Skip to main content

Model comparisons

Seedream 5.0 Pro vs Z-Image

Seedream 5.0 Pro or Z-Image, tier by tier: matched prices, request fields, limits and the content policy measured on each.

Seedream 5.0 Pro

Seedream 5.0 Pro text-to-image is ByteDance's high-detail image model, turning a prompt of up to 5,000 characters into one frame. Choose from fifteen aspect ratios at 1K, 1.5K or 2K, in JPEG or PNG. Uncensored.

View model details →View sample outputs →

Z-Image

Z-Image from Alibaba's Tongyi team is a compact 6B text-to-image model that returns a photoreal frame in roughly a second. Prompts run up to 1,000 characters, in five aspect ratios, delivered as lossless PNG.

View model details →View sample outputs →

Compare

The short answer

Start with the input you have, the result you want and your budget. These are the differences that affect that choice.

  • The two bill on different tiers, so there is no like-for-like row: Seedream 5.0 Pro starts at $0.036 / output images and Z-Image at $0.01 / output images.
  • Both are listed as Uncensored. Compare the examples and content-test details on each model page for the scenes you want to create.

Compare the published examples, then try the same input on both models with matching settings.

Test scores side by side

The Spicy Index and Freedom Score for both models, from the same daily calculation as the leaderboards.

Test scores side by side
MeasureSeedream 5.0 ProZ-Image
Spicy Index75.664.2
Freedom Score76.9100.0
EvidenceTested 6 of 6 probe types · 38 runsTested 6 of 6 probe types · 18 runs
Range if the rest pass76.9–98.9100.0–100.0
Price$0.036 per image$0.016 per image
ReviewsRead the Seedream 5.0 Pro reviewRead the Z-Image review
See both on the leaderboard →

Current price

Price at the same setting

A start price answers a different question than the one you have. These are the tiers both models publish, matched setting for setting, in US dollars per billed unit with no conversion step in between.

These two bill on different tiers, so there is no row to line up. Each one's own published tiers are listed here instead.

Seedream 5.0 Pro: 1K $0.036 / output images · 1.5k $0.04 / output images · 2K $0.072 / output images

Z-Image: Prompt expansion: Yes $0.016 / output images

What one ordinary job costs

  • Seedream 5.0 Pro: $7.2 for one hundred images at 2K.

Arithmetic on the published rates at each model's own default setting, not a quote. The console prices your actual settings before a request is accepted.

About this comparison

Controls and limits

Every row here is read from the JSON Schema the endpoint validates against, so it matches what the API will really accept rather than a feature list written by hand.

Swipe horizontally to compare all fields.

Seedream 5.0 Pro vs Z-Image
Controls and limitsSeedream 5.0 ProZ-Image
Supported taskstext-to-imagetext-to-image
Resolution tiers1K · 1.5k · 2KNot offered
Aspect ratios1:1 · 4:3 · 3:4 · 16:9 · 9:16 · 3:2 · 2:3 · 4:5 · 5:4 · 21:9 · 9:21 · 2:1 · 1:2 · 3:1 · 1:31:1 · 4:3 · 3:4 · 16:9 · 9:16
High-resolution tierYesNo
SeedNoYes
ExecutionSubmit, then poll or take the callbackSubmit, then poll or take the callback
Request timeout30 minutes30 minutes
AvailabilityLiveLive

Do low-filter models allow every request?

Content policy, side by side

Two separate facts sit behind these labels. The first is what we do, which is nothing: no platform content filter, and no maturity flag to set on a request. The second is what each model does on its own, and that is the only part that varies between these two.

Seedream 5.0 Pro

Uncensored

This model declares no content filter. SpicyAPI forwards the request without adding a platform content scan; legal and consent duties remain with the customer.

Usage note Do not submit material involving minors, non-consensual intimate imagery, or deceptive impersonation of real people. This statement is a usage boundary, not a claim that every request is automatically screened.

Z-Image

Uncensored

This model declares no content filter. SpicyAPI forwards the request without adding a platform content scan; legal and consent duties remain with the customer.

Use these content labels to shortlist models, then open each model page for available examples and content-test details.

The label never changes your obligations. Age, consent, real-person likeness and the law where you operate stay with you, and SpicyAPI does not inspect each request.

Can I swap the model ID without changing the request body?

Request body, field by field

The task lifecycle is shared; the body is not. Each endpoint publishes its own JSON Schema and the API validates against that, so this is the list to reconcile before a switch.

  • 3 fields appear in both request bodies under the same names. prompt, aspect_ratio, output_format
  • Only Seedream 5.0 Pro accepts: resolution, enable_thinking.
  • Only Z-Image accepts: seed, enable_prompt_expansion.
  • Seedream 5.0 Pro requires prompt.
  • Z-Image requires prompt.
  • Both reject unknown fields outright, so a parameter left over from the other model comes back as a validation error instead of being quietly ignored.

How to choose

How to choose

High-resolution delivery

Seedream 5.0 Pro supports a high-resolution option.

Compare

Moving from one to the other

The model identifiers are bytedance/seedream-5.0-pro/text-to-image and alibaba/z-image-turbo/text-to-image, and both go in the same field of the same request.

Both run the same way: submit the task, then poll it or take the callback. Queueing and retry logic carry over unchanged.

Both use the same submit-and-track flow, but their required inputs may differ. Check each model page before switching.

One key, one balance, one set of spend caps. Both bill to the same account in US dollars, and the per-key daily, monthly and lifetime limits apply to whichever one you call.

Questions developers ask

Which is cheaper, Seedream 5.0 Pro or Z-Image?

Which is cheaper, Seedream 5.0 Pro or Z-Image?

The two bill on different tiers, so there is no like-for-like row: Seedream 5.0 Pro starts at $0.036 / output images and Z-Image at $0.01 / output images. Prices may change; check the estimate shown for your actual settings before submitting.

How long can a single request run?

Seedream 5.0 Pro allows 30 minutes per task and Z-Image allows 30. Those are ceilings rather than typical times — most requests finish far sooner — but they are what your own client timeout has to survive.