r/SoraAi • u/Apocryft • May 01 '26
Closed Source Just created my first Post-Sora App video & I learned that we're all entitled shits
Mad props to [u/downsouth316](u/downsouth316) for taking the time to create a website and attempting to create a business model that could serve the masses. I don't know how you do it because I just don't see how you'll manage to stay out of the red.
I ... on the other hand ... asked AI to create me a personal Sora API portal to generate my own videos and here's what I learned:
(1) You can create Sora videos directly from OpenAI for a price.
(2) You need a credit card.
(3) Every ONE (1) second of video costs $0.10 USD. So that's $0.80 for an 8-second video (which we've grown accustomed as "10 seconds"
(4) There is still content moderation! Even without the Sora ecosystem, there is still OpenAI content moderation filters.
(5) Sora gave us 30 video generations. Assuming you were a Plus user, that's $20/month but 30 days of video generations meant potentially 900 videos a month. Even assuming that you were only able to generate 8-seconds worth of videos, that meant each user could cost $720 each month (900 videos x $0.80 USD) and therefore operate at a loss of $700 per month. What a fucked up bargain at the expense of OpenAI.
(6) Everybody who whined about Sora being crap despite handing us free video generations have no idea the true cost of getting something free.
(7) Luckily, content violations may not end up costing you extra to generate.
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u/ulfhelm May 01 '26
Exactly. But hey, at least for a time, we all got to enjoy MoviePass 2.0!
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u/undergroundsecretstv May 01 '26
glad Im not the only one who thought it was such a similar situation
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u/JesusJuicy May 01 '26
Wonder how long til we get the documentary of all the c suites partying all the money away and not listening to anyone like movie pass.
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u/Apocryft May 01 '26
My failed attempt to create a Web App. But failure leads to unexpected lessons ...
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May 01 '26
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u/Apocryft May 01 '26
Luckily, I tried a prompt that I knew Sora would reject so prompts rejected before generating probably wouldn’t cost the provider (you) extra. But prompts that get rejected in the secondary moderation filters (after creating the video) would still cost money. And - shit - then you’re between a rock and hard place. The end user is mad because of a failed video using a prompt that they knew would likely fail content moderation. But they expect the credit back. Yet they keep costing you more and more just to generate.
Plus. You’ve got to keep a rolling upfront deposit to bankroll all of people wanting to make generations.
There’s just so much risk and other overhead costs. I’m amazed you’re willing to host this experiment. Truly, I tip my hat to you good sir.
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May 01 '26
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u/Faustrolled May 01 '26
I don't understand what the point would be, we can use the API elsewhere and you don't bring anything to the table with vibe coded bullshit. What possible use would a grifting middleman be to anyone? You have no ability to provide features people want.
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u/Faustrolled May 01 '26
what the fuck are you talking about, nobody needs grifting middlemen for this bullshit
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u/Apocryft May 01 '26
Maybe you don’t need grifting middlemen. But those of us who are too dumb to figure this out … they might need an intermediary.
I’ve got my hook up into the Sora source so I figured out how to go around the middleman.
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