Seedream 5 Pro is the top of the Seedream family — sharper photorealism, stronger prompt adherence, and best-in-class text rendering. 1 credit per 1K image, 2 credits at 2K, with up to 10 reference images for edits. The same page carries Seedream 5 Lite for fast, cheap drafts.
Seedream 5 Pro is the flagship image model of the Seedream family. Compared to Seedream 4.5 it follows dense, multi-constraint prompts more faithfully, renders text with fewer misses, and produces noticeably cleaner fine detail — skin, fabric, machinery, typography. It is synchronous: images come back in seconds, not minutes.
Pricing follows the output tier: 1K-class images (about 1 megapixel) are 1 credit, 2K-class images are 2 credits. Generation and editing cost the same. Edits accept up to 10 reference images, and the model excels at carrying a transformation or identity across them.
The Seedream 5 page defaults to Pro; a model picker switches to Seedream 5 Lite when you want faster, cheaper iterations at 1 credit — same prompting habits apply to both engines.
1K · 2K
Native resolution tiers
1–2
Credits per image by tier
10
Reference images for edits
Skin texture, fabric weave, metal and glass — Seedream 5 Pro renders fine physical detail that survives close inspection. Portraits keep pores and catchlights; product shots keep clean edges and honest materials.
Multi-line, multi-element text renders accurately — a storefront sign, a neon script, and a chalkboard menu in one image, each with its exact string. Wrap literal text in double quotes and add "the text must be exact".
List eight specific objects with positions and colors and Seedream 5 Pro places them all. Where older models drop or merge constraints in crowded prompts, Pro keeps count — great for flat-lays, sets, and art direction with non-negotiables.
No queue, no polling — images return in seconds. That speed changes how you work: iterate on one variable at a time (light, lens, palette) instead of batching guesses.
Each example shows the exact prompt that produced the result. Copy any prompt with one click.
2K · 16:9 · 2 credits
Cinematic portrait of a deep-sea diver surfacing at dawn inside a flooded cathedral, water streaming off the brass helmet, shafts of golden light through stained glass windows, teal and amber palette, hyper-realistic, film still
Pro rewards a single strong idea plus concrete physical detail ("water streaming off the brass helmet") and a named palette. The "film still" anchor pushes cinematic grading without a paragraph of camera jargon.
2K · 1:1 · 2 credits
Studio product shot of an amber glass perfume bottle standing on a slab of rough black volcanic stone, a single orchid petal beside it, dramatic hard rim light from the right, deep charcoal gradient background, advertising quality, photoreal, no text or labels
Name the surface, one supporting prop, and the exact lighting direction. "No text or labels" suppresses phantom typography on packaging — Pro follows negative constraints more reliably than earlier Seedreams.
2K · 21:9 · 2 credits
Ultra-wide cinematic landscape of terraced rice fields at blue hour, mist pooling in the valleys, a farmer with a lantern walking a ridge line, the lantern casting the only warm light in a cool blue scene, hyper-detailed, atmospheric
The 21:9 preset suits layered atmospherics. Give the scene one warm light source against a cool field — Pro handles the single-accent contrast beautifully and keeps distant detail crisp at 2K.
2K · 3:4 · 2 credits
Art-deco concert poster with headline "AURORA NIGHTS" in tall gold geometric letters, subtitle "a winter jazz series" in thin italic, central illustration of a grand piano under swirling northern lights, palette of midnight blue, gold, and cream, ornamental border, the text must be exact
Structure poster prompts as headline (quoted) + subtitle (quoted) + central illustration + named palette + style anchor + "the text must be exact". Pro is the strongest Seedream yet for exact strings.
2K · 9:16 · 2 credits
Full-length fashion editorial photo of a model in a sculptural pleated crimson gown standing in a brutalist concrete stairwell, single shaft of daylight from above, fabric folds razor sharp, high-fashion magazine look, photoreal
Vertical 9:16 plus one hard light source is the editorial formula. Call out the fabric behavior ("pleated", "folds razor sharp") — Pro's fabric rendering is a visible step up from 4.5.
"Water streaming off the brass helmet" beats "amazing, dramatic, high quality". Pro renders what you describe; generic quality words add nothing it doesn't already do.
Wrap every exact string in double quotes and end with "the text must be exact". Pro handles several text elements in one image — sign + subtitle + menu — but each needs its own quoted string.
1K (1 credit) for drafts, thumbnails, and social. 2K (2 credits) for hero images, print, and anything with fine texture or text. The aspect-ratio presets are all 2K-class.
The model picker on the Seedream 5 page switches engines. Rough out composition on Lite at 1 credit, then re-run the winning prompt on Pro for the final.
Edit mode accepts up to 10 references. Tag them in the prompt (#abc123) to say which image carries the subject, which carries the style, and what must not change.
For edits, say what must stay fixed: "keep the pose, framing, and lighting unchanged". Pro respects preservation clauses more consistently than any earlier Seedream.
| Setting | Values | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Image size | auto_1K · auto_2K · square_1_1 · landscape_16_9 · portrait_9_16 · landscape_4_3 · portrait_3_4 · landscape_3_2 · portrait_2_3 · landscape_21_9 | Aspect presets render at 2K-class dimensions. |
| Custom dimensions | Total pixels 921,600 – 4,194,304 | Width/height snap to multiples of 16. 1280×720 up to 2048×2048. |
| Credits | 1 per 1K image · 2 per 2K image | Editing costs the same as generation. |
| Outputs | 1–4 | Requests fan out in parallel; each output bills its tier. |
| Reference images | Up to 10 | Seedream 5 Lite and 4.5 accept up to 14. |
| Seed | 0 – 2,147,483,647 | Same seed + prompt + size reproduces the image. |
Pro is the flagship: sharper realism, stronger prompt adherence, and the best text rendering in the family, at 1 credit (1K) or 2 credits (2K) per image. Lite is the speed-and-volume engine: 1 credit per image up to 3K output, ideal for drafts and rapid iteration. Both live on the same Seedream 5 page — a model picker switches engines.