Seedance Product Research Report

Research Date: February 15, 2026 Research Scope: Seedance (ByteDance/Jimeng) AI Video Generation Model and Major Competitors

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Table of Contents

1. Seedance Product Introduction
2. Competitive Analysis
3. Target User Profiles
4. Market Trends
5. Seedance API Integration

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1. Seedance Product Introduction

1.1 Product Overview

Seedance is a series of AI video generation models launched by ByteDance’s Jimeng platform. Starting as an internal prototype in 2023, it went through multiple iterations, officially releasing Seedance 1.0 to consumers in June 2025, followed by the milestone Seedance 2.0 release on February 7, 2026.

Upon release, Seedance 2.0 caused a global sensation. Feng Ji, CEO of Game Science and producer of “Black Myth: Wukong,” publicly praised it as “the strongest video generation model on Earth,” declaring that its emergence marks “the end of AIGC’s childhood.”

1.2 Version Evolution

Version	Release Date	Core Upgrades
Seedance 1.0	2025 Q1	Basic text-to-video, 480p/720p/1080p
Seedance 1.5 Lite	2025 Q3	Lightweight model, improved speed
Seedance 1.5 Pro	2025 Q4	Audio-video sync capability
Seedance 2.0	Feb 2026	Physical world model, quad-modal input, native audio, 2K resolution

1.3 Core Features

Multi-Modal Input (Quad-Modal Unified Architecture)

Seedance 2.0 adopts a unified multi-modal audio-video joint generation architecture, supporting text, image, audio, and video as four input modalities, processing up to 12 files as multi-modal reference inputs simultaneously. This represents the industry’s most comprehensive multi-modal content referencing and editing capability.

Text-to-Video

Users input natural language descriptions, and Seedance automatically generates high-quality videos. Seedance 2.0 can automatically plan shots and camera movements based on user-described scenarios — users just need to tell it the story, and it decides how to film it.

Image-to-Video

Upload static images and the model transforms them into dynamic videos. Supports preserving original art styles (realistic/anime/hand-drawn, etc.) with local motion control.

Native Audio Generation

Seedance 2.0’s audio is not post-production overlay but natively generated as part of the video world. Sound physically interacts with scenes — footsteps on marble floors sound distinctly different from those on carpet, and dialogue in churches carries echo effects. Supports lip-sync in 8+ languages.

Physical World Understanding

Built on an architecture with embedded physical priors, Seedance 2.0 understands gravity, collisions, inertia, and other physical laws. Generated motion follows real-world physics. Usability rates in complex interaction and motion scenarios far exceed the previous generation.

Character Consistency (World ID)

The World ID system locks character identity, ensuring protagonists maintain the same facial features, clothing, and body proportions from second 1 to second 55, solving the long-standing character drift problem in AI video generation.

AI Director Capability

Automatically plans shot types, camera positions, and transitions, supporting multi-shot narrative while maintaining consistency in protagonist appearance, clothing, and scene atmosphere throughout. For the first time, creators can use natural language instructions to request AI-generated complete narrative sequences.

Post-Production Editing Fusion

Merges AI generation with post-production editing, allowing users to directly modify unsatisfactory parts, significantly reducing wasted output. ByteDance reports usable output rates reaching 90%+, meaning 9 out of 10 generations produce commercially viable video.

1.4 Technical Specifications

Parameter	Seedance 1.0	Seedance 2.0
Resolution	480p / 720p / 1080p	480p ~ 2K
Frame Rate	-	24 FPS (cinema standard)
Video Duration	5~10 sec	4~15 sec
Input Modalities	Text, Image	Text, Image, Audio, Video (quad-modal)
Audio Generation	Not supported	Native audio-video sync
Character Consistency	Basic	World ID system
Physics Simulation	Basic	Physical prior architecture
Usable Output Rate	~70%	90%+

1.5 Pricing Model

Jimeng Platform Membership (China)

Tier	Monthly Fee	Credits	Notes
Basic	~69 CNY/month	1080 credits/month	1080p, basic features
Premium	~$45 USD/month (Pro)	More credits	Commercial license included

• Generating a 15-second video costs ~90 credits, roughly 0.77 CNY per second
• Basic access at **$9.60 USD/month**, significantly lower than Sora 2's$20$200/month
• Pro tier at ~$45 USD/month with commercial license, 50%+ cheaper than Sora 2’s equivalent

Free Trial

The platform offers limited free credits for users to try.

