Seedance 2.5 Guide: Pricing, API Access and Best Settings
How Seedance 2.5 works in Spicy Studio: 4–30 second clips with native audio, reference video and audio, the credit cost per second, and who needs the API.
Seedance 2.5 at a Glance
Reach for Seedance 2.5 when a clip must run past 15 seconds, needs sound made with the picture, or should borrow the motion of a clip you already have. ByteDance's Seed team announced it on July 31, 2026 (launch post), and it's the newest ByteDance model in the Spicy Studio Video Lab.
Length: 4–30 seconds, 5 by default.
Resolution: 480p, 720p or 1080p, in six aspect ratios from 21:9 to 9:16, plus adaptive.
Sound: native audio, on unless you switch it off.
Price: 10, 22 or 39 credits a second by resolution, with no API key needed.
Frames or References: One Mode per Run
Besides the prompt, each run uses one of two modes.
Frames pin the opening and/or closing shot to your images, and the aspect ratio follows the picture. Use them when a packshot or storyboard panel must open or close the clip.
References say what must appear without fixing the composition. Up to 10 images show people, products, outfits or places; name each one in the prompt by what it shows, such as “the green ceramic mug”. One video (2–30 seconds) lends its motion, camera move or pacing. One audio track (WAV or MP3, up to 30 seconds) sets rhythm and sound, and needs a reference image or video beside it.
Once a first or last frame is set, references are ignored, so leave them empty in frame mode. ByteDance's own apps accept more references per run than the Video Lab does.
What a Clip Costs in Credits
You pay by the second, and the audio switch doesn't change the price.
480p: 10 credits a second: 50 for 5 seconds, 300 for 30.
720p: 22 a second: 110 for 5 seconds, 660 for 30.
1080p: 39 a second: 195 for 5 seconds, 1,170 for 30.
A reference video changes the formula: reference and output are billed together at 6, 13 or 23 credits a second. An 8-second 720p clip guided by a 4-second reference costs (8 + 4) × 13 = 156 credits, against 176 without it. Reference length rounds up to the next whole second, and the estimate refreshes once the clip is attached.
The shortest clip, 4 seconds at 480p, costs 40 credits (36 with a 2-second reference), more than the 25 free credits a new account gets. Spend those on a first frame in the Image Lab, then top up: the €2 Spark pack (90 credits that never expire) covers a 5-second 480p test, and the 600 monthly credits of the €10 Spicy Basic plan cover twelve.
Seedance 2.5 API: Who Actually Needs It
Developers putting the model inside their own product. ByteDance sells API access through BytePlus ModelArk, where it's listed as Dreamina Seedance 2.5 and billed per million tokens. As of October 2026, the ModelArk pricing page puts a 5-second 16:9 clip without video input at about $0.51 at 480p, $1.16 at 720p and $2.84 at 1080p. You'd need a BytePlus account, an API key and code that submits jobs and collects the results.
To make videos, you need none of that: in Spicy Studio one credit balance covers this model, images, other video models and tools like Video Upscale.
Your First Seedance 2.5 Clip in Five Steps
1. Open the Video Lab with Seedance 2.5 selected.
2. Describe the shot: subject, action, camera, light and, since audio is on, sound. For example: “Close-up in a small bakery at dawn. A baker in her 40s lifts a sourdough loaf toward the window and smiles. Slow push-in, warm side light, flour drifting in the air. Sound: crackling crust, quiet street noise.”
3. Add a frame or references if you have them.
4. Test at 5 seconds and 480p (50 credits), checking motion, faces and sound.
5. Re-run the keeper at full length and resolution. Turn audio off only if you'll lay your own track under it.
More on prompt structure in the Seedance prompt guide; the Playbook's Animate workflow covers image-to-video and opens with a free account.
Seedance 2.5 or Seedance 2.0?
Seedance 2.0 costs less: 7 or 15 credits a second at 480p or 720p, so 5 seconds at 480p is 35 credits instead of 50. It also has a camera-fixed switch for locked-off shots. Version 2.5 adds clips up to 30 seconds (2.0 runs 5–15), 1080p, 10 reference images instead of 7, reference video and audio up to 30 seconds instead of 15, and audio on by default. For a short clip at 720p or below, 2.0 is often enough; see the Seedance 2.0 guide.
When Another Model Fits Better
Cheaper long takes, or 18+ work with fictional adults: Spicy UNCENSORED Video, powered by Alibaba's Wan 3.0 and limited to users 18+: 2–30 seconds with audio at 6, 13 or 25 credits a second, from text or frames only.
One finished image, animated: HappyHorse 1.1, also 18+, gives 3–15 silent seconds.
5- or 10-second clips from a start frame: Kling 3.0.
To weigh all three on length, sound and credits, read Seedance 2.5 vs Wan 3.0 vs HappyHorse 1.1.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Seedance 2.5 released?
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ByteDance's Seed team announced it on July 31, 2026, first in ByteDance's own apps, with API access through BytePlus ModelArk.
What does Seedance 2.5 cost on Spicy Studio?
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Per second: 480p costs 10 credits, 720p 22 and 1080p 39, audio included, so 5 seconds is 50, 110 or 195 credits. A reference video bills reference plus output seconds at 6, 13 or 23.
Is Seedance 2.5 free on Spicy Studio?
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Not with the sign-up credits alone: new accounts get 25, and the cheapest Seedance 2.5 run costs 36 (4 seconds at 480p with a 2-second reference video, or 40 without one). A €2 top-up adds 90.
Is a Seedance 2.5 API key required?
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Not on Spicy Studio, where you generate in the Video Lab with credits. You only need a BytePlus ModelArk key to call the model from your own code.
What video lengths does Seedance 2.5 support?
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4 to 30 seconds per generation on Spicy Studio, at 480p, 720p or 1080p.
Want to run this yourself? Every new account starts with free credits.
Open Seedance 2.5 in the Video Lab