Seed 1.6 vs Seed 1.6 Vision
Seed 1.6 Vision comes out ahead, 63 to 55 on our weighted score.
ByteDance SeedSeed 1.6
55/100- ECI—
- Price$0.119 / $1.19
- Context256K
- Our pickByteDance Seed
Seed 1.6 Vision
63/100- ECI—
- Price$0.119 / $1.19
- Context256K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Seed 1.6 Vision is our pick
Seed 1.6 Vision is the better all-round choice, scoring 63/100 against Seed 1.6 (55). It leads on inputs & features. 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 priceSame priceSeed 1.6 $0.386 · Seed 1.6 Vision $0.386 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameSeed 1.6 256,000 · Seed 1.6 Vision 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSeed 1.6 VisionSeed 1.6: Text · Seed 1.6 Vision: Text, Images
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Seed 1.6 | Seed 1.6 Vision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 69 | 69 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 45 | 70 |
| Context window | 20% | 36 | 36 |
| Overall | 100% | 55/100 | 63/100 |
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 | Seed 1.6ByteDance Seed | Seed 1.6 VisionByteDance Seed |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.119 | $0.119 |
| Output | $1.19 | $1.19 |
| Cached input | $0.024 | $0.024 |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.386 | $0.386 |
| Long-context rate | Over 32K: $0.178 / $2.37 | Over 32K: $0.178 / $2.37 |
| Price source | Official Volcengine Ark API | Official Volcengine Ark API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 256,000 tokens | 256,000 tokens |
| Max output | 64,000 tokens (best) | 32,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yesminimal · low · medium · high | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | doubao-seed-1-6-251015 | doubao-seed-1-6-vision-250815 |
| API providers | 2 | 2 |
| Released | Oct 15, 2025 | Aug 15, 2025 |
| 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.
- Seed 1.6$3.56
- Seed 1.6 Vision$3.56
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Seed 1.6 or Seed 1.6 Vision?
Seed 1.6 Vision is the better all-round choice, scoring 63/100 against Seed 1.6 (55). It leads on inputs & features. 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, Seed 1.6 or Seed 1.6 Vision?
Seed 1.6 and Seed 1.6 Vision cost the same: $0.119 input / $1.19 output per million tokens.
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Seed 1.6 has not been scored yet and Seed 1.6 Vision has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Seed 1.6 and Seed 1.6 Vision 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?
Seed 1.6 and Seed 1.6 Vision share the same 256,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Seed 1.6 up to 64,000, Seed 1.6 Vision up to 32,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Seed 1.6 accepts text; Seed 1.6 Vision accepts text and images. Seed 1.6 Vision handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Seed 1.6 and Seed 1.6 Vision are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Seed 1.6 is the newest, released Oct 15, 2025. Seed 1.6 Vision came out Aug 15, 2025.
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.