Access Methods

Seedance 2.0 is integrated into Doubao App (mobile), Doubao desktop, and Doubao web, as well as the Jimeng platform. Identity verification (audio/video recording) is required before generating videos containing one’s own face.

1.6 Safety Measures

• Real person photos/videos not currently supported as subject references (preventing identity fraud)
• Identity verification required before generating personal avatar
• Registration requires Chinese phone number; international access is limited

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2. Competitive Analysis

2.1 Competitive Landscape

Major players in the current AI video generation market:

Product	Company	Positioning	Latest Version
Seedance	ByteDance	Director-level narrative & multi-modal creation	2.0 (2026.02)
Sora	OpenAI	Long-shot coherence & artistic feel	Sora 2 (2025)
Kling	Kuaishou	Cinema-grade realism & industrial workflow	3.0 (2026.02)
Hailuo	MiniMax	Cost-effectiveness & micro-expression performance	2.3 (2026)
Vidu	Shengshu Tech	Multi-subject consistency & MV generation	Q3 (2026)
Runway	Runway	Professional creator commercial workflow	Gen-4 / Gen-4.5
Pika	Pika Labs	Fast output & social media content	2.5
Luma Dream Machine	Luma Labs	3D capture & product showcase	Ray3
Veo	Google DeepMind	4K cinema-grade generation & audio	3.1 (2026.01)

2.2 Detailed Competitive Analysis

OpenAI Sora 2

Core Strengths:

• Industry-leading physical world understanding — gravity, occlusion, inertia
• Strong long-shot coherence, up to 20 sec (subscription) / 25 sec (API Pro)
• $1 billion Disney partnership for licensed character use
• Deep narrative understanding with “continuous storytelling”
• Native synchronized audio (dialogue, sound effects, background music)

Weaknesses:

• Expensive: Plus $20/month (480p unlimited only), Pro$200/month
• Slow generation (~50 min per batch)
• Free users locked out since January 2026
• API pricing $0.10~$0.50/sec
• Max 1080p (Pro), standard only 720p

Pricing:

• ChatGPT Plus: $20/month (480p unlimited)
• ChatGPT Pro: $200/month (10,000 credits/month, 1080p)
• API: $0.10/sec (720p) ~$0.50/sec (1024p)

Kuaishou Kling 3.0

Core Strengths:

• Up to 4K resolution output, cinema-grade quality
• Max video length 3 minutes (far exceeding most competitors)
• Excellent Chinese prompt optimization, low barrier to entry
• AI Director smart shot planning
• Elements 3.0 Director Memory for strong character consistency
• Audio-video sync in Chinese/English/Japanese/Korean/Spanish
• Affordable pricing, free tier includes 6 videos per day

Weaknesses:

• Complex scenes and continuous actions slightly behind Sora 2
• Lower international recognition than Runway and Sora
• Ecosystem and third-party integrations less mature than overseas products

Pricing (International):

• Standard: $6.99/month
• Pro: $25.99/month
• Premier: $64.99/month
• Ultra: $180/month
• Free: 66 credits/day (~1-2 short videos)

MiniMax Hailuo 2.3

Core Strengths:

• #1 overall ranking in VBench independent benchmark
• Exceptionally natural micro-expressions and facial performance
• Excellent value — 2.3 improves performance without price increase
• Hailuo 2.3 Fast model reduces batch creation costs by up to 50%
• Supports text/image/character-driven generation
• 15 camera movement combinations (push/pull/pan/orbit)
• Media Agent for comprehensive multi-modal creation

