by ByteDance
Seedream 4.5 review, pricing and verdict
The late-2025 Seedream that tightened multi-image editing and typography before the 5.0 line.
- Best for
- Catalog and campaign sets from many references
- Not for
- Best available image quality
Should you use Seedream 4.5?
Seedream 4.5, announced 3 December 2025, scores 1040 Elo for image editing on Artificial Analysis from 5,954 votes. It suits teams with an existing 4.5 integration or catalog work, and newer Seedream 5.0 and 5.5 models now replace it for quality.
Best for
- Catalog and campaign sets from many references It keeps subject details across up to 10 reference images.
- High-resolution output at flat cost BytePlus charges no extra for 4K.
Not for
- Best available image quality Newer Seedream models rank higher on the independent boards.
Can you use Seedream 4.5?
- Free plan: not published.
Checked 11 Nov against ByteDance's own pages.
Seedream 4.5 pricing
- Pricing model
- per-image
- Free tier
- No
One flat rate per generated image on the BytePlus ModelArk list, free input images, and no resolution surcharge for 4K output according to its launch post.
What Seedream 4.5 can do
Seedream 4.5 is an image model from ByteDance that BytePlus announced on 3 December 2025. It edits across up to 10 reference images, renders dense text more cleanly than 4.0 and outputs 4K without an extra resolution charge. It is proprietary and sold through BytePlus ModelArk.
What goes in and what comes out
Reads
- text
- image
Writes
- image
Capabilities
- Image editingSupported
- VisionSupported
- Audio inputNot supported
- Audio outputNot supported
- Code executionNot supported
- Function callingNot supported
- Structured outputNot supported
- Tool useNot supported
- Video inputNot supported
Key features
Multi-image editing
Identifies the main subject across many reference images and keeps their details, per BytePlus.
Typography and dense text
Renders small text and dense layouts more cleanly than 4.0, according to ByteDance.
4K output
Produces stylised and realistic 4K images with no extra charge for resolution.
Reference consistency
Preserves facial features, lighting and colour tone from a reference image during edits.
Known limitations
- It is two generations behind the newest Seedream on independent boards, so quality-first buyers should look at newer models.
- It has no web search or layer separation, which later Seedream models added.
Who it is for
- E-commerce teams producing catalog images
- Marketers building multi-image campaign sets
- Developers already integrated on the 4.5 model ID
Seedream 4.5 benchmarks
Standout result
Artificial Analysis image editing Elo, from 5,954 votes
Source: Artificial Analysis image editing leaderboard, read 11 November 2026Strengths and limits
Strengths
- Flat pricing makes cost predictable for high-resolution batches.
- BytePlus's launch post says multi-image compositions hold their structure across many reference images and targets catalog and campaign work.
- Input images are free on BytePlus, so reference-heavy edits cost only the output image.
- It accepts up to 10 reference images and keeps their details, according to BytePlus.
Show 2 more
- BytePlus describes flat pricing with no extra charge for 4K output.
- Artificial Analysis rates its editing at 1040 Elo from 5,954 votes, read on 11 November 2026.
Limits
- It ranks below the 5.0 and 5.5 models on Artificial Analysis for both generation and editing.
- The typography and consistency gains are shown through ByteDance examples, so buyers should test their own copy and images before switching.
Seedream 4.5 alternatives
| Model | Lab | Context | In / out per 1M | Reads and writes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seedream 4.5 This page | ByteDance | -- | -- | text, image → image |
| Seedream 5.0 LitePick Seedream 4.5 if you want ten reference images and flat 4K pricing; pick Seedream 5.0 Lite if you want web search and reasoning over prompts. | ByteDance | -- | -- | text, image → image |
 Recraft V3Recraft's former flagship image model, a previous generation since V4, still the API line for inpainting and exact text placement at 1K output. | Recraft | -- | -- | text, image → image |
| Seedream 5.0 ProByteDance Seed's July 2026 image model adds point and lasso editing and layer separation; Artificial Analysis scores it 1102 Elo for text-to-image. | ByteDance | -- | -- | text, image → image |
Seedream 4.5 specs
- Architecture
- Not disclosed
- Mixture of experts
- No
- Parameters
- Not disclosed
API endpoints
| Name | Endpoint | Auth |
|---|---|---|
| BytePlus ModelArk API (model ID seedream-4-5-251128) | https://docs.byteplus.com/en/docs/ModelArk/1541523 | BytePlus API key |
Seedream 4.5 facts
- Deployment
- API
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Released
- 03 Dec 2025
- Current version
- seedream-4-5-251128
- Family
- Seedream
- Variant
- Multimodal
Version history
seedream-4-5-251128 · 03 Dec 2025
Announced by BytePlus; model ID carries 28 November 2025.
seedream-4-0-250828 · 11 Sep 2025
Predecessor: Seedream 4.0.
