Seed Character vs Seed 2.1 Turbo
Seed Character comes out ahead, 75 to 57 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
ByteDance SeedSeed Character
75/100- ECI—
- Price$0.119 / $0.297
- Context256K
- ByteDance Seed
Seed 2.1 Turbo
57/100- ECI—
- Price$0.445 / $2.23
- Context256K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Seed Character is our pick
Seed Character is the better all-round choice, scoring 75/100 against Seed 2.1 Turbo (57). It leads on price. 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 CharacterSeed Character $0.163 · Seed 2.1 Turbo $0.891 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameSeed Character 256,000 · Seed 2.1 Turbo 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsSeed Character: Text, Images, Video · Seed 2.1 Turbo: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Seed Character | Seed 2.1 Turbo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 87 | 52 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 80 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 36 | 36 |
| Overall | 100% | 75/100 | 57/100 |
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 CharacterByteDance Seed | Seed 2.1 TurboByteDance Seed |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.119 (best) | $0.445 |
| Output | $0.297 (best) | $2.23 |
| Cached input | $0.024 (best) | $0.089 |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.163 (best) | $0.891 |
| Long-context rate | Over 32K: $0.178 / $0.891 | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Volcengine Ark API | Official Volcengine Ark API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 256,000 tokens | 256,000 tokens |
| Max output | 256,000 tokens | 256,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yesminimal · low · high | Yesminimal · low · medium · high · xhigh · max |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | doubao-seed-character-260628 | doubao-seed-2-1-turbo-260628 |
| API providers | 2 | 4 (best) |
| Released | Jun 23, 2026 | Jun 23, 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 Character$1.78
- Seed 2.1 Turbo$8.91
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Seed Character or Seed 2.1 Turbo?
Seed Character is the better all-round choice, scoring 75/100 against Seed 2.1 Turbo (57). It leads on price. 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 Character or Seed 2.1 Turbo?
Seed Character is cheaper at $0.119 input / $0.297 output per million tokens (official Volcengine Ark API price). Seed 2.1 Turbo costs $0.445 input / $2.23 output per million tokens (official Volcengine Ark API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.163 per million tokens for Seed Character versus $0.891 for Seed 2.1 Turbo (5.5× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Seed Character has not been scored yet and Seed 2.1 Turbo has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Seed Character and Seed 2.1 Turbo 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 Character and Seed 2.1 Turbo share the same 256,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Seed Character up to 256,000, Seed 2.1 Turbo up to 256,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Seed Character accepts text, images and video; Seed 2.1 Turbo accepts text, images and video. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
No. Seed Character and Seed 2.1 Turbo are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Seed Character is the newest, released Jun 23, 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.
