Just now, Seedream 5.0 was launched. It's another new model from ByteDance.
The popularity of Seedance 2.0 hasn't subsided yet, and ByteDance's new model is here!
According to a report by Zhidx on February 10, today, ByteDance's image generation model Seedream 5.0 has been launched on the video editing app Jianying, its overseas version Capcut, and ByteDance's AI creation platform Xiaoyunque. It has also started a gray - scale test on the Zimeng AI platform, and users can experience image generation for free for a limited time.
▲ Screenshot of Capcut's official announcement (left), model selection on Xiaoyunque's homepage (right)
Seedream 5.0's images support 2K and 4K resolution output. 2K is the direct output of image generation, and 4K is the resolution after AI enhancement. According to the Capcut official website, the upgrade points of the new model 5.0 are that it supports image generation through retrieval for the first time, enhances the accuracy of understanding prompt words, supports the generation of images with more detailed and delicate textures, and also allows users to precisely adjust images. Seedream 4.5 was launched on December 4, 2025.
Zhidx actually experienced and compared Seedream 5.0 with Nano Banana Pro and Seedream 4.5, and found that the new model can understand abstract prompt words such as "quiet and technological sense". However, it's hard to say that the final generation effect has a leap - forward improvement compared with Seedream 4.5. Its online search ability is still unstable, and the upgrade points of the generation effect are reflected in being more beautiful and diverse.
Capcut's official tweet mentioned that Seedream 5.0 can be compared with Nano Banana Pro and is cheaper. Currently, all users can use it for free 20 times, and it will be launched in the US later. Some netizens compared the generation effects of Nano Banana Pro, ChatGPT, Seedream 5.0, and Grok Imagine Image. The prompt word was: Generate a high - quality infographic explaining the process of making beer in the Trappist monastery, with rich illustrations.
▲ From left to right in the first row are the images generated by Nano Banana Pro and ChatGPT. From left to right in the second row are the images generated by Seedream 5.0 and Grok Imagine Image.
Compared with the others, Seedream 5.0 explains the steps in the most detailed way, with detailed text descriptions for each step, but its sense of artistic design is slightly weaker than that of Nano Banana Pro.
From the comments of netizens on the social platform X, the upgrade of the preview version of Seedream 5.0 gives priority to intelligence rather than aesthetics and can handle complex knowledge - driven tasks.
Some netizens think that the intelligence level and Chinese language ability of Seedream 5.0 have improved, but they are still not as good as those of Nano Banana Pro.
Some netizens joked that the progress of the new model is only 0.09, which is only equivalent to Seedream 4.5 with online search added.
01. Three major capabilities are enhanced, targeting practical needs
According to the Capcut official website, the important upgrade points of Seedream 5.0 this time include enhanced accuracy and intelligence level, faster and more expressive image creation, and support for online knowledge integration.
First, in terms of intelligence level, Seedream 5.0 can deeply understand prompt words and generate images that match the user's intention, with precise details, clear layout, and better text rendering effects.
Second, enhanced stylization effects. Its image - to - image function enhances the stylization effects. The model can provide clearer details, delicate textures, and balanced lighting. The model also adds an editing function, allowing users to precisely select and adjust corresponding elements with a brush.
Finally, intelligent reasoning ability. The official website mentions that the multi - step logic, spatial understanding, and specific domain knowledge of the new model are enhanced.
02. The improvement compared with Seedream 4.5 is small, and it can understand abstract needs
Zhidx experienced the image generation ability of Seedream 5.0.
The first prompt word was "Generate an ancient poem illustration for 'Quiet Night Thoughts'". It can be seen that the key element of the character "raising the head to look at the bright moon" in the generated result is not missing, and the shadow of the character under the moonlight is also attached. However, elements such as "in front of the bed" in the original poem are not involved in the picture.
To test the online search ability of Seedream 5.0, Zhidx input the prompt word "Recently, many robots are going to participate in the 2026 Spring Festival Gala. Generate a poster of the robots that have officially announced their participation in the Spring Festival Gala."
The visual elements generated by Seedream 5.0 are accurate, and there is no garbled code in the long - text generation, showing stable performance. However, it didn't understand "the robots that have officially announced their participation in the Spring Festival Gala" and only generated a poster of robots on the Spring Festival Gala.
For an abstract prompt word, Zhidx input "Generate a picture of an alarm clock with a quiet and technological sense and a sunset glow atmosphere". In the picture generated by the new model, the design of the alarm clock and the background combine the sunset and the technological sense.
For a more detailed image output, the prompt word was "A close - up cinematic portrait of a young woman with freckles and dark curly hair, surrounded by bright wildflowers and vines, wearing a flower crown on her head. Shot during the golden hour, with a warm backlight creating a halo on her hair and skin, shallow depth of field, soft - focused foreground flowers, and photo - realistic quality."
It can be seen that the backlight effect in the output picture is very good. The halo on the edge of the hair, the luster of the skin, and the soft - focused foreground flowers all create a natural atmosphere.
When the prompt word from Zhidx was "The red - carpet style of the latest Oscar winners", Seedream 5.0 could directly generate a complete image with a red carpet, a backdrop board, and photographers, and there were many Oscar statuettes on the backdrop board.
In terms of generating pictures based on a reference picture, Zhidx uploaded the image of Jack, the male lead in "The Shining", which has been very popular recently, and asked Seedream 5.0 to "Generate a New Year greeting picture of this person. The protagonist should be wearing New - Year - themed clothes and holding a lantern and couplets."
In the generated effect, the face of the protagonist is the same as that in the reference picture, and the elements of holding a lantern and couplets are also present.
Zhidx also compared the generation effects of Seedream 5.0 and Nano Banana Pro. A very difficult prompt word was "Generate a person writing with the left hand, with an analog clock showing 5:25 in the background". Both Seedream 5.0 and Nano Banana failed. Either the hand holding the pen was wrong, or the time on the clock in the background was incorrect.
In the picture generated by Nano Banana Pro, the person is holding the pen with the left hand, and it can be seen from the blurry clock that the time is around 5:30.
▲ Picture generated by Nano Banana Pro
Although some pictures generated by Seedream 5.0 are not very accurate, the pictures it generates at one time are more diverse, including modern style, ancient style, and cartoon style.
▲ Picture generated by Seedream 5.0
When comparing Seedream 4.5 and Seedream 5.0, the prompt word uploaded by Zhidx was "Help me generate a cartoon - style recipe for scrambled eggs with tomatoes". In comparison, the overall layout and architectural design of Seedream 5.0 are more beautiful.
▲ The upper picture is generated by Seedream 4.5, and the lower picture is generated by Seedream 5.0.
03. Conclusion: Image models are upgrading and iterating towards practical capabilities
Currently, the iteration path of leading image models is upgrading towards practical capabilities such as improving understanding ability, controllable generation, and editing accuracy.
From the upgrade of Seedream 5.0, it chooses to optimize in retrieval enhancement, detail texture, precise adjustment, and 4K enhancement. The generated results don't have a subversive effect, which may be closer to the actual needs of users. However, from the actual test and public opinion feedback, users' perception of small - version iterations is weakening, and there are still technical bottlenecks in aspects such as abstract semantic understanding, text rendering, and complex logical composition.