What changed
- Release BytePlus unveils Seedream 4.5 (seedream-4-5-251128) source
Questions about Seedream 4.5
How much does Seedream 4.5 cost per image?
BytePlus lists $0.04 per generated image, with input images free, and its launch post says 4K output carries no additional charge. Artificial Analysis measures about $40 per 1,000 images on its own prompts, which matches the list price.
Is Seedream 4.5 free or open source?
No. It is proprietary and sold per image through BytePlus ModelArk. ByteDance publishes no open weights and the BytePlus list shows no free output allowance.
How many reference images can Seedream 4.5 use?
BytePlus says multi-image compositions keep their structure with up to 10 reference images. ByteDance adds that the model identifies the main subject across images and preserves reference details.
Should I still use Seedream 4.5 now that 5.0 and 5.5 exist?
Only if you are already integrated or need flat 4K pricing. Artificial Analysis, read 11 November 2026, scores 4.5 at 1030 Elo for text-to-image, against 1102 for 5.0 Pro and 1135 for 5.5.
Does it render text well?
ByteDance says typography and dense text rendering improved over 4.0 and shows poster and product-page examples. It gives no character-accuracy figure, so test your own copy first.
About Seedream 4.5
Seedream 4.5 is an image generation and editing model from ByteDance, announced by its BytePlus arm on 3 December 2025 under the model ID seedream-4-5-251128. It improved on Seedream 4.0 and was followed by Seedream 5.0 Lite in February 2026 and by Seedream 5.5 in November.
Read the full background
ByteDance's product page says it scaled the model overall, so it identifies the main subjects in multi-image edits, strictly keeps details from the reference images, and renders typography and dense text more cleanly. BytePlus adds that multi-image compositions hold their structure with up to 10 reference images, and that small faces and small text come out clearer.
Output reaches 4K, and BytePlus's launch post describes flat pricing with no extra charge for 4K. The later 5.0 Pro does not match that: BytePlus lists it at $0.045 per image up to 2.61 million pixels and $0.09 above.
Independent scores, read on Artificial Analysis on 11 November 2026, are 1030 Elo for text-to-image from 6,899 votes and 1040 for editing from 5,954 votes. Those sit below Seedream 5.0 Pro and 5.5 on both boards.
It is the wrong pick if you want the current best Seedream: newer models rank higher and add features such as layer separation or web search. It still serves teams already integrated on its model ID. Compare options in the image models list, including ChatGPT Images 2.5.
What Hokai read on 11 November 2026: BytePlus's launch post is dated 3 December 2025, its price table lists seedream-4-5-251128 at one flat rate with free input images, and Artificial Analysis shows both Elo scores with their vote counts.
Verdict: pick Seedream 4.5 only if you are already integrated on it or want flat 4K pricing with many reference images. Otherwise choose one of the newer Seedream models.
Sources and guides
Official sources
- Seedream 4.5 model page Vendor
Specifications on this page (context window, token prices, benchmark scores, licence) are read from ByteDance's own model card and documentation. The verdict is Hokai's reading of them, not the provider's claim.
Lists that include Seedream 4.5
The provider
More AI Models on Hokai
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Nano Banana 2.1Google's image generation and editing model in the Gemini API, with 1K to 4K output and multi-image reference mixing, generally available since October 2026.- Recraft V4.1Recraft V4.1 is Recraft's May 2026 image model family: nine variants priced per image from a Flash tier to Pro vectors, raster or native SVG, all testable on the free plan.
FLUX.2FLUX.2 by Black Forest Labs (Nov 2025) is a 32B rectified flow transformer family producing up to 4MP images. Five variants span open-weight klein to grounded [max], with multi-reference editing and hex color control.