGrok subscription.

Runway Gen-4.5

Runway is a service for professional AI-powered editing. Gen-4.5 was released in December 2025, with sound and videos up to a minute added later. For editing existing video—like relighting or replacing backgrounds—there's a separate model called Aleph.

Runway Gen-4.5. Source: Runway

Upon registration, you get 125 credits one time. The Standard plan is $12 per month when paid annually, which is enough for about 52 seconds of Gen-4.5 video. Paid plans have no watermark. You can also run third-party models like Kling 3.0 within Runway.

MiniMax H3 (Hailuo)

China's MiniMax released the H3 model on July 31, 2026, and on August 3, it released its open weights, meaning you can run the model on your own hardware. It produces videos up to 15 seconds in 2K with stereo sound. MiniMax markets it for advertising and product videos, with precise brand rendering.

MiniMax H3 — a model with open weights. Source: MiniMax

To use it without your own hardware, visit the Hailuo website.

Luma Ray3.2

Luma released Ray3.2 on June 9, 2026, featuring videos up to 20 seconds in 1080p and a function that reformats existing video into any aspect ratio, including vertical. Commercial use is available starting with the Plus plan. Luma also provides access to third-party models like Seedance, Veo 3.1, and Kling 3.0.

Luma Ray3.2. Source: Luma

What Else

• Pika relaunched on September 17, 2026, as a hub that aggregates leading third-party models, plus its own models for sound.
• Alibaba Wan offers open-source models to run on your own hardware. Versions 2.1 and 2.2 are open, while the newer 3.0 is only available on their website.
• Meta showcased its Muse Video model in July; video generation is included in the Meta One subscription—learn more in our breakdown “Is Instagram Blocking Links? What's Changed with Meta One”.

What to Choose for Your Task

For AI presenters, there's a separate class of services: for example, HeyGen has a free plan, and its paid plan starts at $29 per month. For editing—trimming, subtitles, clipping—we have a separate roundup: “The 15 Best AI Video Editors of 2026”.

What's Available in Russia and the CIS

• Google services—Gemini, Omni, Flow, Gemini API—are officially unavailable in Russia and Belarus. They are available in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
• YouTube has been blocked in Russia since February 2026, and monetization for Russian viewers has been suspended since March 2022. This makes the free Omni in Shorts a non-starter for creators in Russia.
• Kling, Runway, Grok, and others are accessible to many, but payments with Russian cards usually don't go through. Online guides on “how to pay from Russia” are mostly written by payment intermediaries—treat them as advertisements.
• The access situation changes quickly: check the current status yourself rather than relying on old guides.

AI Labels: How Not to Lose Reach and Monetization

YouTube

Since May 27, 2026, the AI label on YouTube has become more prominent: under the player for long-form videos and overlaid on the video itself in Shorts. If a creator doesn't disclose AI use and the system detects significant photorealistic AI, the label is applied automatically. It cannot be removed if the video was made with YouTube's built-in tools or if the file contains data indicating full generation.

AI label in Shorts, under a long-form video, and in the description. Source: YouTube

YouTube explicitly states that the label itself does not affect recommendations or revenue. What does matter is something else: since July 2026, YouTube has clarified which content is not monetizable—repetitive and formulaic content, emotionally manipulative content, and AI characters discussing health, finance, or legal topics. A channel with a lot of such content will not earn revenue.

TikTok

TikTok requires realistic AI content to be labeled. Unlabeled videos may be removed, have their reach limited, or be labeled by the platform. The platform recognizes C2PA labels and invisible watermarks: by July 2026, more than 3 billion videos had been labeled. TikTok is currently testing a slider that lets viewers choose how much AI content they see in their feed.

Instagram

The “Made with AI” label is applied based on technical metadata in the file or when disclosed by the creator. Since spring 2026, Instagram has been testing an optional “AI creator” profile label—according to Meta, it does not affect reach.

AI label on an Instagram post. Source: Meta

The takeaway for creators: don't try to hide AI use—labels will be applied automatically anyway. The danger isn't the label, but a stream of generic videos lacking any creative input.

AI Video in Brand Briefs

On Prime Oracles, brands pay for views on videos in TikTok, Shorts, and Reels. AI content is allowed in all formats, including UGC, unless the brief itself prohibits it. You can create a video entirely in a generator, assemble it from AI inserts, or film yourself and add generated shots.

What to check before publishing:

• Brief requirements. If a brand specifies “live-action content” or “no AI,” a generated video will not be accepted. If there's no such rule, you're good to go.
• The AI label on the platform. Disclose it honestly: TikTok and YouTube will detect AI automatically anyway, and an unlabeled video might get its reach limited—meaning fewer views for which the brand pays.
• Mandatory brief elements—hashtags, mentions, links—are required in an AI video just as they are in a regular one.

Learn how briefs and formats work in our article “UGC Creator: What It Is and How to Start with No Experience”.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why was Sora shut down?
OpenAI explained that its computing power was needed for more critical tasks and that the team is shifting to modeling the world for robotics. According to the American press, the service cost about $1 million a day to run, and its audience had halved.

Is Sora 2 shut down or not?
It is shut down. The app and website closed on April 26, 2026, and developer access to Sora 2 and Sora 2 Pro ended on September 24, 2026.

Can I download Sora 2 for Android?
No. The official app has been removed, and anything currently offered as “Sora 2 APK” is a fake.

What is a free alternative to Sora?
Gemini Omni within YouTube Shorts and YouTube Create, Kling's daily free credits, and trial credits from Runway and Hailuo. Free plans usually add a watermark.

Which Sora alternative works in Russia?
Google services are officially unavailable. The websites for Kling, Runway, Grok, and others are accessible to many, but payments with Russian cards usually don't go through. Check the access situation yourself.

Can you monetize AI video on YouTube?
Yes, as long as it's not repetitive, formulaic content. The AI label itself doesn't affect revenue, but YouTube does not monetize channels with mass-produced, low-effort AI content.

Does Veo 4 exist?
No. Google's latest versions are Veo 3.1 and Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash.

Sources

• What to know about the Sora discontinuation — OpenAI Help Center
• Sora 2 model deprecation — OpenAI
• Two-stage Sora shutdown — The Decoder
• Gemini Omni — Google Blog, 05/19/2026
• Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash — Google Blog, 08/27/2026
• Veo 3.1 Lite — Google Blog, 03/31/2026
• Improving our AI labels on YouTube — YouTube Blog, 05/27/2026
• YouTube channel monetization policies — YouTube Help
• TikTok's policy on AI-generated content — TikTok