Weaknesses:

• Max 1080p, no 4K support
• Max video length ~10 seconds
• Lower brand recognition overseas vs Runway, Sora

Pricing (China):

• Free: 6-sec video, 768p, watermarked
• Basic: 68 CNY/month (1000 shells)
• Standard: 245 CNY/month (4500 shells)
• Premium: 899 CNY/month (12000 shells, unlimited Hailuo model)
• Business: 299 CNY/month (100x 4K renders)

Shengshu Tech Vidu

Core Strengths:

• World’s first Diffusion+Transformer hybrid U-ViT architecture
• World’s first multi-subject consistency — multiple characters/objects/scenes stay consistent across shots
• One-click MV generation (multi-agent collaborative system)
• Up to 7 reference images, precise character reproduction in 5-minute videos
• 10 million users within 100 days of launch, 100+ million videos generated
• Upgraded to AI video creation and distribution platform in October 2025

Weaknesses:

• Max 1080p resolution
• Single clip limited to 4~8 seconds
• Overall generation quality lags behind Seedance 2.0 and Sora 2
• Weaker commercialization compared to ByteDance and Kuaishou

Runway Gen-4 / Gen-4.5

Core Strengths:

• Most mature professional video creation workflow
• Reference image system for multi-shot character consistency
• 4K output support, suitable for broadcast delivery
• Professional controls: keyframes, camera guidance, Turbo iteration
• Exclusive editing suites: Aleph and Act-Two
• Robust team collaboration support

Weaknesses:

• Short single-clip duration (~10 sec)
• No native audio generation
• Expensive for high-volume users
• Complex motion scenes trail Seedance 2.0 and Sora 2

Pricing:

• Free: 125 credits (~25 sec Gen-4 Turbo), 720p with watermark
• Standard: $12/month (annual)
• Gen-4: 12 credits/sec, Gen-4 Turbo: 5 credits/sec

Pika 2.5

Core Strengths:

• Ultra-fast — 3090 sec output, 36x faster than Runway
• Lowest price starting at $8/month
• Unique tools: Pikaswaps, Pikaffects, Pikaframes
• Pikaformance Model for hyper-realistic facial expression sync
• Ideal for social media short videos and creative content

Weaknesses:

• Image quality doesn’t match Sora/Runway’s photorealism
• No native audio generation
• Better for stylized content, not professional filmmaking
• Max 1080p

Pricing:

• Free: Limited credits
• Starter: $8~$10/month (700 credits)

Luma Dream Machine (Ray3)

Core Strengths:

• Unique 3D capture technology (objects, landscapes, scenes) directly importable into Dream Machine
• Ray3 supports HDR/EXR export, Draft Mode for fast iteration
• 4K upscaling support
• Modify tool for natural language editing (remove objects, color grading, etc.)
• End-to-end workflow (capture-import-animate) differentiates from competitors

Weaknesses:

• Quality degrades when extending beyond 10~15 seconds
• No native audio
• Smaller user base and ecosystem than Runway, Sora

Pricing:

• Free: 30 credits/month (~10 videos), 720p
• Lite: $7.99/month (1080p)
• Plus: $20.99/month
• Unlimited: $66.49/month

Google Veo 3.1

Core Strengths:

• World’s first mainstream AI video model supporting true 4K (3840x2160)
• Native audio generation (dialogue, sound effects, background)
• Native vertical video support
• “Ingredients to Video” feature (up to 4 reference images)
• Scene extension for 1+ minute videos
• SynthID watermark technology for safety
• Collaboration with director Darren Aronofsky for cinema-grade applications
• Integrated in Gemini ecosystem (Gemini App, YouTube Shorts, Flow, API, Vertex AI)

Weaknesses:

• Requires Google AI Pro/Ultra plan
• Relatively closed ecosystem, primarily Google platforms
• Not directly accessible in mainland China

