Image model comparison

Qwen-Image 3.0 vs Seedream 5.0 Lite

Alibaba's Qwen-Image 3.0 and ByteDance's Seedream 5.0 Lite, side by side: price per image, image sizes, editing and aspect ratios — and when to choose which. Both run on one Cheaper Gen. API key.

Alibaba

Up to −24%

Qwen-Image3.0

Qwen-Image 3.0

Clear instruction following and stable text, at about 2 cents an image

from

$0.0227/image

ByteDance

Up to −13%

Seedream5.0 Lite

Seedream 5.0 Lite

High-quality Seedream images at a lower price

from

$0.0303/image

Price

Qwen-Image 3.0 vs Seedream 5.0 Lite: price per image

Live prices at the tiers both models offer. Official list prices are on each model's pricing page.

Qwen-Image 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite prices at shared tiers
Tier	Qwen-Image 3.0	Seedream 5.0 Lite	Cheaper
1K	$0.0227/image	$0.0303/image	Qwen-Image 3.0 −25%
2K	$0.0227/image	$0.0303/image	Qwen-Image 3.0 −25%

Qwen-Image 3.0 pricing →Cheap Qwen-Image 3.0 API →Seedream 5.0 Lite pricing →Cheap Seedream 5.0 Lite API →

Specs

Side-by-side specifications

From each model's API parameters in our catalog.

Qwen-Image 3.0 vs Seedream 5.0 Lite specifications
Spec	Qwen-Image 3.0	Seedream 5.0 Lite
Developer	Alibaba	ByteDance
Released	—	Jun 28, 2026
Tasks	Text to image, Image editing	Text to image, Image editing
Sizes	1K · 2K	1K · 2K
Edit inputs	Up to 3 images	Up to 10 images
Quality levels	—	—
Aspect ratios	7 (1:1, 4:3, 3:4, 16:9, 9:16, 3:2…)	8 (1:1, 4:3, 3:4, 16:9, 9:16, 3:2…)
Starting price	$0.0227/image (1K)	$0.0303/image (1K)
Below official price	up to 24%	up to 13%

Verdict

When to choose which

Each point below comes from the price and spec data above.

Choose Qwen-Image 3.0 for

Lower price: $0.0227/image vs $0.0303/image at 1K (25% less).

Qwen-Image 3.0 at a glance

Flat price — Same at 1K and 2K
Stable text — Chinese & English
Editing — 1–3 input images
Fast — Seconds per image

Choose Seedream 5.0 Lite for

Edits with up to 10 input images (vs 3).
More aspect ratios: 8 vs 7.

Seedream 5.0 Lite at a glance

Lower price — Cheaper than Pro
Edit & generate — Text-to-image and edits
Up to 2K — ≈4 MP outputs
Fast turnaround — Seconds per image

Try both with the same prompt

Same API key and balance; only the endpoint changes. Failed generations are refunded.

POST /api/v1/run/alibaba/qwen-image-3.0/text-to-image
POST /api/v1/run/bytedance/seedream-5.0-lite/text-to-image

Qwen-Image 3.0 in Studio Seedream 5.0 Lite in Studio

FAQ

Qwen-Image 3.0 vs Seedream 5.0 Lite questions

Qwen-Image 3.0 is cheaper at 2 of 2 shared tiers. 1K: Qwen-Image 3.0 $0.0227/image, Seedream 5.0 Lite $0.0303/image; 2K: Qwen-Image 3.0 $0.0227/image, Seedream 5.0 Lite $0.0303/image. Prices are live and billed per image.

Qwen-Image 3.0: up to 2K, edits with up to 3 input images. Seedream 5.0 Lite: up to 2K, edits with up to 10 input images.

Yes. Both run through the same Cheaper Gen. API and balance: POST /v1/run/{endpoint} with the model's endpoint id, then poll or receive a webhook. Switching models means changing the endpoint and its input fields — no new account or SDK.

Keep comparing

Related comparisons

Qwen-Image 3.0 Pro vs Qwen-Image 3.0 Seedream 5.0 Pro vs Seedream 5.0 Lite Seedream 5.0 Lite vs Seedream 5.0 Flash

All comparisons →All AI image APIs →Cheapest image APIs →

Qwen-Image 3.0 is developed by Alibaba; Seedream 5.0 Lite by ByteDance. Cheaper Gen. provides API access to both through official upstream endpoints and does not own either model. Trademarks belong to their respective owners.