Video model · ByteDance Seed

Seedance 2.5 review: specs, price and test results

Available · API China · Volcano Engine 4K announced, not live Specs checked 29 Oct 2026

Our verdict

Our full verdict comes after our first video round. Until then: it ranks #1 for image to video on the Artificial Analysis arena and accepts the most reference files of any model we track.

Where it ranks in our tests

Image to video from a reference testing Same character across shots testing Short drama (短剧) testing Comic drama (漫剧) testing Product ad, 9:16 testing Realistic human video testing

Specs

Maker ByteDance Seed (Dreamina Seedance 2.5)

Released Unveiled 23 Jun 2026; API from about mid July

Clip length Up to 30 s in a single pass

Reference inputs Up to 50: 30 images, 10 videos, 10 audio files

Frames First and last frame control

Audio Native audio in 10+ languages

Editing Region repaint (edit one area, keep the rest)

Resolution (live) 480p and 720p on the API we checked; 4K planned

Where to use it Volcano Engine (China), Dreamina (global), API resellers

Public leaderboards

Image to video (AA)

Elo 1148

Text to video (AA)

Elo 1156

Artificial Analysis video arenas (with audio), fetched 29 Oct 2026.

Announced but not live yet

Native 4K is listed as planned; the API we checked offers 480p and 720p. We found no source confirming 10 bit colour. We'll update this the day it ships.

Compare with

Seedance 2.5 vs Kling 4.0 Launched 15 Oct · 30 s · Omni Reference Seedance 2.5 vs Wan 3.0 #1 on Artificial Analysis, text to video Seedance 2.5 vs MiniMax H3 Up to 15 s · 9 reference images Seedance 2.5 vs Gemini Omni 1.1 Flash Replaced Veo 3.1 Preview · #1 on Arena, text to video