Seedream 5 Flash is the fast, low-cost tier of the Seedream 5 family: generation and editing at 1K to 2K for a flat 20 credits, with up to 10 reference images. Pick Lite for web search and batches, Pro for dense design work.
Seedream 5 Flash is the third tier of ByteDance's Seedream 5 family, integrated here on 29 September 2026 next to Seedream 5 Lite and Seedream 5 Pro. It runs as doubao-seedream-5.0-flash, handles text-to-image, image-to-image and editing, and charges one flat price across 1K, 1.5K and 2K. Reference images — up to 10 — are free.
What it gives up: one image per run (no batches), no web search, no 3K or 4K, and JPEG output only here. Upstream also offers a layer-split variant of Flash; layer splitting on CreateVision AI still runs on the Seedream 5 Pro engine. We have not timed this model yet.
Seedream 5 Flash is the budget tier of ByteDance's Seedream 5 family: the same generation-and-editing engine at 1K, 1.5K or 2K for a flat 20 credits, with up to 10 reference images. No API key, no +86 phone.
Flash charges the same 20 credits at every quality tier, and reference images are free. That makes it the cheapest way to run a Seedream 5 model here: half of Lite, less than half of Pro at 1K. The quality selector still exists — use 1K only when you want a faster turnaround.
Flash is the speed tier: ByteDance positions it for rapid creative work and batch exploration. Draft the composition, lighting and subject here, then rerun the keeper on Seedream 5 Lite for web-grounded realism or Seedream 5 Pro for dense layouts and text.
Image-to-image and editing take up to 10 reference images per request, twice the five that Lite and Pro accept here, and Flash does not add a per-image surcharge. Swap the setting, change the wardrobe or keep a product steady across a series.
Aspect ratio presets from square to ultrawide and vertical, auto sizing that follows a reference image, and custom WIDTHxHEIGHT values. Output is JPEG; the upstream PNG-with-transparency option is not exposed here yet.
Generated here on 29 September 2026, first take, exact prompts shown — no retouching and no cherry-picking.
A matte ceramic pour-over coffee set on a walnut counter, morning window light from the left, soft shadows, shallow depth of field, clean product photography, no text.
Candid street portrait of a young man in a denim jacket at a crosswalk, overcast soft light, natural skin texture, 50mm lens, slight motion in the background crowd.
A golden retriever sitting on a wooden dock at a calm lake at sunrise, mist over the water, warm rim light on the fur, photoreal.
It is the volume tier of the family: the right pick when the number of tries matters more than the last few percent of fidelity.
Try ten framings at 20 credits each, then rerun the one that works on Lite or Pro. The prompt and parameters stay in history, so the hand-off is a click.
Up to 10 reference images, none billed. Restyle a product, change a background, keep a face consistent across a set.
At 20 credits, 3,000 monthly credits on Basic is 150 images at 2K — the best per-image rate in the Seedream 5 family here.
One image per run and no web search — pick Seedream 5 Lite for both. For dense layouts and multilingual text, Seedream 5 Pro; for 4K, Seedream 4.5.
Same workspace, same credit pool — switching between any of these is one click.
| Seedream 5 Flash | Seedream 5 Lite | Seedream 5 Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upstream model | doubao-seedream-5.0-flash | doubao-seedream-5.0-lite | doubao-seedream-5.0-pro |
| Credits per image | 20 at 1K, 1.5K and 2K | 40 at 2K and 3K | 50 at 1K · 100 at 2K |
| Quality tiers | 1K, 1.5K, 2K | 2K, 3K | 1K, 2K |
| Reference images | Up to 10, free | Up to 5 | Up to 5 |
| Images per run | One | Up to 4 | One |
| Web search grounding | No | Yes — on by default, +10 credits per run | No |
| Best for | Cheap drafts, edits, volume | Photoreal shots of real subjects, batches | Dense layouts, precise edits, in-image text |
Upstream model ids, credit costs, quality tiers, reference-image limits and batch sizes are read from our own model registry on 29 September 2026 — the same tables that price your generations, not vendor pages.
Compare Seedream 5 Flash with other image models — same workspace, one click to switch.
| Model | Seedream 5 Flash, the budget tier of ByteDance's Seedream 5 generation — runs here as doubao-seedream-5.0-flash, integrated 29 September 2026 |
|---|---|
| Modes | Text-to-image, image-to-image and editing with reference images |
| Quality tiers | 1K, 1.5K and 2K — all the same price; no 3K or 4K |
| Aspect ratios | 10 presets — 1:1, 3:2, 2:3, 4:3, 3:4, 4:5, 5:4, 16:9, 9:16, 21:9 — plus auto and custom pixel sizes |
| Images per run | One — the upstream model does not batch |
| Reference images | Up to 10 per generation, not billed |
| Web search grounding | Not supported — Seedream 5 Lite is the tier with that step |
| Output format | JPEG |
| Credits | 20 per image at every quality tier; no surcharges |
| Measured speed | Not measured — we have not run a timed benchmark on this model |
Three steps from a blank prompt box to a finished image.
Open the model picker and choose Seedream 5 Flash. The panel shows its credit cost, resolution options, and aspect ratios before you spend anything.
Write the subject, setting, lighting, and finish. Attach reference images if the model accepts them.
Download the result, or continue — edit it, restyle it, upscale it, or animate it into video. Every generation keeps its prompt and parameters.
One account, the full image and video generation workflow.
Upload a reference and restyle materials, lighting, or background while keeping composition.
Remove objects, swap backgrounds, and make precise local edits with AI.
Describe your idea; Ava picks the arena-ranked model, writes the prompt, and generates.
Run Seedream 5 Flash on the free tier's daily credits, or upgrade for premium models, faster generation, and 4K output.
Perfect for getting started
Billed annually · $240/year
Billed annually · $468/year
Volume and iteration: many photoreal drafts, quick edits with references, and any job where 2K is enough. It is the cheapest tier of the Seedream 5 family here at 20 credits per image.
20 credits per image at 1K, 1.5K or 2K. Reference images are free and there is no web-search surcharge because Flash has no web search. One image per run.
Flash for cheap, fast drafts and edits (20 credits, 1K–2K, 10 references). Lite when the prompt names something real — it grounds with web search — or when you want up to four images per run at 2K/3K (40 credits per image). Pro for dense design layouts, precise editing and multilingual in-image text (50 at 1K, 100 at 2K).
No. The upstream model returns one image per request, so each run is one image at 20 credits. Use Seedream 5 Lite for batches of up to four.
No. Web search is a Seedream 5 Lite feature. Flash renders exactly what you describe.
No. Flash tops out at 2K. Seedream 5 Lite offers 3K and Seedream 4.5 offers 4K.
One-click tools for everything around generation — polish, restyle, and share.