2.3 Comprehensive Comparison

Dimension	Seedance 2.0	Sora 2	Kling 3.0	Hailuo 2.3	Vidu	Runway Gen-4	Pika 2.5	Luma Ray3	Veo 3.1
Max Resolution	2K	1080p	4K	1080p	1080p	4K	1080p	4K(upscaled)	4K native
Max Duration	15s	25s(API Pro)	3min	10s	8s	~10s	10s	5s(native)	1min+
Native Audio	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	Yes
Physics Sim	Excellent	Top-tier	Excellent	Good	Good	Good	Fair	Good	Excellent
Character Consistency	Excellent	Good	Excellent	Good	Top-tier	Excellent	Fair	Good	Excellent
Generation Speed	Fast	Slow	Fast	Fast	Fast	Medium	Fastest	Medium	Medium
Starting Price/mo	~$9.6	$20	$6.99	~$9.3	Free	$12	$8	$7.99	Google plan
Usability Rate	90%+	60~70%	75%	High	Medium	High	Medium	Medium	High
Chinese Support	Native	Supported	Native	Native	Native	Fair	Fair	Fair	Fair
API Available	Soon(late Feb)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes(Vertex AI)

2.4 Competitive Landscape Summary

China Tier 1: Seedance 2.0, Kling 3.0, Hailuo 2.3, Vidu

• Seedance 2.0: Director-level narrative and camera work, highest usability rate
• Kling 3.0: Cinema-grade realism and industrial workflow, leading video duration
• Hailuo 2.3: Best value and micro-expression performance
• Vidu: Multi-subject consistency and automatic MV generation

Overseas Tier 1: Sora 2, Veo 3.1, Runway Gen-4

• Sora 2: Physical world understanding and narrative capability
• Veo 3.1: 4K quality and Google ecosystem integration
• Runway Gen-4: Professional workflow and commercialization

Differentiated Players: Pika (speed + low cost), Luma (3D + product showcase)

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3. Target User Profiles

3.1 Core User Groups

Short-Form Video Content Creators

• Profile: Douyin/Kuaishou/YouTube/TikTok creators, individuals or small teams
• Needs: Rapidly generate high-quality visual content, reduce filming costs
• Use Cases: Short dramas, suspense narration, visual spectacles, creative shorts
• Pain Points: High traditional filming costs, long production cycles, need for professional equipment
• Preferred Products: Seedance 2.0 (director-level), Pika (fast output), Hailuo (value)

Marketing & Advertising Professionals

• Profile: Brands, ad agencies, MCN agencies, e-commerce operators
• Needs: Batch-generate marketing videos, brand integration, product showcases
• Use Cases: Brand ads, e-commerce videos, social media ad assets
• Pain Points: Long traditional production cycles, high costs, insufficient A/B test assets
• Preferred Products: Runway (professional workflow), Seedance (high usability), Pika (fast iteration)

Film & Animation Professional Teams

• Profile: Directors, producers, animation studios, post-production companies
• Needs: Concept validation, previsualization, storyboard visualization, VFX assistance
• Use Cases: Film concept pieces, animation previews, VFX references
• Pain Points: High concept validation costs, client communication reliant on imagination
• Preferred Products: Seedance 2.0 (director control), Sora 2 (physical accuracy), Veo 3.1 (4K quality), Runway (professional toolchain)

Independent Developers & Tech Entrepreneurs

• Profile: Developers building AI video applications, SaaS entrepreneurs
• Needs: Stable API, flexible pricing, low latency
• Use Cases: Integration into own platforms, building vertical applications (AI comic platforms, marketing automation)
• Pain Points: API availability, cost control, concurrency limits
• Preferred Products: Seedance API (value), Runway API (mature/stable), Sora API (brand effect)

