Seed 1.8 vs Seed 2.0 Lite
Seed 2.0 Lite comes out ahead, 73 to 63 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
ByteDance SeedSeed 1.8
63/100- ECI—
- Price$0.119 / $1.19
- Context256K
- Our pickByteDance Seed
Seed 2.0 Lite
73/100- ECI—
- Price$0.089 / $0.534
- Context256K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Seed 2.0 Lite is our pick
Seed 2.0 Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against Seed 1.8 (63). It leads on price and 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 priceSeed 2.0 LiteSeed 2.0 Lite $0.20 · Seed 1.8 $0.386 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameSeed 1.8 256,000 · Seed 2.0 Lite 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSeed 2.0 LiteSeed 1.8: Text, Images · Seed 2.0 Lite: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Seed 1.8 | Seed 2.0 Lite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 69 | 83 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 70 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 36 | 36 |
| Overall | 100% | 63/100 | 73/100 |
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 1.8ByteDance Seed | Seed 2.0 LiteByteDance Seed |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.119 | $0.089 (best) |
| Output | $1.19 | $0.534 (best) |
| Cached input | $0.024 | $0.018 (best) |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.386 | $0.20 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Over 32K: $0.178 / $2.37 | Over 32K: $0.134 / $0.802 |
| 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 | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yesminimal · low · medium · high · xhigh · max | Yesminimal · low · medium · high · xhigh · max |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | doubao-seed-1-8-251228 | doubao-seed-2-0-lite-260428 |
| API providers | 2 | 6 (best) |
| Released | Dec 28, 2025 | Feb 14, 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.
- Seed 1.8$3.56
- Seed 2.0 Lite$1.96
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Seed 1.8 or Seed 2.0 Lite?
Seed 2.0 Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against Seed 1.8 (63). It leads on price and 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 1.8 or Seed 2.0 Lite?
Seed 2.0 Lite is cheaper at $0.089 input / $0.534 output per million tokens (official Volcengine Ark API price). Seed 1.8 costs $0.119 input / $1.19 output per million tokens (official Volcengine Ark API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.20 per million tokens for Seed 2.0 Lite versus $0.386 for Seed 1.8 (1.9× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Seed 1.8 has not been scored yet and Seed 2.0 Lite has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Seed 1.8 and Seed 2.0 Lite 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 1.8 and Seed 2.0 Lite share the same 256,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Seed 1.8 up to 64,000, Seed 2.0 Lite up to 32,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Seed 1.8 accepts text and images; Seed 2.0 Lite accepts text, images and video. Seed 2.0 Lite handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Seed 1.8 and Seed 2.0 Lite are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Seed 2.0 Lite is the newest, released Feb 14, 2026. Seed 1.8 came out Dec 28, 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.
