# Seedream: ByteDance's image model — 4.5, 5.0 Lite and Pro

> Seedream is the family of image models from ByteDance Seed. Seedream 4.5 (December 2025) makes frames up to 4K and holds up to 10 references, 5.0 Lite (February 13, 2026) thinks before it generates and looks up information on the web, and 5.0 Pro (July 8, 2026) lays out complex designs, splits the picture into layers and writes text in 10+ languages. All three versions are in the AI2Face generator.

Developer: ByteDance Seed · Released: 2026-07-08 · Updated 2026-09-30
URL: https://ai2face.com/models/seedream

## Key facts

| | |
|---|---|
| Developer | ByteDance Seed |
| Versions | Seedream 4.5 (December 3, 2025), 5.0 Lite (February 13, 2026), 5.0 Pro (July 8, 2026) |
| What it does | Generates and edits images from text and references |
| Resolution | 4.5 — up to 4K; 5.0 Pro — up to 2K |
| References | 4.5 — up to 10; in AI2Face, 5.0 Lite — up to 14, 5.0 Pro — up to 10 |
| Text in the image | 5.0 Pro — more than 10 languages, including Arabic right to left |
| Features | 5.0 Lite — reasoning and web search; 5.0 Pro — layers, edits by coordinates and color codes |
| In AI2Face | All three versions in the generator |

## What is Seedream

Seedream is the image models from the ByteDance Seed team, the same team that makes the [Seedance](/models/seedance) video models. Each version can generate a picture from text and edit it from references: replace the background, assemble a scene from several photos, transfer a style.

Seedream 4.0 launched in September 2025 and raised the maximum resolution from 2K to 4K. Seedream 4.5 (December 3, 2025) improved sharpness, character consistency, dense text and assembling a scene from many pictures — up to 10 references without losing the structure.

Seedream 5.0 arrived in parts. Lite — February 13, 2026: ByteDance says outright that the point is not resolution and speed, but “depth of thinking” — reading, understanding and drawing. Pro — July 8, 2026: the flagship for design, text and precise edits.

## What Seedream can do

**Photorealism and portraits.** Seedream 5.0 Pro, in the developer's words, reproduces light, materials and skin texture at photographic quality. The portrait in the gallery was made on the first try, with no retouching.

**Text and design.** 5.0 Pro turns data, ideas and dense text into professional layout and writes lettering in more than ten languages. The developer specifically names Arabic (right to left), Spanish diacritics, Chinese and English. The model draws Cyrillic too, but small text needs a check — the example is in Limitations.

**Reasoning and search.** Before it generates, 5.0 Lite builds the logic of the scene: according to ByteDance, the model handles tasks such as continuing a game of Go or assembling an object from parts. Web search is switched on separately and pulls in current information — useful for infographics and posters about recent events.

**Precise edits.** 5.0 Pro takes an edit by point, lasso, sketch, frame and coordinates, changes a color by HEX code or by a sample, replaces a material and splits the picture into more than 10 layers with transparency.

**Assembly from several references.** Every version combines several pictures into one scene: the person from one, the object from another, the background from a third.

## What Seedream is good for

- **Posters, covers and infographics** — 5.0 Pro, with dense layout and text.
- **Portraits and lifestyle** — photorealism from 5.0 Pro, and in AI2Face also in the character builder.
- **Product shots and ads** — 4.5 in 4K, with expensive light and reflections.
- **Concept art and illustration** — 4.5 holds scale and detail.
- **Current topics** — 5.0 Lite with web search.
- **A fallback when a Google model refuses.** Nano Banana models do not draw celebrities and brands, and they filter content more strictly. In the AI2Face generator, if a request is refused, you can run it again on Seedream.

## Seedream and its alternatives

| | Seedream 5.0 Pro | Seedream 4.5 | [Nano Banana Pro](/models/nano-banana-pro) | [Nano Banana 2](/models/nano-banana-2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Developer | ByteDance Seed | ByteDance Seed | Google DeepMind | Google DeepMind |
| Released | Jul 8, 2026 | Dec 3, 2025 | Nov 20, 2025 | Feb 26, 2026 |
| Maximum resolution | 2K | 4K | 4K | 4K |
| References in AI2Face | up to 10 | up to 10 | up to 14 | up to 14 |
| Text in the image | 10+ languages, layers | dense text | strong, translates lettering | good |
| Web search | — | — | yes | yes, and from images |
| Specialty | layers, edits by coordinates | 4K, assembly from 10 pictures | up to 5 people in the frame | speed, 0.5K–4K |

Seedream 5.0 Pro is the choice for design and layout with precise edits. Seedream 4.5 is for 4K product shots and art. Nano Banana Pro is stronger on complex scenes with several people, and Nano Banana 2 is a fast general-purpose model for most jobs.

## How to write prompts for Seedream

- **Describe the frame like a photographer:** subject, place, light, lens, materials. Seedream handles textures well — “wet stone”, “linen fabric”, “clay dust”.
- **Put text in quotes, and make it exact:** “Large headline: «ОСЕННИЙ ДЖАЗ»”. Add “all text exactly as given, no other text”.
- **For infographics, list the elements in order** and name the count outright: “eight planets in order from the Sun”.
- **For edits, say what to keep,** and only then what to change — as with any model that takes references.
- **For current topics, turn search on** in 5.0 Lite, instead of describing the event from memory.