Educators

• Profile: Teachers, trainers, online education platforms
• Needs: Visualize teaching content, produce educational videos
• Use Cases: Course videos, historical scene recreation, science experiment demonstrations
• Pain Points: Lack of video production skills and budget
• Preferred Products: Seedance (Chinese-friendly), Kling (low barrier), Pika (quick and simple)

Enterprise Users

• Profile: Marketing, product, and training departments in mid-to-large enterprises
• Needs: Enterprise SLA, commercial licensing, team collaboration, API integration
• Use Cases: Corporate videos, product launches, internal training, customer cases
• Pain Points: Copyright compliance, brand consistency, mass production
• Preferred Products: Runway (most mature collaboration), Veo (Google enterprise ecosystem), Seedance (enterprise plan coming soon)

3.2 User Scale & Adoption

• 87% of creative professionals now use AI tools for video creation, 66% weekly
• 58% of AI marketing videos use AI voiceover, 36% of brands use AI digital humans
• Vidu surpassed 10 million users within 100 days, generating 100+ million videos
• Seedance 2.0 demo videos went viral globally with multiple posts reaching millions of views

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4. Market Trends

4.1 Market Size & Growth

• 2026 AI video generation tools market expected to exceed $30 billion, with ~40% annual growth
• AI video tools market reached $4.2B in 2025, projected$12.8B by 2027
• AI video analytics market projected from $32B (2025) to$133.3B (2030) at 33% CAGR
• Global AI market expected to reach $826B by 2030, with video generation as a major driver
• Video production costs reduced 80~95% by AI ($50~200/month AI tools vs$50~150/hour traditional editing)

4.2 Six Core Trends

Trend 1: From Text-to-Video to Multi-Modal World Models

AI video generation has evolved from single text input to unified multi-modal architecture. Seedance 2.0’s quad-modal input (text/image/audio/video) represents this direction. Future models will understand the physical world, emotional context, and narrative logic, becoming true “world simulators.”

Trend 2: Real-Time & Interactive Video Generation

Platforms are designing model frameworks optimized for continuous input and real-time visual feedback. Real-time interaction will redefine creation speed, turning generation into a form of “performance.”

Trend 3: Hyper-Personalization at Scale

In 2026, brands and creators can produce videos where dialogue, visuals, and pacing dynamically adjust based on audience data or real-time input. Instead of making one ad for a million viewers, make a million unique ads for a million viewers.

Trend 4: Fusion of Production and Post-Production

Production and post-production will merge into a single workflow. Future AI systems will execute complex editing operations through natural language commands, allowing creators to modify scene details without re-rendering entire sequences. Seedance 2.0’s “generation + editing fusion” is already pioneering this direction.

Trend 5: Feature Homogenization and Differentiation Coexist

Most AI video products are converging in features — subject references, sound effects, multi-modal editing are becoming standard. Differentiation is shifting to:

• Usability rate (Seedance 2.0’s 90%+ is a key selling point)
• Ecosystem integration (Veo’s Google ecosystem, Runway’s professional toolchain)
• Vertical scenario specialization (short dramas, comics, e-commerce, education)
• Pricing strategy (Kling and Pika compete at the low end)

Trend 6: From Tools to Creation Systems

AI video generation tools will evolve from single prompt generators into creation systems with memory, continuity, and timeline control. 2026’s AI video generation is no longer about “pressing a button” but “directing a system.”

4.3 Industry Landscape Changes

Rise of Chinese Power: Seedance 2.0’s global viral success marks the first time a Chinese AI video model has gained widespread international recognition. Increasingly, overseas users are proactively learning to use Chinese AI applications.

Diverging Development Paths:

• AGI Path: Google DeepMind, OpenAI — pursuing general intelligence, video generation as a step toward world models
• Platform Path: Runway, Kling, Jimeng, Hailuo — transitioning from AI video tools to integrated content creation and consumption platforms
• Product Path: Pika, Luma — rapid iteration, focused on specific user experiences

Trust and Transparency as Competitive Advantage: 63% of creators now prioritize commercial licensing and compliance over pure production quality. Brands that transparently share their AI usage build stronger audience trust.

