Short answer
As of November 10, 2026, Sora does not have a current video-generation wait time you can use for production planning. OpenAI says it discontinued the Sora web and app experiences on April 26, 2026, and the Sora API on September 24, 2026. So even if you find an older estimate or user-reported wait, it does not establish how long a currently available Sora service will take. (help.openai.com)
I found no official published typical generation-time range or latency commitment in the official material reviewed. That means there is no well-supported number to give for how many seconds or minutes Sora takes to return a video. This is separate from clip length: a video’s playback duration is not the time spent waiting for it to generate.
Does any Sora timing estimate apply to a production API?
No current Sora API timing estimate applies to a production integration: OpenAI’s API documentation says the Videos API and Sora 2 video-generation model aliases and snapshots were scheduled for removal on September 24, 2026. That date has passed. OpenAI’s Help Center also lists the API as discontinued. (help.openai.com)
Older information about Sora’s consumer experience or API may describe a different product, model, or period. Don’t use it as a present-day production latency benchmark. The official announcement introducing Sora 2 described the model and product, but OpenAI’s page now states that Sora is no longer available. (openai.com)
What should production teams measure instead?
If you’re evaluating a different video-generation service, measure that service directly rather than carrying over a Sora estimate. For each test request, record:
- Start time: when your application submits the request.
- Ready time: when the completed video is available to your application.
- Elapsed time: ready time minus start time.
Repeat across representative prompts and settings, then compare typical and slow runs. This is a measurement method—not a Sora benchmark, an OpenAI performance claim, or a test performed for this article. Confirm that the chosen service is currently available and that its documentation supports your intended production use before relying on the results.
Sources
What to know about the Sora discontinuation — OpenAI Help Center