ByteDance has released Seedream 5.5, the newest version of its image generator. It went live on 9 November 2026, and it targets two things designers ask for all the time: edits that do not slowly wreck the picture, and images with a real transparent background.
ByteDance says you can edit one image 100 times in a row while untouched areas stay pixel-identical. It also outputs native RGBA PNGs, so no more background-removal step.
Below you will find where to use it, what it costs on each platform, the API parameters, how it compares with GPT Image 2.6 and Nano Banana, and the caveats behind ByteDance’s numbers.
- What: Seedream 5.5 is ByteDance Seed’s new image generation and editing model, released 9 Nov 2026. Hosted only, no open weights.
- Big upgrades: stable multi-turn editing (up to 100 rounds), native transparent RGBA output, more natural skin and lighting, and better dense small text.
- Where: rolling out in Jimeng, Doubao, Doubao Work and Volcano Engine Ark in China; ByteDance links Dola and the BytePlus Playground; WaveSpeed, Atlas Cloud and Higgsfield already list it.
- Price: from $0.02 per image and $0.028 per edit on WaveSpeed; about 0.28 yuan for a 2K edit on Volcano Ark (Chinese media report).
- Specs (WaveSpeed): 1K, 1.5K and 2K output, 15 aspect ratios, up to 10 reference images, PNG or JPEG.
- Caveat: all quality claims are ByteDance’s own expert ratings; no independent scores yet. A Pro version is coming.
What Is New in Seedream 5.5
Seedream is the image model family from ByteDance Seed, the research team behind TikTok owner ByteDance’s AI. Version 5.0 Pro arrived in mid-2026 with layer editing and multi-reference fusion. Version 5.5 builds on it with three upgrades.
1. Multi-turn editing that does not drift
Most image editors get worse each time you ask for a change. Colours shift, faces soften and small details vanish.
ByteDance says Seedream 5.5 keeps unedited regions identical at the pixel level and removes colour drift. Its demo ran 100 edits in a row on one portrait, each built on the last output.
2. Native RGBA transparency
The model can output an image with a real alpha channel, including partly transparent areas like glass or soft shadows. You get a usable sticker, product cut-out or game asset straight away.
3. More natural realism and sharper text
- Realism: lighting, materials and skin look more natural, with less plastic gloss and overexposure.
- Text: better handling of complex characters and dense small text, in Chinese and English.
- Layer decomposition: partner APIs add an endpoint that splits an image into a base plus up to 99 transparent layers.
Note: ByteDance has also announced a Seedream 5.5 Pro but gave no date or price.
ByteDance’s Evaluation Numbers
ByteDance tested the model on its MagicArena platform with expert raters across six use cases: e-commerce, marketing, film and TV, gaming, office work and fashion design. Everything here is vendor-reported.
| Claim | Result (vendor-reported) |
|---|---|
| vs Seedream 5.0 Pro, quality and usability | Better in all six use cases |
| Usability in film/TV and office work | More than double 5.0 Pro |
| GSB score, image-to-image realism vs previous version | +55.62% |
| Severe text corruption rate | 0.4% |
| Minor text corruption rate | 1.7% |
| vs GPT Image 2.5 Sunburst and Nano Banana 2.1 | Leads on text structure; “substantial advantage” in text-to-image realism (no exact scores) |
As AlphaSignal points out, ByteDance did not publish prompt sets, rater counts or sample sizes. So these are useful signals, not independent proof.
Where You Can Use Seedream 5.5
| Platform | Status (10 Nov 2026) | Region |
|---|---|---|
| Jimeng (Dreamina’s Chinese app) | Gradual rollout | China |
| Doubao and Doubao Work | Gradual rollout | China |
| Volcano Engine Ark | Experience centre now; API “soon” | China |
| Dola (dola.com) and BytePlus Playground | Linked from ByteDance’s launch page | International |
| WaveSpeed AI | Live API (text-to-image, edit, layers) | Global |
| Atlas Cloud, Higgsfield | Listed | Global |
Some coverage says Dreamina and CapCut also carry it in some markets, but ByteDance’s own post only names the China apps above. If you use CapCut, check the model picker; my CapCut AI features guide explains where image models appear.
