Recraft V4.1 Utility vs Seedream 5.0 Pro
Newest: Seedream 5.0 Pro · Widest inputs: Seedream 5.0 Pro · Image editing: Seedream 5.0 Pro. Not enough arena votes yet for a quality score, so this is a spec comparison.
RecraftRecraft V4.1 Utility
- Arena—
- From—
- Max size—
ByteDance SeedSeedream 5.0 Pro
- Arena1,390
- From$0.045/image
- Max size2K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Where they differ
Quality is the arena score from blind, side-by-side human votes. Price, length and resolution come from each lab’s own listings.
- NewestSeedream 5.0 ProRecraft V4.1 Utility May 14, 2026 · Seedream 5.0 Pro Jul 11, 2026
- Widest inputsSeedream 5.0 ProRecraft V4.1 Utility: Text prompts · Seedream 5.0 Pro: Text prompts, Reference images
- Image editingSeedream 5.0 ProTakes a reference image as input: Recraft V4.1 Utility no · Seedream 5.0 Pro yes
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs and apps
- Most API hostsSame reachRecraft V4.1 Utility: 1 · Seedream 5.0 Pro: 1
Every spec in one table
Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Recraft V4.1 UtilityRecraft | Seedream 5.0 ProByteDance Seed |
|---|---|---|
| Quality (blind human votes) | ||
| Text to image arenaElo-style score · higher is better | — | 1,250 ±4#14 of 82 · 105,824 votes |
| Image editing arenaElo-style score · higher is better | — | 1,390 ±3#13 of 61 · 317,111 votes |
| Price | ||
| Starting price | — | $0.045/image 1K |
| Top price | — | $0.09/image 2K |
| How it is billed | — | Per image |
| Output | ||
| Produces | Images | Images |
| Resolutions | — | 1K · 2K |
| Highest resolution | — | 2K |
| Largest image | — | 2K (about 4 MP) |
| Images per request | — | Up to 1 |
| Inputs | ||
| Text prompts | Yes | Yes |
| Reference images (editing) | No | Yes |
| Max reference images | — | 14 |
| Access | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API hosts | 1 | 1 |
| Released | May 14, 2026 | Jul 11, 2026 |
Which should you choose?
Which is better, Recraft V4.1 Utility or Seedream 5.0 Pro?
Neither model has enough arena votes for a reliable quality score yet, so this page compares specs only. Run the same three or four prompts through each and judge the results.
Which is cheaper?
Seedream 5.0 Pro costs from $0.045/image (1K), up to $0.09/image (2K). Recraft V4.1 Utility has no published per-image price. Prices are list rates and change often; check the lab before budgeting.
What is the difference between Recraft V4.1 Utility and Seedream 5.0 Pro?
Recraft V4.1 Utility is an image model from Recraft (May 14, 2026), taking text prompts and producing images. Seedream 5.0 Pro is an image model from ByteDance Seed (Jul 11, 2026), taking text prompts and reference images and producing images.
Which is newer?
Recraft V4.1 Utility May 14, 2026; Seedream 5.0 Pro Jul 11, 2026.
Which can edit an existing image?
Takes a reference image as input: Recraft V4.1 Utility no; Seedream 5.0 Pro yes.
Can I run any of these on my own hardware?
No open weights. Both are available only through APIs and apps.
Related comparisons
- Recraft V4.1 Utility vs Nano Banana 2Google · May 28, 2026
- Recraft V4.1 Utility vs GPT Image 2OpenAI · Apr 21, 2026
- Recraft V4.1 Utility vs Grok Imagine Image 2.0xAI · Aug 7, 2026
- Seedream 5.0 Pro vs Grok Imagine Image 2.0xAI · Aug 7, 2026
- Seedream 5.0 Pro vs Nano Banana 2Google · May 28, 2026
- Seedream 5.0 Pro vs Recraft V4.1Recraft · May 14, 2026
