H3 Max Prompt Lab

Updated 21 September 2026 · money + migration · units, not a ranking

What does it cost to leave Sora? Veo vs Kling vs Seedance billing units

Cartoon raccoon in a purple hoodie holding a calculator beside three film clapboards and stacks of play-button coins, comparing video-generation costs without brand logos.

The expensive part of leaving Sora is not a single “Sora vs X” dollar total — those numbers go stale, and vendors do not share a meter. You leave a per-second OpenAI Videos API for Veo per-second SKUs, Kling credits or prepaid units, or Seedance tokens. Dual clock: OpenAI dies 24 Sep 2026; Foundry sora-2 2025-12-08 is listed for 15 Oct 2026. Figures below were read from official pages on 21 Sep 2026 — verify live.

Export checklist Prompt remap Foundry clock

Two clocks · OpenAI 24 Sep · Foundry 15 Oct

Leaving Sora is two calendars, then a new invoice unit

If jobs still hit POST/GET /videos on api.openai.com, the transport dies on 24 September 2026 (~3 days from today). Microsoft’s English Foundry table still lists sora-2 version 2025-12-08 to retire on 15 October 2026 with replacement —. Extra Foundry days are calendar, not a cheaper Sora SKU and not extra time for OpenAI-direct callers. Dual-clock table: Azure / Microsoft Foundry Sora-2 retirement.

Compare the meter first — then open the live price page

Do not convert “one Sora paragraph” into a single clip price. Duration caps, audio flags, resolution, retries, and whether you are on a consumer plan or an API package change the bill more than a headline rate. This table is the unit model. Check the vendor you actually pay before you commit budget.

Billing units as published on vendor pages checked 21 September 2026. Not a cheapest-vendor ranking. Host wrappers (fal and similar) add their own credits — verify there too.
Surface Meter / unit What usually moves the bill Sunset / notes
OpenAI Videos API (sora-2*) USD per generated second, by model and size Alias vs Pro, resolution, standard vs Batch Hard stop 24 Sep 2026 · no replacement column
Microsoft Foundry sora-2 2025-12-08 Azure / Foundry invoice (not the OpenAI Videos API meter) Your Azure offer, region, and portal SKU — this page will not invent it Listed retirement 15 Oct 2026 · replacement —
Google Veo (Gemini API / Cloud) USD per second of video (Gemini docs); Cloud table also lists a per-count Veo row — confirm the meter on the project you pay Standard / Fast / Lite, audio vs video-only where offered, resolution (720p / 1080p / 4K) Ongoing product. Re-check the Gemini and Cloud pricing pages.
Kling consumer (web / app) Credits plus a membership subscription Plan tier, monthly credit pool, resolution / 4K, native audio, multi-shot, retries. Subscription credits expire on a short window. Not the API wallet. Membership prices and first-month discounts move — verify on the live plan page.
Kling Open Platform API Prepaid resource units, billed per second of video (plus some per-request extras) Model SKU, 720p / 1080p / 4K, native audio, video-input. Packages expire. Consumer credits do not transfer here. Official video table lists units and a parenthetical USD. Verify live.
ByteDance Seedance (Volcengine Ark / Doubao) CNY per million tokens (not a flat per-second SKU) Whether the request includes input video, output duration and resolution (tokens scale with pixels × time), model family (2.0 vs 2.5) Third-party hosts wrap this in their own credits. Reconcile on Ark / the host console.

Dated snapshot from official pages (as of 21 Sep 2026 — verify live)

These are list units read today, not a quote and not a “leaving Sora costs $X” total. Promo rows, Batch discounts, Azure offers, and host markups are omitted on purpose. If a number disagrees with the page you pay, the page you pay wins.

As of 21 Sep 2026 — verify live. We will not invent a per-clip “Sora vs Veo vs Kling vs Seedance” dollar ranking. Failed takes, audio add-ons, 4K, and host markups dominate real spend.

What leaving actually costs besides the meter

  1. A dead transport on 24 Sep. Remaining OpenAI per-second rates are irrelevant after the Videos API shutdown. Export and inventory first — do not reprint that checklist here: Sora API sunset export checklist.
  2. A second clock on Foundry. If you only moved the same model name onto Azure, you still retire on 15 Oct 2026 with no listed replacement. That is cutover time, not a price cut. Foundry dual-clock page.
  3. Prompt grammar, not a cheaper SKU. Pasting a Sora paragraph into Veo / Kling / Seedance wastes paid seconds, credits, or tokens. Remap camera language: Sora → Seedance / Kling / Veo prompt remap.
  4. Duration and audio caps. Veo briefs on this site are often one ~8s audiovisual take. Kling and Seedance duration classes differ. A 20s Sora habit can become two or three paid jobs.
  5. Two Kling wallets. Web membership credits do not pay the Open Platform unit packages. Buying the wrong one is a common migration tax.
  6. Seedance token math. Higher resolution and longer output burn more tokens. A “per-second” spreadsheet you invent from one 5s example will be wrong at 15–30s or another resolution.

Do the operational work on the existing pages

This page is the money/unit half. It does not reprint the five-step export checklist or the camera remap blocks:

Jump to the five-step checklist Jump to remap blocks

What this page will not do

This site is independent and is not affiliated with OpenAI, Microsoft, Azure, Foundry, Google, Veo, Kuaishou, Kling, ByteDance, Seedance, MiniMax, Hailuo, or fal. Dates and list prices change — verify on the official page and the console you pay.

FAQ

Can I keep paying OpenAI Sora rates after 24 September 2026?

Not on the Videos API. OpenAI’s deprecations table lists the API and every sora-2* alias for 24 September 2026 with replacement ---. Remaining per-second list prices on the pricing page are for a product that is ending.

Does Foundry’s 15 October date make leaving cheaper?

It is extra calendar if you actually call Foundry sora-2 2025-12-08. It is not an OpenAI extension and not a published discount. Azure bills that deployment on Azure’s meter — check the portal. Dual clock: Foundry retirement.

Which is cheaper: Veo, Kling, or Seedance?

This page will not rank them. They use different units (per-second USD, credits/units, CNY tokens), different duration caps, and different retry rates. Read today’s official pricing for the host you already use, then test one remapped pipeline.

Do Kling web credits pay the Kling API?

Treat them as separate wallets. Consumer membership is credits + subscription; the Open Platform bills prepaid resource units per second. Confirm on Kling’s membership and developer pricing pages before you buy the wrong pile.

Why is Seedance not a per-second price?

Volcengine lists Doubao / Seedance video in CNY per million tokens, with a different rate when the request includes input video. Token use scales with output duration and resolution. Convert to “per second” only if the console you pay actually invoices that way.

Where do I export leftover Sora jobs and remap prompts?

Export / inventory: Sora API sunset export checklist. Camera remaps: Sora → Seedance / Kling / Veo. This page does not reprint those steps.

Sources checked 21 September 2026

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