Pricing on Each Platform
ByteDance did not publish one global launch price. Here is what each platform lists right now.
| Platform | Text-to-image | Edit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| WaveSpeed | from $0.02 | from $0.028 | Layer decomposition from $0.60; price rises with resolution and references |
| Volcano Engine Ark | not listed | ~0.28 yuan (2K square) | Reported by Chinese media; less than half of 5.0 Pro’s cost |
| Seedream 5.0 Pro on BytePlus (for comparison) | $0.045 up to 2.36 MP | $0.045 | $0.09 above 2.36 MP; extra references $0.003 each |
At WaveSpeed’s base rate, 100 images cost about $2 before extras. That makes it one of the cheapest frontier image models available.
Specs and API Parameters
These come from WaveSpeed’s Seedream 5.5 API page, the most complete public spec sheet so far.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Model IDs (WaveSpeed) | bytedance/seedream-v5.5, /edit, /layer-decomposition |
| Resolutions | 1K, 1.5K, 2K (2K at 16:9 = 2816 x 1584) |
| Aspect ratios | 1:1, 1:2, 2:1, 1:3, 3:1, 2:3, 3:2, 3:4, 4:3, 4:5, 5:4, 9:16, 16:9, 9:21, 21:9 |
| Reference images | 1 to 10 per edit |
| Output | PNG (default) or JPEG |
background |
auto, transparent or opaque (transparent needs PNG) |
| Layer decomposition | max_images 2 to 100 (default 30) |
| Weights | Not released; hosted only |
Tip: No 4K tier exists at launch. If you need print sizes, upscale the 2K output afterwards.
How to Use It: App and API Steps
Option A: in an app
- Open Dola or the BytePlus Playground (international) or Jimeng/Doubao (China).
- Choose Seedream 5.5 in the image model menu. The rollout is gradual, so it may not show for every account yet.
- Describe the image, then refine it with short follow-up edits in the same chat.
- Ask for a transparent background when you need a cut-out, and download as PNG.
Option B: through the WaveSpeed API
- Create a WaveSpeed account and copy your API key.
- Send a POST request to the Seedream 5.5 endpoint (example below).
- Poll the returned task until it finishes, then download the image URL.
curl -X POST "https://api.wavespeed.ai/api/v3/bytedance/seedream-v5.5" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $WAVESPEED_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"prompt": "Glass perfume bottle with soft shadow, studio product shot",
"aspect_ratio": "1:1",
"resolution": "2k",
"output_format": "png",
"background": "transparent"
}'Check WaveSpeed’s docs for the exact polling call and how long result URLs stay valid before you build a production pipeline.
Getting Clean Transparent PNGs
- Always pick PNG. JPEG has no alpha channel, so transparency is lost.
- Say it in the prompt too: “isolated on a transparent background, no floor, soft contact shadow”.
- Preview on dark and light backgrounds. Glass and soft shadows can show fringes that you only see on one of them.
- Want a local route? My Anima RGBA ComfyUI guide shows how to make transparent PNGs on your own GPU for free.
Tips for Long Editing Sessions
- Change one thing per turn. “Swap the ring for a silver band” works better than five changes at once.
- Say what to keep. “Keep the face, hair and lighting exactly the same.”
- Save checkpoints. Download good versions so you can go back if an edit goes wrong.
- Check small text after each edit. Even a 1.7% minor error rate adds up over many rounds.
Seedream 5.5 vs GPT Image 2.6 vs Nano Banana vs FLUX
| Model | API price | Standout feature | Transparent output | Run locally? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seedream 5.5 | from $0.02 / image (WaveSpeed) | 100-round stable edits, layer split | Yes, native RGBA | No |
| GPT Image 2.6 (OpenAI) | $30 per 1M image output tokens (~$0.03-0.10) | Markup edits, GIF and SVG output | Not its headline feature | No |
| Nano Banana Pro (Google) | $0.134 per 1K/2K image | Text-heavy designs, 4K | No | No |
| Nano Banana 2.1 (Google) | ~$0.0336 per 1K output | Cheap, strong edits, Gemini app | No | No |
| FLUX 3 Image (Black Forest Labs) | $0.048 per image | Photoreal; open Klein variant | No | Klein, yes |
- Pick Seedream 5.5 for e-commerce cut-outs, game assets and long iterative edits on a budget.
