Seedream 5.0 Lite
Seedream 5.0 Lite is the fast, cheaper tier of ByteDance's Seedream 5.0, released on 13 August 2026 about five weeks after Pro. It costs a flat $0.035 per image on fal, outputs at 2K, 3K or 4K, and takes up to ten reference images on its edit endpoint.
Anvisha Pai, Co-founder & CEO, ModaTested ByteDance · released
›What we asked for
A self-portrait of Seedream 5.0 Lite, ByteDance's fast image model, as a kawaii sticker sheet: a dozen cute die-cut stickers of a cloud character in different moods, thick white borders, pastel palette, glossy highlights, one sticker reading '5.0 Lite'.
fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v5/lite/text-to-image
image_size: {"width":2048,"height":1536}, num_images: 1
returned 2560 by 1920 pixels
At a glance
- Price
- A flat $0.035 per image on fal, about half of Pro.
- Sizes
- 2K, 3K or 4K; the minimum is larger than most models' maximum, so every sample below is 2K.
- Reference images
- Up to ten on the edit endpoint.
- Speed
- The fast tier; our run puts a number on it under the samples.
- Multiple outputs
- A max_images setting lets one request return several related pictures.
Other Seedream models: Seedream 5.0 Pro, Seedream 4.5. Compare all 3.
Anvisha's take
Lite is fast for a 2K model and half the price of Pro, and the sticker-sheet self-portrait is exactly what I would use it for: cheerful, repeatable, cheap. On the fixed prompts it was less convincing. The poster is correct but sits in the top fifth of an otherwise empty canvas, the edit redrew the dripper with a tiny ring for a handle, and the ice count was off. It is a volume model; use it like one.
Seedream 5.0 Lite real output: the same 12 prompts every model gets
Every model on this site gets the same 12 prompts, so you can compare like with like. These are the pictures Seedream 5.0 Lite returned, one try each, nothing re-rolled or retouched. Generated on . The 12 pictures took 23 to 39 seconds each and cost $0.42 in total.
Spelling, kerning and hierarchy of three lines of set text.
›What we asked for
A concert poster that reads 'MODA SUMMER SESSIONS' in large bold type, with the subtitle 'Friday 12 June, 8pm, Roundhouse' and a smaller line 'Tickets at the door'. Risograph style, two colours, tangerine and navy, grainy ink texture.
fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v5/lite/text-to-image
image_size: {"width":1536,"height":2048}, num_images: 1
returned 1920 by 2560 pixels
Catalogue lighting, a clean seamless background and a believable contact shadow.
›What we asked for
Studio product photograph of a matte black ceramic pour-over coffee dripper on a seamless white background, soft top light, subtle contact shadow, centred, catalogue style.
fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v5/lite/text-to-image
image_size: {"width":2048,"height":2048}, num_images: 1
returned 2048 by 2048 pixels
A natural face, correct finger count and hands holding an object.
›What we asked for
Close-up portrait of a woman in her 40s with short grey hair, laughing, holding a red ceramic mug with both hands, natural window light, 85mm lens, shallow depth of field.
fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v5/lite/text-to-image
image_size: {"width":1536,"height":2048}, num_images: 1
returned 1920 by 2560 pixels
A flat single-colour mark with a legible wordmark and no gradients or photo texture.
›What we asked for
A flat vector logo mark for a bicycle repair shop called 'Spoke & Chain': a single-colour icon combining a chain link and a wheel spoke, with the wordmark below in a geometric sans-serif, black on white.
fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v5/lite/text-to-image
image_size: {"width":2048,"height":2048}, num_images: 1
returned 2048 by 2048 pixels
Many distinct objects and people in one frame without merging or duplicating them.
›What we asked for
A crowded Saturday farmers market seen from slightly above: at least twelve stalls with striped awnings, shoppers carrying tote bags, a dog on a leash, crates of oranges, a musician with a guitar, bunting overhead, late morning light.
fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v5/lite/text-to-image
image_size: {"width":2048,"height":1536}, num_images: 1
returned 2560 by 1920 pixels
A named historical style applied faithfully rather than a generic painterly look.
›What we asked for
A lighthouse on a rocky cliff during a storm, in the style of a Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock print, with visible wood grain texture, flat colour areas and a bokashi gradient sky.
fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v5/lite/text-to-image
image_size: {"width":1536,"height":2048}, num_images: 1
returned 1920 by 2560 pixels
Six labelled bars at the stated heights, in order, with readable axes.
›What we asked for
A clean bar chart titled 'Monthly active users' showing six months, January through June, with the values 120, 150, 180, 170, 220 and 260, labelled axes, white background, one accent colour, no 3D effects.
fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v5/lite/text-to-image
image_size: {"width":2048,"height":1536}, num_images: 1
returned 2560 by 1920 pixels
A 21:9 composition that leaves the left third clear for headline text.
›What we asked for
Website hero banner: a wide panorama of a sunlit modern co-working space with plants, the left third of the frame kept as clear wall space for text, warm neutral palette.
fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v5/lite/text-to-image
image_size: {"width":2688,"height":1152}, num_images: 1
returned 4480 by 1920 pixels
Four numbered steps in the given order with their exact wording, plus an icon each.
