Motif 3 vs Seed 2.1 Pro
Seed 2.1 Pro comes out ahead, 50 to 44 on our weighted score, though Motif 3 is 2× cheaper per token.
Motif Technologies
Motif 3
44/100- ECI—
- Price$0.50 / $2.00
- Context262K
- Our pick
ByteDance SeedSeed 2.1 Pro
50/100- ECI—
- Price$0.891 / $4.45
- Context256K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Seed 2.1 Pro is our pick
Seed 2.1 Pro is the better all-round choice, scoring 50/100 against Motif 3 (44). It leads on inputs & features. Motif 3 wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
- CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
- Lowest priceMotif 3Motif 3 $0.875 · Seed 2.1 Pro $1.78 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextMotif 3Motif 3 262,144 · Seed 2.1 Pro 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSeed 2.1 ProMotif 3: Text · Seed 2.1 Pro: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingMotif 3Publishes downloadable weights (MIT)
| Measure | Weight | Motif 3 | Seed 2.1 Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 53 | 38 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 36 |
| Overall | 100% | 44/100 | 50/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Motif 3Motif Technologies | Seed 2.1 ProByteDance Seed |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.50 (best) | $0.891 |
| Output | $2.00 (best) | $4.45 |
| Cached input | — | $0.178 |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.875 (best) | $1.78 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 1 providers | Official Volcengine Ark API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens (best) | 256,000 tokens |
| Max output | 262,144 tokens (best) | 256,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yesminimal · low · medium · high · xhigh · max |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | OpenMIT | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | doubao-seed-2-1-pro-260628 |
| API providers | 1 | 2 (best) |
| Released | Aug 7, 2026 | Jun 23, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Motif 3$9.00
- Seed 2.1 Pro$17.81
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Motif 3 or Seed 2.1 Pro?
Seed 2.1 Pro is the better all-round choice, scoring 50/100 against Motif 3 (44). It leads on inputs & features. Motif 3 wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Motif 3 or Seed 2.1 Pro?
Motif 3 is cheaper at $0.50 input / $2.00 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). Seed 2.1 Pro costs $0.891 input / $4.45 output per million tokens (official Volcengine Ark API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.875 per million tokens for Motif 3 versus $1.78 for Seed 2.1 Pro (2× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Motif 3 has not been scored yet and Seed 2.1 Pro has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Motif 3 and Seed 2.1 Pro yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Motif 3 has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 256,000 for Seed 2.1 Pro. Maximum output per response: Motif 3 up to 262,144, Seed 2.1 Pro up to 256,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Motif 3 accepts text; Seed 2.1 Pro accepts text, images and video. Seed 2.1 Pro handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Motif 3 publishes its weights (MIT) and can be self-hosted; Seed 2.1 Pro is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Motif 3 is the newest, released Aug 7, 2026. Seed 2.1 Pro came out Jun 23, 2026.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.
