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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Seed 2.1 Turbo vs LongCat-2.0

Seed 2.1 Turbo comes out ahead, 57 to 45 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    ByteDance Seed

    Seed 2.1 Turbo

    Released Jun 23, 2026

    57/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.445 / $2.23
    • Context256K
  2. Meituan (LongCat)

    LongCat-2.0

    Released Jun 30, 2026

    45/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.75 / $2.95
    • Context1M
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    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Seed 2.1 Turbo is our pick

Seed 2.1 Turbo is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against LongCat-2.0 (45). It leads on price and inputs & features. LongCat-2.0 wins on 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 2.1 TurboSeed 2.1 Turbo $0.891 · LongCat-2.0 $1.30 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextLongCat-2.0LongCat-2.0 1,000,000 · Seed 2.1 Turbo 256,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSeed 2.1 TurboSeed 2.1 Turbo: Text, Images, Video · LongCat-2.0: Text
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightSeed 2.1 TurboLongCat-2.0
Price50%5244
Inputs & features30%8035
Context window20%3660
Overall100%57/10045/100

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 2.1 Turbo vs LongCat-2.0 specifications side by side
SpecificationSeed 2.1 TurboByteDance SeedLongCat-2.0Meituan (LongCat)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.445 (best)$0.75
Output$2.23 (best)$2.95
Cached input$0.089$0.015 (best)
Blended (3:1)$0.891 (best)$1.30
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Volcengine Ark APIOfficial LongCat API
Limits
Context window256,000 tokens1,000,000 tokens (best)
Max output256,000 tokens (best)131,072 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoYesNo
ReasoningYesminimal · low · medium · high · xhigh · maxYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDdoubao-seed-2-1-turbo-260628LongCat-2.0
API providers45 (best)
ReleasedJun 23, 2026Jun 30, 2026
Knowledge cutoff——
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 2.1 Turbo$8.91
  • LongCat-2.0$13.40
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Seed 2.1 Turbo or LongCat-2.0?

Seed 2.1 Turbo is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against LongCat-2.0 (45). It leads on price and inputs & features. LongCat-2.0 wins on 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 2.1 Turbo or LongCat-2.0?

Seed 2.1 Turbo is cheaper at $0.445 input / $2.23 output per million tokens (official Volcengine Ark API price). LongCat-2.0 costs $0.75 input / $2.95 output per million tokens (official LongCat API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.891 per million tokens for Seed 2.1 Turbo versus $1.30 for LongCat-2.0 (1.5× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Seed 2.1 Turbo has not been scored yet and LongCat-2.0 has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Seed 2.1 Turbo and LongCat-2.0 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?

LongCat-2.0 has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 256,000 for Seed 2.1 Turbo. Maximum output per response: Seed 2.1 Turbo up to 256,000, LongCat-2.0 up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Seed 2.1 Turbo accepts text, images and video; LongCat-2.0 accepts text. Seed 2.1 Turbo handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. Seed 2.1 Turbo and LongCat-2.0 are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

LongCat-2.0 is the newest, released Jun 30, 2026. Seed 2.1 Turbo 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.