What is Seedance?
Seedance is the family of AI video generation models made by ByteDance's Seed research team[1]. It turns text, images, audio and video references into short clips with sound; the current versions are Seedance 2.0 (with Fast and Mini variants) and Seedance 2.5, which makes up to 30 seconds per generation[4].
The versions
| Version | Released | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| Seedance 1.0 | Before 1.5 | Multi-shot video from text and images, up to 1080p[1] |
| Seedance 1.5 pro | 2025-12-16 | First Seedance model to generate audio and video together[2] |
| Seedance 2.0 (Fast and Mini variants on BytePlus[5]) | 2026-02-12 | Text, image, audio and video inputs; up to 9 images, 3 videos and 3 audio clips; up to 15 seconds[3] [5] |
| Seedance 2.5 | 2026-07-31 | Up to 30 images, 10 videos and 10 audio clips as references; up to 30 seconds per generation[4] |
Within the 2.0 series, BytePlus describes Seedance 2.0 as the highest quality, 2.0 Fast as the balance of cost and speed, and 2.0 Mini as the best cost performance[5]. On BytePlus, 2.0 outputs up to 4K, while Fast and Mini stop at 720p and 2.5 stops at 1080p[5] [6]. We found no "2.5 Fast" or "2.5 Mini" model on ByteDance's or BytePlus's pages[6].
What Seedance can do
- Reference-to-video. You attach pictures of characters and places, and the model keeps them. This is what makes it useful for recurring characters.
- Native audio. Dialogue, sound effects and music come out of the same render. In our renders, lines written in quotes came out lip-synced in the voice we described.
- Audio references. You can pass a song and have a character dance or sing to it. Seedance 2.5 accepts audio on its own; the 2.0 series needs an image or video alongside it[6].
- Multi-shot and one-take video. In our renders it followed a timestamped shot list well. Seedance 2.5 generates 4 to 30 seconds on BytePlus[6]; 2.0 generates 4 to 15[5].
- Many aspect ratios, including vertical 9:16 for TikTok and Shorts[5].
Its main limits: ByteDance says 2.5 still has room to improve on the physical plausibility of complex motion[4], and BytePlus does not accept directly uploaded reference images that contain real human faces[7]. In our own work the copyright filter was the bigger practical limit; see why Seedance blocks videos.
Where you can use it
- Dreamina, CapCut's AI creation site, offers Seedance 2.5, 2.0 and 2.0 Mini with free daily credits[10]. See is Dreamina free.
- CapCut rolled Seedance 2.0 out to paid users first, starting in some markets[11].
- BytePlus ModelArk, ByteDance's cloud API, sells it by tokens after you buy a resource pack[9].
- API resellers such as fal, Replicate and Atlas Cloud sell it per second, and video apps such as Runway include Seedance 2.5 in paid plans[12].
- Jimeng AI and Doubao in China were the first places 2.5 rolled out[4].
Step-by-step routes are in how to use Seedance, prices in how much Seedance costs, and our first-hand notes in the Seedance field guide.
Where Cast fits
- You want Seedance character videos on a phone without any account: Cast runs Seedance 2.0 Fast at 720p for Standard and Seedance 2.5 at 1080p for Pro, and writes the full Seedance prompt from your one line.
- You want to see what Seedance does before paying: the first 5-second video is free with no sign-up.
Where it does not:
- Uploading your own photo, video or song as a reference: Cast sends only its own character images.
- Direct API access, 4K, or clips longer than 15 seconds.
People also ask
- Who makes Seedance?
- ByteDance's Seed team[1]. CapCut and its Dreamina site carry it as "Dreamina Seedance 2.0"[11], and BytePlus, ByteDance's cloud, sells the API.
- Is Seedance 2.5 better than Seedance 2.0?
- It takes more references and makes longer clips: 30 seconds and 50 reference assets against 15 seconds and 15 assets for 2.0[6]. At 720p it costs about twice as much per 5-second clip as 2.0 Fast on BytePlus[8]. We compare them in Seedance 2.0 Fast vs 2.5.
- Is Seedance open source?
- We found no open weights for Seedance 2.0 or 2.5 on the ByteDance Seed or BytePlus pages we read[5]; access is through apps and paid APIs.
- Does Seedance make sound?
- Yes. Since Seedance 1.5 pro it generates audio and video together[2], including dialogue and sound effects.
Sources
Claims about other companies come from their own pages, read on the date shown. Products and prices change; check the link for the current version.
- ByteDance Seed: Seedance (read )
- ByteDance Seed: Seedance 1.5 pro launch (read )
- ByteDance Seed: Seedance 2.0 official launch (read )
- ByteDance Seed: Introducing Seedance 2.5 (read )
- BytePlus ModelArk: Seedance 2.0 (read )
- BytePlus ModelArk: Seedance 2.5 (read )
- BytePlus ModelArk: Seedance portrait asset guide (read )
- BytePlus ModelArk: model pricing (read )
- BytePlus ModelArk: Seedance resource pack rules (read )
- Dreamina: home page (read )
- CapCut newsroom: Dreamina Seedance 2.0 (read )
- Runway: pricing (read )
Related answers
- How do I use Seedance?
- Is Seedance free to use?
- Seedance 2.0 Fast vs Seedance 2.5: which should I use?
- How much does Seedance cost per video?
- Seedance 2.0 vs Kling 3: which is better for character videos?
- Is Dreamina free?
Part of the Cast answers library (Seedance).
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