Seedream AI Image Model: 4.5 and 5.0 Lite for Ads

Seedream is the family of image models from ByteDance, the company behind TikTok and CapCut. Genly offers two versions: Seedream 4.5 and Seedream 5 Lite. This page covers what they can do for your ads, what they cost and when another model is the better pick. Status: September 2026.

Short answer: Seedream is ByteDance's AI image model. Seedream 4.5 (December 2025) and 5.0 Lite (February 2026) create images up to 4K at a flat price per image and, according to ByteDance, are strong at typography, posters and product visuals. Officially they only understand Chinese and English prompts; in Genly you generate them from text for 2 credits per image.

What is Seedream?

Seedream comes from ByteDance's Seed team, which also makes the Seedance video model. The key versions:

• Seedream 4.0, released in September 2025.
• Seedream 4.5, available since 3 December 2025 through BytePlus ModelArk, ByteDance's business AI platform.
• Seedream 5.0 Lite, announced on 13 February 2026, with more "world knowledge" and reasoning.
• Seedream 5.0 Pro, since July 2026, focused on design and editing, but capped at 2K.

On the LMArena text-to-image leaderboard (24 September 2026), Seedream 4.5 scores 1147 and 5.0 Lite 1138. That is well below GPT Image 2.5 (up to 1424) and Nano Banana 2 (1261). ByteDance is candid about 5.0 Lite: "a relatively small model, and there is still room for improvement in structural stability, realism, and aesthetics."

Seedream 4.5 and 5.0 Lite specs

Source: the BytePlus API reference. Note that 5.0 Lite topped out at 3K at launch, so older articles do not mention 4K. ByteDance publishes no official generation times for these two versions.

Strengths and weaknesses for ads

Typography and posters. According to the Seedream 4.5 product page, the model improves "typography and dense text rendering", offers "clear and readable small text rendering" and targets "posters, brand visuals". Put the text that must appear in double quotation marks, advises the BytePlus prompt guide.

Product visuals. ByteDance lists e-commerce style product images as a use case and says 4.5 "strictly preserves" the details of reference images. The API accepts up to 14 references.

Series. Seedream can create a series of up to 15 related images in one request, for example the same scene in several variations. That feature is not in Genly; you use it through the API.

Other languages. The docs only mention Chinese and English prompts, and ByteDance says nothing about text in other languages. Write your prompt in English, and add non-English headlines afterwards if accuracy matters.

Realism. On independent leaderboards both versions score below the OpenAI and Google models. For photorealistic people, Seedream is not the first choice.

Pricing and access

• API: through BytePlus ModelArk, Seedream 4.5 costs $0.04 per image and 5.0 Lite $0.035, regardless of resolution. Images blocked by content moderation are not billed (pricing).
• Watermark: the API adds a visible "AI-generated" watermark in the lower-right corner by default. You can switch it off.
• Consumer apps: according to ByteDance, 5.0 Lite runs on Dreamina by CapCut, among others. Exactly which countries have access is not officially documented.

Using Seedream in Genly

In Genly you pick Seedream 4.5 or Seedream 5 Lite in My Projects or per image block in GenFlow:

• Resolution: 2K or 4K.
• Aspect ratios: 9:16, 1:1, 16:9, 4:3, 3:4, 2:3 and 3:2.
• Cost: 2 credits per image. See the pricing page for what a credit costs.
• References: in Genly, Seedream works from text only. If your own product must appear exactly, use GPT Image 2.5 or Nano Banana 2 with your product photo as a reference.

In Genly, Seedream is therefore most useful for mood images, backgrounds, seasonal visuals and concepts. Unsure which version to pick? Both cost the same in Genly. 5.0 Lite is newer with more world knowledge, while 4.5 scores slightly higher on LMArena. Run the same prompt on both and choose by result.

Prompt examples for static ads

Four examples with our demo brand Tropical Elixir, a tropical juice. Because Seedream gets no product photo in Genly, you describe the scene yourself.

1. A backdrop for your product photo

Vertical 9:16 empty product stage: a round coral-pink podium on a pale turquoise background, surrounded by large tropical leaves and scattered mango and passion fruit halves, soft shadows, bright studio light. Leave the centre of the podium completely empty. No text, no bottle, no people.

Then use this image together with your product photo as references in GPT Image 2.5 or Nano Banana 2.

2. Poster with bold typography

Square 1:1 summer poster in a bold retro print style. Big layered headline "TROPICAL ELIXIR" in chunky rounded letters at the top, and the smaller line "Summer Edition" below it. Illustrated sun, palm leaves and fruit slices in orange, coral and deep green. Flat colours, subtle paper grain. No other text.

This plays to Seedream's typography. Keep the text short and in English.

3. Ingredients up close

Horizontal 16:9 macro photograph of freshly cut mango, pineapple and passion fruit on wet dark slate, droplets of juice catching warm side light, shallow depth of field, rich saturated colours. No text, no logos.

A mouth-watering banner or carousel background.

4. Mood shot for a story

Vertical 9:16 lifestyle photo: a young woman seen from behind walks along a sunny North Sea beach at golden hour, holding a glass bottle of orange juice with a plain label, dune grass in the foreground, soft warm light, natural film look. Leave the top third calm for a headline. No text.

The bottle here is generic; your real label only appears when you switch to a model that uses your product photo.

Image models in Genly compared

Choose Seedream for mood images, backgrounds and posters with short English text, generated from a description alone. When your own product or a persona must appear exactly, GPT Image 2.5 is better for text and edits, and Nano Banana 2 for combining many reference images.

Frequently asked questions