- Pick GPT Image 2.6 if you live in ChatGPT and want GIFs or SVGs; see my GPT Image 2.6 guide.
- Pick Nano Banana Pro for 4K, text-heavy posters; details in my Nano Banana Pro guide.
Limits, Licence and Privacy
- Hosted only. No weights, so you depend on ByteDance or a reseller for uptime and versions.
- Rollout is uneven. China apps first; international access goes through Dola, BytePlus and partners.
- Commercial use: rights come from each platform’s terms, not from ByteDance’s blog. Read them before using images in paid work.
- Privacy: data retention and training-use rules vary by provider. Avoid uploading confidential product shots until you have checked.
- No independent benchmarks yet. Arena leaderboards had not ranked it at the time of writing.
- Unknown: Ark API date, BytePlus pricing, and Seedream 5.5 Pro details.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Background is white, not transparent | JPEG output or background left on auto |
Set output_format: png and background: transparent |
| Seedream 5.5 missing in the app | Gradual rollout by account and region | Try Dola/BytePlus Playground or a partner API |
| Image size not what you expected | Dimensions vary by aspect ratio | Read the returned width and height; pick resolution and ratio together |
| Edits change areas you wanted kept | Prompt did not say what to keep | Add “keep everything else unchanged” and edit one thing per turn |
| Small text has typos | Dense text is still the hardest case | Shorten the text, regenerate, or add it later in a design tool |
| Result link expired | Provider stores outputs temporarily | Download results right away and store them yourself |
My Take
Seedream 5.5 goes after the boring but costly parts of image work: cutting out backgrounds and fixing things that broke during edits. If the 100-round claim holds up, that saves real hours for shop owners and game artists.
The price is the other hook. At around $0.02 an image through WaveSpeed, it undercuts Nano Banana Pro by a wide margin.
I would still test it on your own product shots before switching. Every quality number so far is ByteDance’s, and international access is patchy. For a free, private option on your own PC, a local ComfyUI setup with Qwen-Image-Edit 2511 remains a strong alternative.
FAQ
When was Seedream 5.5 released?
ByteDance Seed announced Seedream 5.5 on 9 November 2026, with a gradual rollout across its apps.
Is Seedream 5.5 free?
Chinese apps like Doubao may offer free generations, but API use is paid. WaveSpeed starts at $0.02 per image and $0.028 per edit.
Can Seedream 5.5 make transparent PNGs?
Yes. It outputs native RGBA images with full or partial transparency. Choose PNG and set the background to transparent.
How many reference images does Seedream 5.5 accept?
Up to 10 reference images per edit request on WaveSpeed and Atlas Cloud.
What is the maximum resolution?
2K at launch, for example 2816 x 1584 at 16:9. There is no 4K tier yet.
Can I run Seedream 5.5 locally?
No. ByteDance has not released the weights, so it only runs through hosted apps and APIs.
Is Seedream 5.5 better than Nano Banana?
ByteDance says it leads Nano Banana 2.1 on text structure and realism, but no independent tests confirm that yet. It is clearly cheaper than Nano Banana Pro.
Is there a Seedream 5.5 Pro?
ByteDance says a Pro version of the 5.5 series is coming, with no date or price announced.
Sources
- ByteDance Seed: “More Realistic Images, More Stable Editing Across 100 Rounds: Introducing Seedream 5.5” (9 Nov 2026), seed.bytedance.com
- WaveSpeed AI: Seedream 5.5 API page (endpoints, prices, resolutions, parameters)
- The Decoder: “Bytedance’s Seedream 5.5 promises pixel-stable image editing across 100 rounds without color drift” (9 Nov 2026)
- Tekedia: “ByteDance Rolls Out Seedream 5.5 Image Model” (Volcano Ark price, rollout apps)
- AlphaSignal: “ByteDance’s Seedream 5.5 Survives 100 Edit Rounds” (layer decomposition, benchmark caveats)
- Maverick Frame: “Seedream 5.5: 100-Round Editing, Transparent PNG and Pricing” (platform pricing round-up)
- The Rundown AI: Seedream 5.0 Pro tool page (5.0 Pro BytePlus pricing for comparison)
- No Code MBA AI release tracker, November 2026
