Seedream 4.5 API Pricing: $0.045 per Image

Q: Can I use a seed or a negative prompt?

No. Text-to-image accepts only prompt, aspect_ratio and resolution; extra fields return HTTP 400.

TL;DR

Seedream 4.5 costs $0.045 per image on HiAPI, the same at 2K and 4K, and the same for text-to-image (seedream-4.5/text-to-image) and image-to-image (seedream-4.5/image-to-image). 100 images cost $4.50.
Image-to-image takes up to 14 reference images at no extra cost.
Starting a new project? Look at Seedream 5.0 Lite first: it also prices 2K and 4K the same, at $0.035, a cent less per image. If your prompts are already tuned on 4.5, there's no rush to switch. Open the Seedream 4.5 model page to try it; new accounts get 200 free credits.

Price table

	Per image	100 images	1,000 images
Text-to-image, 2K	$0.045	$4.50	$45
Text-to-image, 4K	$0.045	$4.50	$45
Image-to-image (1–14 references)	$0.045	$4.50	$45

Live HiAPI prices, checked October 18, 2026.

Only the image count matters. Aspect ratio, resolution and the number of reference images don't change the price. Failed tasks aren't charged.

What $0.045 buys

2K, 2:3. All three strings (title, date, venue) came out right:

A screen-printed gig poster for a fictional jazz festival, the title 'BLUE HOUR JAZZ FESTIVAL' in bold geometric sans-serif capitals stacked across the top half, a double bass player silhouetted against a huge orange evening sun rendered in flat layered inks, date line 'AUGUST 21-23' in a clean slab serif beneath the title, venue line 'RIVERSIDE PARK PAVILION' in small spaced capitals at the bottom edge, limited-palette screen print texture with visible paper grain, burnt orange, midnight blue and cream palette, premium gig-poster finish

Generate this prompt →

seedream-4.5/text-to-image, 2:3, 2K, 1568×2352, $0.045.

4K, 3:2. Same $0.045, returned at 4992×3328, with lens knurling, leather and felt texture sharp at full zoom:

An overhead knolling photograph of a vintage film photographer's complete kit arranged in a precise grid on dark green felt: a chrome rangefinder camera, three lenses with engraved focal-length rings, rolls of 35mm film, a handheld light meter, screw-on filters in open leather pouches, a horsehair brush, lens tissues and a weathered field notebook, every engraving and knurled texture sharp, even soft studio light, top-down composition, ultra-detailed, premium editorial finish

Generate this prompt →

seedream-4.5/text-to-image, 3:2, 4K, 4992×3328, $0.045.

One caveat: small text the prompt didn't specify, like the engravings on the lens rings, turns into plausible-looking pseudo-lettering up close. If a string matters, put it in the prompt in quotes.

Compared with the Seedream 5.0 tiers

	4.5	5.0 Flash	5.0 Lite	5.0 Pro
Per image	$0.045	$0.025	$0.035	$0.05 at 1K, $0.10 at 2K
4K	Yes, same price	No	Yes, same price	No
Reference images	1–14	1–10	1–14	1–10
1,000 images	$45	$25	$35	$50 / $100

What this means:

4.5 is closest to 5.0 Lite: both price 2K and 4K the same and take up to 14 references. Lite is a cent cheaper per image, $10 less per 1,000.
Flash is the cheapest, but has no 4K.
Pro costs the most and has no 4K.
Already on 4.5? If your prompts and post-processing are tuned, the price gap is small, so there's no need to switch right away. Before you do, run the same prompts on both and compare.

For curl and Python code, see How to use the Seedream 4.5 image-to-image API. Detailed 5.0 prices are in Seedream 5.0 API pricing, and a same-prompt test of Flash and Lite is in Seedream 5.0 Flash vs Lite.

How to call it

Text-to-image requires all three fields:

{"model": "seedream-4.5/text-to-image", "input": {"prompt": "...", "aspect_ratio": "2:3", "resolution": "4K"}}

Image-to-image adds image_urls (1–14 images, jpeg/png/webp, up to 10 MB each), and the prompt can refer to references by number:

{"model": "seedream-4.5/image-to-image", "input": {"prompt": "...", "image_urls": ["https://..."], "aspect_ratio": "1:1", "resolution": "2K"}}

aspect_ratio accepts 1:1, 4:3, 3:4, 16:9, 9:16, 2:3, 3:2 and 21:9; resolution is 2K or 4K only. Seedream 5.0 Pro uses 1K/2K instead, so remap that field when you switch tiers.