BytePlus announced Seedance 2.5 4K on October 23, 2026: ByteDance’s video model at 4K with 10-bit colour, and a Draft mode that previews shots at 480p before the final render. BytePlus calls it “The most capable model in the Seedance 2.5 generation”. For now it is “Currently available to selected enterprise customers”, and for everyone else there is a line, not a date: “Stay tuned for updates on API availability.”
No price and no 4K spec sheet have been published. Here is what the announcement says, what it leaves open, and how a model trained for 4K differs from the 4K tiers some resellers already sell.
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On October 23, 2026 BytePlus announced Seedance 2.5 4K, which it calls the most capable model of the Seedance 2.5 generation, with 10-bit colour.
Draft mode tests storyboards and shots as lower-cost 480p previews, then renders the final version in 4K.
Only selected enterprise customers can use it. IT Home reports the first batch of trials goes to 20 studios, and the API has no date.
No price or 4K spec sheet is published. The public Seedance 2.5 API tops out at 1080p, about $0.569 per second on BytePlus ModelArk in our October 14 read.
Reseller 4K tiers upscale the 1080p model. Seedance 2.5 4K is a version ByteDance trained to generate 4K itself.
§ 01What Seedance 2.5 4K adds
BytePlus posted the announcement on X at 15:31 UTC, with a two-post thread and a short film, Otter is Nobody 2, as the model’s “screen debut”. Volcano Engine, ByteDance’s cloud in China, announced it the same day, as reported by IT Home.
- 4K output. BytePlus says it brings “more nuanced facial expressions and movements, alongside richer visual detail”. IT Home reports the gains came from dedicated training on expressions, small movements and detail.
- 10-bit colour. The thread credits 10-bit colour depth with richer gradations and smoother transitions.
- Draft mode. Creators test storyboards and refine shots with lower-cost 480p previews, then generate the final version in 4K.
- Cleaner references and edits. IT Home says uploaded material keeps its sharpness and colour in reference generation and editing, including small text on posters and packaging.
| Item | Seedance 2.5 (public API) | Seedance 2.5 4K |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Commercial API since August 7 | Selected enterprise customers |
| Top resolution | 1080p on BytePlus ModelArk | 4K |
| Colour depth | Not stated | 10-bit |
| Preview workflow | Not part of the API listing | 480p Draft mode, then 4K |
| Clip length | 4 to 30 seconds | Not published |
| Price | About $0.569 per second at 1080p (our October 14 read) | Not published |
§ 02How Seedance 2.5 rolled out
IT Home laid out the model’s path in its report. The 4K version arrived 122 days after ByteDance first showed Seedance 2.5.
| Date | Step | Days after first reveal |
|---|---|---|
| June 23 | Revealed at the FORCE conference | 0 |
| July 13 | API for top enterprise clients | 20 |
| July 16 | API for developers | 23 |
| July 31 | In Jimeng web and app | 38 |
| August 7 | Commercial API opened | 45 |
| October 23 | 4K version for selected enterprises | 122 |
If the 4K version follows the same pattern, a wider API comes after the enterprise trial. Nobody has said when.
§ 03Native 4K vs upscaled 4K
“4K Seedance” is not new on price lists. As our Seedance 2.5 pricing record found, the 1440p and 4K tiers some resellers sell run the 1080p model and upscale its output. An upscaler sharpens pixels the model already drew; it cannot add a facial reaction the 1080p take never rendered.
Seedance 2.5 4K is different by BytePlus’s account: a version trained for 4K, which is where its claims about expressions and fine detail come from. Until an independent test compares the two, treat the quality gap as BytePlus’s claim, and treat any reseller 4K sold today as an upscale.
§ 04Draft mode and the cost of a 4K film
Video generation rolls new dice on every take, so the expensive part of a film is the takes you throw away. Draft mode moves those to 480p: judge the take small, then pay for 4K only once.
CellCog has run the same draft-then-finish workflow on Seedance 2.5 at 1080p since October 15: a 480p draft costs a little under a fifth of the 1080p finish, and the finish renders that same take. How much a 4K finish costs against a 480p draft depends on a price BytePlus has not published.
§ 05What it means if you make video
- You cannot buy it yet unless BytePlus picked your company. Plan on 1080p for public work.
- Read “4K” on a reseller’s list as an upscale until a native 4K endpoint appears there.
- Draft first at any resolution: lock the take at 480p before paying for the final.
Our conflict, declared: CellCog’s video generation runs on Seedance 2.5 at up to 1080p. We have no access to the 4K version and had no part in it. We will update this page when its API or price is published.
§ 06Update log
- October 23, 2026: page opened from BytePlus’s announcement thread, IT Home’s report and TechNode’s summary. Same day: added an explainer scene of Draft mode.
§ 07Sources
- BytePlus on X, October 23, 2026, and the thread’s second post.
- IT Home, Volcano Engine releases Seedance 2.5 4K, October 23, 2026 (in Chinese).
- TechNode, ByteDance launches Seedance 2.5 4K video model for film production, October 23, 2026.
- ByteDance Seed, Seedance 2.5.
- Our Seedance 2.5 pricing record and drafts launch post.
Q1What is Seedance 2.5 4K?
A version of ByteDance’s Seedance 2.5 video model that generates 4K video with 10-bit colour, announced by BytePlus on October 23, 2026 for selected enterprise customers.
Q2Is Seedance 2.5 4K available by API?
Not publicly. BytePlus says it is available to selected enterprise customers and asks others to stay tuned for API availability. The public Seedance 2.5 API stops at 1080p.
Q3How much does Seedance 2.5 4K cost?
No price has been published. For comparison, the public Seedance 2.5 model costs about $0.569 per second at 1080p on BytePlus ModelArk, read October 14, 2026.
Q4Is reseller 4K Seedance the same thing?
No. The 4K tiers some resellers sold before October 23 upscale the 1080p model’s output. Seedance 2.5 4K is ByteDance’s own version trained to generate 4K.