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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Seed 2.0 Lite vs Solar Pro 3

Seed 2.0 Lite comes out ahead, 73 to 55 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    ByteDance Seed

    Seed 2.0 Lite

    Released Feb 14, 2026

    73/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.089 / $0.534
    • Context256K
  2. Upstage

    Solar Pro 3

    Released Jan 2026

    55/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.25 / $0.25
    • Context131K
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Seed 2.0 Lite is our pick

Seed 2.0 Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against Solar Pro 3 (55). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. 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 · Solar Pro 3 $0.25 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextSeed 2.0 LiteSeed 2.0 Lite 256,000 · Solar Pro 3 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsSeed 2.0 LiteSeed 2.0 Lite: Text, Images, Video · Solar Pro 3: Text
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightSeed 2.0 LiteSolar Pro 3
Price50%8378
Inputs & features30%8035
Context window20%3624
Overall100%73/10055/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Seed 2.0 Lite vs Solar Pro 3 specifications side by side
SpecificationSeed 2.0 LiteByteDance SeedSolar Pro 3Upstage
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.089 (best)$0.25
Output$0.534$0.25 (best)
Cached input$0.018—
Blended (3:1)$0.20 (best)$0.25
Long-context rateOver 32K: $0.134 / $0.802Same rate
Price sourceOfficial Volcengine Ark APIOfficial Upstage API
Limits
Context window256,000 tokens (best)131,072 tokens
Max output32,000 tokens (best)8,192 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoYesNo
ReasoningYesminimal · low · medium · high · xhigh · maxYeslow · medium · high
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDdoubao-seed-2-0-lite-260428solar-pro3
API providers6 (best)2
ReleasedFeb 14, 2026Jan 2026
Knowledge cutoff—Mar 2025
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Seed 2.0 Lite$1.96
  • Solar Pro 3$3.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Seed 2.0 Lite or Solar Pro 3?

Seed 2.0 Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against Solar Pro 3 (55). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. 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 2.0 Lite or Solar Pro 3?

Seed 2.0 Lite is cheaper at $0.089 input / $0.534 output per million tokens (official Volcengine Ark API price). Solar Pro 3 costs $0.25 input / $0.25 output per million tokens (official Upstage 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 $0.25 for Solar Pro 3 (1.2× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Seed 2.0 Lite has not been scored yet and Solar Pro 3 has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Seed 2.0 Lite and Solar Pro 3 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 2.0 Lite has the largest context window at 256,000 tokens, against 131,072 for Solar Pro 3. Maximum output per response: Seed 2.0 Lite up to 32,000, Solar Pro 3 up to 8,192 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Seed 2.0 Lite accepts text, images and video; Solar Pro 3 accepts text. Seed 2.0 Lite handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. Seed 2.0 Lite and Solar Pro 3 are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Seed 2.0 Lite is the newest, released Feb 14, 2026. Solar Pro 3 came out Jan 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Solar Pro 3 Mar 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.