Seedance vs Sora 2: Sora's API Shuts Down Sept 24
Seedance vs Sora 2 compared on per-second price, clip length and resolution, plus the shutdown date that ends Sora 2 API access on 24 September 2026.
Seedance vs Sora 2 is a comparison with an expiry date attached to one side. OpenAI's deprecations page lists 24 September 2026 as the removal date for the Videos API and for every sora-2 alias and snapshot, and the Recommended replacement column beside each of those rows is empty. The consumer products went first: the Sora web and app experiences were discontinued on 26 April 2026. As of 11 September 2026 that leaves thirteen days of API access.
That timing shapes the comparison. The practical question is what a working Sora 2 integration becomes after the removal date, and which numbers move when it changes.
Seedance vs Sora 2 at a glance
| Seedance 2.5 | Sora 2 and Sora 2 Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Available | Videos API and all sora-2 models removed 24 Sept 2026 |
| Vendor-named replacement | Not applicable | None; the deprecation table lists --- |
| 720p rate per second | $0.266824, generation only | $0.10 on sora-2, $0.30 on sora-2-pro |
| 1080p rate per second | $0.461856, generation only | $0.70, sora-2-pro only |
| Single-pass clip length | 4 to 30 s, default 5 | 4, 8 or 12 s per the API reference; the guide says 16 and 20 |
| Longest finished video | 30 s | 120 s, via up to six extensions |
| Top resolution | 1080p, with no 4K tier | 1080p on sora-2-pro |
| Reference images | Up to 30 per request | Reusable character references |
| Audio | Synced speech, effects and music, on by default | Synced audio |
What happens to Sora 2 on 24 September 2026
OpenAI notified developers on 24 March 2026 and now carries a banner on the video generation guide saying the Sora 2 models and Videos API shut down on 24 September 2026. Every endpoint in the video resource reference is labelled Deprecated, the sora-2 model page shows a Legacy badge, and its default snapshot sora-2-2025-12-08 shows Deprecated.
The replacement column deserves a second look: OpenAI's deprecation tables usually name a migration target. For all six affected entries, Videos API included, that cell reads ---, and no successor video model appears in the model catalogue or the changelog. Code still calling POST /v1/videos after that date needs a different vendor, not a different model string from the same one. ChatGPT is not a fallback: its pricing page lists no Sora row and no video generation row at any tier.
Price: Sora 2 is cheaper at 720p, Seedance at 1080p
Sora 2 bills per second by resolution. The base sora-2 model has exactly one tier, 720p at $0.10 per second. Everything above belongs to sora-2-pro: $0.30 at 720p, $0.50 at 1024p, $0.70 at 1080p. The Batch tab halves those to $0.05, $0.15, $0.25 and $0.35.
Seedance 2.5 bills $0.118589 at 480p, $0.266824 at 720p and $0.461856 at 1080p for generation-only work. Attaching a reference video lowers the rate to $0.071153, $0.160094 and $0.275904, because those jobs bill input duration as well as output.
The ranking flips by tier. At 720p, sora-2 is roughly two and a half times cheaper, and that is the honest result: ten seconds costs about $1.00 against about $2.67. At 1080p it reverses, since only sora-2-pro reaches that tier and charges $0.70 per second, putting ten seconds at about $7.00 against about $4.62. One caveat on currency: OpenAI's pricing page writes bare $ and the string USD appears nowhere on it.
Clip length, and how each model gets past its ceiling
Seedance 2.5 generates 4 to 30 seconds in a single pass, default 5, and multiple shots can sit inside one generation. Sending duration: -1 lets the model choose, but it reserves credits at the 30-second cap and refunds the difference afterwards, which can return a 402 on a thin balance.
Sora 2's documented ceiling depends on which OpenAI page you read. The API reference for the create method lists allowed values: 4, 8, 12 with a default of 4 seconds. The video generation guide says both sora-2 and sora-2-pro support 16- and 20-second generations, and the 12 March 2026 changelog describes the same expansion. Both are first-party OpenAI pages and the contradiction is unresolved in public. The extend endpoint disagrees with itself on a single page too: the field description allows 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20, while the enumeration printed under it lists only 4, 8 and 12.
Sora 2 goes further on total length. Each extension adds up to 20 seconds, a video can be extended six times, and the guide puts the maximum at 120 seconds. Seedance stops at 30 seconds per generation and chains segments beyond that. The extension path is also on the removal list.
Resolution, and a second place the docs disagree
Seedance 2.5 outputs 480p, 720p or 1080p, default 720p. There is no 4K tier, whatever pre-release tables still claim.
Sora 2's create endpoint accepts 720x1280, 1280x720, 1024x1792 and 1792x1024, defaulting to 720x1280. The 1080p sizes, 1920x1080 and 1080x1920, are priced on the pricing page and described in the guide, yet missing from that enumeration. Batch is a third inconsistency: the sora-2 model page's endpoint matrix says Batch is not supported, while the pricing page publishes Batch rates and the changelog announces Batch support for POST /v1/videos. Taken with the removal date, that is reason to pin behaviour with a test rather than trust any single page.
Reference material, audio and what does not port
Seedance 2.5 takes up to 30 reference images, up to 10 reference video clips of 2 to 30 seconds each capped at 30 seconds combined, and up to 10 reference audio tracks. Images and audio add no billable seconds. Reference video does, and any request carrying video bills a floor of five thirds of the output duration, so a two-second source with a five-second output bills nine seconds. Audio generation defaults to on, covering speech, effects and music in mono. Failed jobs are refunded in full, and media inputs must be public HTTP(S) URLs.
Sora 2's equivalents are reusable character references, video extensions and edits, all carried on the same removal schedule as the base endpoint. A port has to rebuild character consistency on a different mechanism rather than translate a parameter.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Sora 2 API still available?
Until 24 September 2026. OpenAI lists that date for the Videos API and for sora-2, sora-2-pro, sora-2-2025-10-06, sora-2-2025-12-08 and sora-2-pro-2025-10-06. The consumer web and app versions were discontinued on 26 April 2026.
Which is cheaper, Seedance 2.5 or Sora 2?
It depends on the tier. At 720p, sora-2 at $0.10 per second undercuts Seedance's $0.266824. At 1080p, Seedance's $0.461856 undercuts sora-2-pro at $0.70.
What did OpenAI recommend migrating to?
Nothing. The Recommended replacement column reads --- for every affected row, and no successor video model appears in the catalogue or the changelog.
Does either model output 4K?
No. Seedance 2.5 caps at 1080p, and Sora 2's highest priced tier is 1080p on sora-2-pro.
The short version
Seedance vs Sora 2 stops being a normal model comparison on 24 September 2026, when the Videos API and every sora-2 variant are removed with no replacement named. Until then Sora 2 is genuinely cheaper at 720p and reaches 120 seconds through chained extensions, which Seedance cannot match at 30 seconds per pass. Above 720p the price advantage flips, and Seedance keeps working the following week. If the pipeline has to move anyway, size the change at the resolution you actually deliver rather than at the tier that flatters either side.
