Seedance 2.5 API pricing: platform comparison (October 2026)

Seedance 2.5 API pricing depends on where you generate, the output resolution, and whether you include a reference video. At the prices checked on October 21, 2026, SeedRouter cost less than fal, Higgsfield, Kie and Atlas Cloud at 480p and 720p. For a 10-second 720p clip without video input, Kie's published rate works out to about $3.15 and fal's to about $4.62. The live table below shows what the same clip costs on SeedRouter today. [1][2]

SeedRouter bills from a prepaid balance with no subscription, credits never expire, and a failed request costs nothing. You can try Seedance 2.5 in the playground with the same rates.

What does Seedance 2.5 cost on SeedRouter?

The table uses the current billing rates and includes both requests without video input and requests with a reference video. Prices use the same source and refresh interval as the model page; check the Seedance 2.5 pricing calculator before a large batch. If rates cannot load, treat the price as unknown.

A successful video you decide not to use is still a successful, billable generation. Failed requests are not charged.

How much less does SeedRouter cost than other Seedance 2.5 APIs?

The SeedRouter row is read from the same rates that bill your account, so it changes when SeedRouter's prices change. The other rows are a dated snapshot of each platform's own page or price list.

Kie and Atlas Cloud publish a price per second for each resolution. fal publishes a rate per million video tokens, $21.40 at 480p and 720p, so its row converts that rate with the token formula below rather than rounded marketing figures. Higgsfield lists a price per second and advertises discounts of up to 30%; its row uses the discounted figure. [1][2][3][4]

What does a 5-, 10- or 30-second clip cost?

For 720p without a reference video, multiply the unrounded per-second rate by the requested length:

For the same calculation on SeedRouter, multiply the current 720p rate above by 5, 10 or 30. These are arithmetic estimates, not measured invoices or guarantees that every platform accepts every duration. Actual token usage can differ from requested duration. For a batch, multiply by successful attempts, including alternatives you discard. A plan for 20 finished clips with three successful candidates each needs a budget for 60 generations, not 20. Final charges are available in usage history.

Why does resolution change the price so much?

The token estimate follows pixel area and duration:

video tokens = (output seconds + billable reference seconds) × width × height × 24 / 1024
estimated cost = video tokens × USD per million tokens / 1,000,000

A second of 1280×720 video is 21,600 tokens; a second of 1920×1080 is 48,600. Moving from 720p to 1080p therefore uses 2.25 times as many tokens before any change in the token rate. Different aspect ratios can change the frame area too. [2]

Compare matching settings, not two prices that both say “from.” The broader Seedance API pricing guide covers model selection across 2.0, Fast, Mini and 2.5.

Does a reference video lower the bill?

It lowers the applicable token rate, but adds billable video duration. On SeedRouter, estimate reference duration as at least ceil(output seconds × 2 / 3), even when the supplied clip is shorter. Use the larger of that minimum and the total reference duration. The completed task's reported usage determines the actual charge. See the Seedance 2.5 API reference.

For example, a 10-second output with a 2-second reference needs an estimate of at least 7 billable reference seconds: 17 × 21,600 = 367,200 tokens at 720p. That is more tokens than the 216,000-token estimate without a reference. Compare both totals using their respective rates.

Text, image and audio references do not add video-token charges on SeedRouter. Do not apply the no-video comparison table to video editing or extension requests.

Are draft previews a cheaper way to work?

A 480p draft can help reject an unsuitable composition before paying for 1080p. It is a separate paid generation, and the final render is billed separately. One draft followed by one final costs more than that final alone; the potential saving comes from avoiding several unsuccessful creative attempts at full resolution.

SeedRouter supports draft: true previews and a separate draft_task request for the final video. The final inherits the original input category, including reference-video billing when applicable. Follow the request shapes in the API reference rather than treating a preview as a free upscale.

How do you start a budgeted request?

Create a key on the API keys page, then send a short request with explicit settings:

curl https://api.seedrouter.ai/v1/contents/generations/tasks \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEEDROUTER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "dreamina-seedance-2-5",
    "content": [{"type": "text", "text": "A red paper boat drifts across a calm pond at sunrise, slow dolly-in"}],
    "resolution": "720p",
    "ratio": "16:9",
    "duration": 5,
    "generate_audio": true
  }'

Save the returned id. Query the same task every 10–20 seconds until it succeeds, fails or expires:

curl https://api.seedrouter.ai/v1/contents/generations/tasks/YOUR_TASK_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SEEDROUTER_API_KEY"

On success, download content.video_url. A polling timeout does not mean generation failed: resume checking the saved ID instead of submitting another paid generation.

Frequently asked questions

Is Seedance 2.5 cheaper on SeedRouter than on fal, Higgsfield, Kie or Atlas Cloud?

Yes, at 480p and 720p without a reference video, at the prices checked on October 21, 2026. The comparison table above recalculates the difference from SeedRouter's live rates, and it stops listing a platform if that platform is no longer dearer.

Is a higher-priced API guaranteed to make better video?

No quality conclusion follows from a price table. This comparison contains no output-quality benchmark. Evaluate the same prompt and references at matching settings before deciding that a price difference is worthwhile.

Are failed Seedance 2.5 requests charged?

Failed requests on SeedRouter are not charged. Successful outputs remain billable even if you dislike them. A local timeout is not a terminal task status.

Can Seedance 2.5 generate 4K?

The supported output resolutions on SeedRouter are 480p, 720p and 1080p. A later upscale is a separate processing step and is not included in these generation estimates.

Sources and comparison method

We operate SeedRouter. Other platforms' prices are dated observations, not promises about those platforms. No paid generations were run for this comparison. Prices exclude taxes, temporary promotions, volume agreements and credit-purchase fees unless stated otherwise.

1. Kie Seedance 2.5 — per-second prices by resolution.
2. fal Seedance 2.5 text-to-video documentation — token rates and formula; fixed-size estimates here are calculated from those rates.
3. Higgsfield Seedance 2.5 — per-second list and discounted prices.
4. Atlas Cloud pricing — estimated per-second prices by resolution.