Image model comparison

Seedream 5.0 Lite vs Seedream 5.0 Flash

ByteDance's Seedream 5.0 Lite and ByteDance's Seedream 5.0 Flash, 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.

ByteDance

Up to −13%

Seedream5.0 Lite

Seedream 5.0 Lite

High-quality Seedream images at a lower price

from

$0.0303/image

ByteDance

Up to −16%

Seedream5.0 Flash

Seedream 5.0 Flash

The fastest, lowest-cost Seedream

from

$0.0151/image

Price

Seedream 5.0 Lite vs Seedream 5.0 Flash: price per image

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

Seedream 5.0 Lite and Seedream 5.0 Flash prices at shared tiers
Tier	Seedream 5.0 Lite	Seedream 5.0 Flash	Cheaper
1K	$0.0303/image	$0.0151/image	Seedream 5.0 Flash −50%
2K	$0.0303/image	$0.0151/image	Seedream 5.0 Flash −50%

Seedream 5.0 Lite pricing →Cheap Seedream 5.0 Lite API →Seedream 5.0 Flash pricing →Cheap Seedream 5.0 Flash API →

Specs

Side-by-side specifications

From each model's API parameters in our catalog.

Seedream 5.0 Lite vs Seedream 5.0 Flash specifications
Spec	Seedream 5.0 Lite	Seedream 5.0 Flash
Developer	ByteDance	ByteDance
Released	Jun 28, 2026	Sep 10, 2026
Tasks	Text to image, Image editing	Text to image, Image editing
Sizes	1K · 2K	1K · 2K
Edit inputs	Up to 10 images	Up to 10 images
Quality levels	—	—
Aspect ratios	8 (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	$0.0303/image (1K)	$0.0151/image (1K)
Below official price	up to 13%	up to 16%

Verdict

When to choose which

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

Choose Seedream 5.0 Lite for

The same tasks at a similar price — pick by output style; try both in the Studio.

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

Choose Seedream 5.0 Flash for

Lower price: $0.0151/image vs $0.0303/image at 1K (50% less).
Newer model (released September 10, 2026).

Seedream 5.0 Flash at a glance

Fastest — Low-latency generations
Lowest price — Cheapest Seedream
Edit & generate — Text-to-image and edits
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/bytedance/seedream-5.0-lite/text-to-image
POST /api/v1/run/bytedance/seedream-5.0-flash/text-to-image

Seedream 5.0 Lite in Studio Seedream 5.0 Flash in Studio

FAQ

Seedream 5.0 Lite vs Seedream 5.0 Flash questions

Seedream 5.0 Flash is cheaper at 2 of 2 shared tiers. 1K: Seedream 5.0 Lite $0.0303/image, Seedream 5.0 Flash $0.0151/image; 2K: Seedream 5.0 Lite $0.0303/image, Seedream 5.0 Flash $0.0151/image. Prices are live and billed per image.

Seedream 5.0 Lite: up to 2K, edits with up to 10 input images. Seedream 5.0 Flash: 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

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Seedream 5.0 Lite is developed by ByteDance; Seedream 5.0 Flash 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.