Grok Imagine Video 1.5 hits number one — and it's 86% cheaper than Sora

By: Anton Kratiuk | today, 14:18

xAI has launched Grok Imagine Video 1.5, a new image-to-video model that now sits at the top of the Image-to-Video Arena leaderboard with an Elo score of around 1,330. The timing is pointed: OpenAI shut down the Sora 2 standalone app in April 2026, leaving creators looking for alternatives. At $4.20 per minute for 720p output, Grok undercuts Sora 2 Pro's $30 per minute by 86% — and beats Google Veo on price too.

The speed win

The headline upgrade is generation time. Fast mode produces a 6-second 720p clip in 25 seconds, down from more than 40 seconds in the previous version. For AI agents running in near-real-time workflows, that difference matters. xAI also says it improved motion physics and object detail — meaning hair, fabric, and moving objects should behave more consistently rather than dissolving mid-frame. Native synchronized audio is now built in, an area where Sora always struggled, per Alici.AI.

The leaderboard win came before the full release — a Preview build beat competitors in DesignArena's blind voting, where the community judges clips without knowing which model made them. That kind of anonymous validation is harder to dismiss than a company benchmark.

Access and price

Grok Imagine Video 1.5 is available now through grok.com, X.com, and the iOS and Android apps. The free web tier works without an X Premium subscription. SuperGrok, at $30 per month, unlocks higher generation limits. API pricing runs $0.08 per second for 480p and $4.20 per minute for 720p. The AI Corner's pricing breakdown puts that in context: the equivalent Sora 2 Pro rate is $30 per minute, and Google Veo comes in at around $12 per minute for comparable quality.

The main limitation right now is resolution — 720p is the ceiling, while several competitors already offer 1080p. A Pro Mode with higher resolution is reportedly in the pipeline, but no firm date has been announced.

What's next

xAI has also rolled out Agent Mode for Grok Imagine, repositioning the tool from a simple image generator to a full creative workspace that can take a project from initial idea through to a finished video. A developer-focused Grok Build beta — with a command-line interface — launched alongside the video update.

With Sora's consumer app gone and Grok now accessible for free, the competitive pressure on Google and Runway has shifted. Speed and price are xAI's current advantages; whether 720p is good enough for professional use is the question that will determine how far this goes.