## How to use Seedream in AI2Face

1. Open the generator and choose Seedream 4.5, 5.0 Lite or 5.0 Pro.
2. Write a prompt and, if you need them, attach references: up to 10 for 4.5 and 5.0 Pro, up to 14 for 5.0 Lite.
3. Choose the frame and the resolution: 5.0 Pro — 1K and 2K, 5.0 Lite — 2K and 4K, 4.5 — from 1K to 4K and above.
4. Start generation: the cost in credits is shown beforehand.

Seedream also works in the character builder: upload 1–3 photos of a person and get them in a new scene. If Nano Banana rejects a request because of content limits, the generator will offer to run it again on Seedream.

## Limitations

![An Autumn Jazz poster: the headline and the date are correct, and the bottom line has the typo «Вход срободный»](https://ai2face.com/_astro/text-error.BIVTEEL5_Z11mRxw.jpg "Seedream 5.0 Pro on the first try: the large Cyrillic is correct, the small line has a typo. On the second try every line is correct — that poster is in the gallery")

- **Small text.** ByteDance admits that fine text rendering still has room to grow. Large headlines come out correct; read the small lines and regenerate if there is an error.
- **Pinpoint edits.** In the developer's words, consistency of edits at the pixel level is not perfect yet: neighboring details can shift slightly.
- **5.0 Lite is a small model.** ByteDance says it still has room to grow in structural stability, realism and aesthetics.
- **5.0 Pro resolution is up to 2K.** For 4K print, take Seedream 4.5 or Nano Banana.

## Conclusions

Seedream is a strong second line next to [Nano Banana](/models/nano-banana). Choose Seedream 5.0 Pro for posters, infographics and layouts with text, especially when you need layers and precise edits. Seedream 4.5 is for 4K product shots, ads and concept art. 5.0 Lite is the fast option with reasoning and web search. For complex scenes with several people and the closest face match from photos, [Nano Banana Pro](/models/nano-banana-pro) wins more often. The main advantage in AI2Face is that every model is in one window: if one refuses or misses the style, you can test the same prompt on another right away.

## Generation examples

- Portrait of a woman with short gray hair in a terracotta shirt in a sunny pottery studio
  Prompt: `Photorealistic editorial portrait of a 40-year-old woman with short silver hair and dark brown eyes, in a terracotta linen shirt, sitting by a large window in a sunny pottery studio, clay dust in the air, natural skin with fine wrinkles, 85 mm lens, soft window light`
- An Autumn Jazz poster in Swiss style: burgundy background, orange geometric shapes and a trumpet
  Prompt: `A concert poster in a bold Swiss modernist style. Large headline in Russian: «ОСЕННИЙ ДЖАЗ». Subtitle: «Казань · 18 октября». A small line at the bottom: «Вход свободный». Deep burgundy background, geometric orange and cream shapes, a stylized trumpet, a clean grid, all text exactly as given, no other text`
- A Solar System infographic: eight planets in order from the Sun, with labels
  Prompt: `An educational infographic titled «Solar System»: eight planets in order from the Sun, labeled Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. Correct relative sizes, Saturn with rings, dark blue background, white labels, every label without errors, no other text`
- A glass perfume bottle with amber liquid on wet black stone in smoke
  Prompt: `A luxury product photo of a glass perfume bottle with amber liquid on wet black stone, water droplets on the glass, dramatic side light, soft reflections, a dark background with a light haze of smoke, high detail, commercial studio photography, no text and no logos`
- A floating island with a waterfall and a lighthouse above a sea of clouds at a pink dawn
  Prompt: `Fantasy concept art: a floating island with a waterfall and a small lighthouse above a sea of clouds at sunrise, flocks of birds, painterly but detailed, epic scale, warm pink and gold light, no text`

## FAQ

### What is Seedream?

A family of image generation models from the ByteDance Seed team, the developer of TikTok. Do not confuse it with Seedance: those are video models from the same team.

### How is Seedream 5.0 different from 4.5?

Seedream 5.0 is not about resolution and speed, but about understanding the request: 5.0 Lite reasons before it generates and looks up information on the web, 5.0 Pro lays out complex designs, splits the picture into layers and writes text in 10+ languages. Seedream 4.5 remains the fastest route to 4K.

### How is Seedream 5.0 Pro different from Lite?

Pro is the flagship for design: infographics, dense text, layers, pinpoint edits by coordinates and color codes. Lite is the smaller model: faster, with web search, but, in ByteDance's words, weaker in structural stability and aesthetics.

### Does Seedream render text in other languages?

Yes, but check small text. In our test, 5.0 Pro wrote the headline and the date in Cyrillic correctly, and made a typo in the small line on the first try.

### Is Seedream in AI2Face?

Yes. Seedream 4.5, 5.0 Lite and 5.0 Pro are available in the AI2Face generator, and the cost is shown before generation.

## Sources

- https://seed.bytedance.com/en/blog/beyond-generation-it-understands-design-introducing-seedream-5-0-pro
- https://seed.bytedance.com/en/blog/deeper-thinking-more-accurate-generation-introducing-seedream-5-0-lite
- https://seed.bytedance.com/en/seedream4_5
- https://seed.bytedance.com/en/blog/seedream-4-0-officially-released-beyond-drawing-into-imagination