›What we asked for
An infographic card titled 'How to brew pour-over' with four numbered steps in this order: 1. Rinse the filter, 2. Bloom for 30 seconds, 3. Pour in slow circles, 4. Wait 3 minutes. A simple icon beside each step, muted palette, clean sans-serif type.
fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v5/lite/text-to-image
image_size: {"width":1536,"height":2048}, num_images: 1
returned 1920 by 2560 pixels
Appetising, menu-grade food with correct textures and no melted anatomy.
›What we asked for
Overhead photograph of a margherita pizza on a wooden board, fresh basil leaves, one slice pulled out with the cheese stretching, restaurant menu photography, natural light.
fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v5/lite/text-to-image
image_size: {"width":2048,"height":2048}, num_images: 1
returned 2048 by 2048 pixels
Exact counts and left-right placement of five named objects.
›What we asked for
A glass of water on a wooden table with exactly three ice cubes in it, a yellow pencil resting across the rim of the glass, a blue book to the left of the glass and a red apple to the right, photographed from table height.
fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v5/lite/text-to-image
image_size: {"width":2048,"height":1536}, num_images: 1
returned 2560 by 1920 pixels
Change one object's colour and add a part while leaving background, light and framing untouched.
›What we asked for
Change the coffee dripper to a deep forest green and add a small brass handle on its right side. Keep the background, lighting and composition exactly as they are. (applied to the product on white result above)
fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v5/lite/edit
image_size: {"width":2048,"height":2048}, num_images: 1
returned 2048 by 2048 pixels
How the cost under each picture was worked out: fal unit price, 0.035 USD per image, read from fal's pricing API at run time.
Seedream 5.0 Lite pricing
| Where | Unit | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| fal | Image Flat per image, read from fal's pricing API at run time. | $0.035 | fal model page, read |
Is Seedream 5.0 Lite free?
ByteDance's consumer apps, Dreamina (CapCut's creative app) and Doubao in China, generate with Seedream and give free daily credits. The API, through Volcano Engine, BytePlus and hosts like fal, is paid per image.
- •Dreamina: free daily credits for images and video, Seedream 5.0 Pro as the flagship model and 5.0 Lite as the fast option.
- •Doubao and Jimeng: ByteDance's China apps, free with limits.
- •API and hosts: pay per image.
Dreamina, read
Where to use Seedream 5.0 Lite
- Dreamina · ByteDance's consumer app, free daily credits.
- BytePlus ModelArk · ByteDance's API for international customers.
- fal · Per-image pricing, generate and edit endpoints.
- Moda · Available inside the Moda design agent as Seedream V5 Lite.
Generate with Seedream 5.0 Lite in Moda
Pick Seedream 5.0 Lite in the Moda design agent, then edit the result as vectors, text and layers rather than a flat image.
Open Moda →What we noticed running Seedream 5.0 Lite
- •All three lines correct, then nothing: the text occupies the top fifth and the rest of the sheet is texture. Composition is not its instinct. See the text in an image picture.
- •Edits are re-draws. Green arrived, but the brass handle became a small ring and the body lost its fluting. See the edit an existing image picture.
- •Pencil across the rim, book left, apple right, and four or five ice cubes rather than three. See the hard composition picture.
- •Every picture is 2K or larger because the endpoint's minimum is 2560 by 1440 pixels in total; our 21:9 banner came back at 4480 by 1920.
- •23 to 39 seconds per picture, median 36, at a flat $0.035.
- •The self-portrait sticker sheet wrote '5.0 Lite' on a sign, correctly, which is the only text it was asked for.
Seedream 5.0 Lite limits and API parameters
| Limit | Value |
|---|---|
| Output size | At least 2560 by 1440 pixels in total, up to 4096 by 4096. fal API reference, read |
| Reference images | Up to 10 per edit. fal API reference, read |
›Every setting, for developers
fal (fal-ai/bytedance/seedream/v5/lite/text-to-image)
fal API reference, read
| Parameter | Type | Values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| prompt | string | Any text Required. | |
| image_size | enum or object | square_hd, square, portrait_4_3, portrait_16_9, landscape_4_3, landscape_16_9, auto_2K, auto_3K, auto_4K, or {width, height} | auto_2K |
| num_images | integer | 1 or more | 1 |
| max_images | integer | 1 or more Above 1 enables multi-image generation. | 1 |
| enable_safety_checker | boolean | true, false | true |
| image_urls | list of URLs | Up to 10 Edit endpoint only. |
What Seedream 5.0 Lite will not draw
ByteDance's models run behind fal's safety checker, on by default and only switchable off with account authorisation, and under fal's partner terms for commercial use. ByteDance publishes its own content rules for Dreamina and the BytePlus API; the practical boundaries are sexual content, minors, violence and deceptive depictions of real people. Outputs from the consumer apps carry an AI-generated label.
fal API reference, read
Alternatives to Seedream 5.0 Lite
Frequently asked questions
What is Seedream 5.0 Lite?
Seedream 5.0 Lite is the fast tier of ByteDance's Seedream 5.0, released on 13 August 2026, at a flat $0.035 per image on fal with 2K to 4K output.
Lite or Pro?
Lite for volume and drafts, Pro when the picture has text or a dense layout. Both pages run the same twelve prompts.
How this page is made
Prices, limits and settings are read from the linked vendor and host pages on the dates shown. Every picture was generated by us through fal with the request shown under it, and the original files are kept unedited. A generation that failed is shown as a failure. Model and vendor names are used to identify the products; no vendor imagery appears on this page.