4.4 Future Outlook

• 2026 H2: Major models expected to support 30+ second continuous video, 4K becomes standard
• 2027: Real-time AI video generation enters commercial use, personalized video ads scale up
• Long-term: AI video generation will deeply integrate with 3D engines and game engines, blurring boundaries between virtual worlds and real footage

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5. Seedance API Integration

5.1 Current Status (as of February 15, 2026)

Official API not yet launched. Seedance 2.0’s official REST API is expected to launch around February 24, 2026 via Volcengine (Volcano Ark). ByteDance’s official model page at seed.bytedance.com currently only lists Seedance 1.0 and 1.5 Pro.

5.2 Expected Official API Integration

Platform Entry Points

• China: Via Volcengine cloud platform
• International: Via BytePlus (ByteDance enterprise platform)
• Global launch expected: February 24, 2026

API Architecture

ByteDance has adopted an OpenAI-compatible request/response structure, reducing developer migration costs.

The workflow uses an asynchronous task model:

1. Submit Task -> POST /text-to-video or /image-to-video
   - Parameters: prompt (required), image (for image-to-video), resolution, duration, etc.
   - Returns: job_id

2. Poll Status -> GET /jobs/{job_id}/status
   - Until status is "completed" or "failed"
   - Or register webhook URL for callback notifications

3. Get Result -> Retrieve output_video_url from completed response
   - Download or stream

Supported Capabilities

• Text-to-Video
• Image-to-Video
• Multi-modal reference input syntax
• Native audio generation with lip-sync
• 480p ~ 2K resolution
• 4~15 second duration
• 6 aspect ratios

Estimated Pricing

Tier	Resolution	Estimated Price
Basic	720p	~$0.10/minute
Standard	1080p	~$0.30/minute
Cinema	2K (full features)	~$0.80/minute

• Approximately 10~100x cheaper per clip than Sora 2
• Pro plans typically include base quotas (e.g., 1000 calls/month), Enterprise customizable
• Third-party platform concurrency typically limited to 5~10 simultaneous render tasks

5.3 Current Alternatives (Before Official API Launch)

Before the official API launches, developers can access Seedance 2.0 through third-party platforms:

Third-Party API Aggregation Platforms

Platform	Description
WaveSpeedAI	Already provides Seedance model API access
Replicate	Supports Seedance model calls
Fal.ai	Provides Seedance API wrapper
Atlas Cloud	Free tier with daily refreshing credits, suitable for prototyping

These platforms typically wrap underlying model capabilities as OpenAI-compatible interfaces, meaning your integration code requires minimal changes when the official API launches.

Direct Use via Jimeng Platform

• Visit Jimeng platform (jimeng.jianying.com) or Doubao App
• Registration requires Chinese phone number
• International users can access through third-party services

5.4 Developer Recommendations

Scenario	Recommendation
Need to launch by Feb 2026	Use third-party API platforms (WaveSpeedAI, Replicate, etc.)
Launching after Mar 2026	Wait for official API (stability guarantees, SLA, direct support)
Testing/evaluation only	Use Jimeng platform or Doubao App directly
Enterprise integration	Contact BytePlus for custom enterprise solutions

5.5 API Comparison with Competitors

Dimension	Seedance 2.0 API	Sora 2 API	Runway API	Kling API
Status	Coming (late Feb)	Live	Live	Live
Compatibility	OpenAI-compatible	Native	Native	Native
Pricing	~$0.10-0.80/min	$0.10-0.50/sec	Credit-based	~$0.07-0.14/sec
Native Audio	Supported	Supported	Not supported	Supported
Max Resolution	2K	1024p	4K	4K
Ecosystem	Volcengine/BytePlus	OpenAI ecosystem	Standalone	Kuaishou ecosystem

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This report is compiled from publicly available information. Some pricing and feature specifications may change with product updates. Please verify the latest information on each product’s official website before making decisions.