The short answer
Pick Google Veo for the most realistic video, especially for ads, b-roll and anything with physical action. Pick Sora if the point is putting yourself, or a friend, into the video. That was Sora 2's real leap.
We tested this more than most comparisons on the show. Over five months in 2025 we discussed Sora's quality three times and ran one direct side-by-side, and Veo came out ahead every time.
What we built with each
Sora
- Sora 2 API video generator: Jordan's internal tool to make horizontal or vertical videos, pick a length, add a reference image and remove the Sora watermark. He noted reference images had to be an exact size and long prompts sometimes failed (Episode 17, at 03:34).
- Cameo videos: on Sora 2's first day Jordan showed clips of himself tanning leather, on an oil rig, skydiving and racing Formula One, plus a live clip of a black Labrador making sushi in a chef's hat (Episode 15).
Jordan explained a naming point that confuses people: Sora 2 is both OpenAI's video social app and the model you can call through the API, which is why he built his own tool on it. What excited him most was continuity. He called Sora 2 "kinda the first time we've seen video continuity": you film your face turning left and right, then drop yourself into any scene (Episode 15, at 13:24).
Veo
- Ryz Labs Video Studio: built because our social team kept asking for Veo 3 access (Episode 1).
- AI compliance training and certification platform: every scenario video made with Veo 3.1 Fast, 60 to 70% right on the first pass (Episode 20).
- Trick-or-treat AI costume builder: Veo 3.1 Fast animated each costume photo (Episode 18).
Head-to-head
The direct test came in Episode 17. Jordan ran the same prompt, two capybaras hosting Built This Week who say like and subscribe and then something funny happens, through his Sora 2 tool and through Veo 3.1 Fast in our video studio:
We'll add it to our assets, and, you know, we'll share it back. But honestly, I thought the Veil 3.1 was better.
— Jordan Metzner, Episode 17
("Veil" is the transcript's spelling of Veo.) He added that Veo's capybaras "look super real. That would take a ton of CGI," while "on the Sora one, they don't look as real, but still, I mean, pretty good."
Where each one fell short
Sora. Before Sora 2, quality. In Episode 1 Jordan said Sora "made some big rumblings, but, know, the quality of it has not been that great," and in Episode 10 it was "certainly not as nearly as good as the Veo three Fast." With Sora 2, the problem was physics: Sam's active scenes looked off, and Jordan got a clip with three fingers. Access was limited too; Jordan was once denied because there were not enough servers. And the fun faded when you were not in the shot:
I think already I've noticed, you know, the videos are interesting because you're the star of it and less interesting when you're not the star of it.
— Jordan Metzner, Episode 15
Google Veo. Cost and speed at first. Jordan's Episode 1 math: about $6 per eight seconds and up to ten minutes per clip, so a 30-second ad with retakes could cost $60 to $100. Veo 3.1 Fast fixed much of that. Its Halloween videos still had characters mumbling instead of speaking real words.
Which one we reach for now
- June to August 2025: Veo 3 was the best video model, and nothing had beaten it.
- October 2025: Sora 2 arrived with Cameo and a social app. Sam said it "trails a little bit" behind Veo 3. Two weeks later, Veo 3.1 Fast beat it in our test. As we said on that episode, two weeks earlier everyone was talking about Sora, a few months before that it was Veo 3, and now it was Veo 3.1.
- December 2025: Jordan said Veo 3.1 was "probably in in the front spot" for video (Episode 23).
- April 2026: Jordan said OpenAI had "shut down kind of the Sora business of, like, generating content" (Episode 40, at 15:13).
Veo is our pick. Jordan planned to fold his Sora 2 tool into the main video studio as just another option, which is the right way to treat any video model: keep several side by side and test each new release. For another Veo matchup, see Seedance vs Google Veo.
FAQ
Is Veo better than Sora?
In our tests, yes. When we ran the same capybara podcast prompt through Sora 2 and Veo 3.1 Fast in October 2025, Jordan said Veo 3.1 was better and its capybaras looked more real.
What is Sora 2 better at than Veo?
Putting yourself in the video. Sora 2's Cameo feature let Jordan film his face once and then star in videos skydiving, tanning leather or on an oil rig. Sam was impressed by the facial fidelity.
How does Sora handle physics compared to Veo?
Sam found Sora 2's physics wonky compared to Veo 3 for active scenes like skateboarding and soccer, and Jordan saw a video with three fingers. Some scenes, like a trampoline jump, looked good.
Is Sora cheaper than Veo?
At launch Jordan made 10 to 15 Sora 2 videos at no cost through the invite-only app, while Veo 3 had cost us about $6 to $8 a video. Veo 3.1 Fast later became pretty inexpensive. We did not compare API prices.