Seedance 2.5 vs MiniMax H3
Preferred for text to video: Too close to call · Preferred for image to video: MiniMax H3 · Self-hosting: MiniMax H3. Quality scores are blind human-preference votes; specs and prices come from each lab’s listings.
ByteDance SeedSeedance 2.5
- Arena1,477
- From$0.103/s
- Max length30 s
MiniMaxMiniMax H3
- Arena1,495
- From—
- Max length—
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Where they differ
Quality is the arena score from blind, side-by-side human votes. Price, length and resolution come from each lab’s own listings.
- Preferred for text to videoToo close to callSeedance 2.5 1,474 (#7) · MiniMax H3 1,460 (#8) — blind human votes
- Preferred for image to videoMiniMax H3Seedance 2.5 1,477 (#4) · MiniMax H3 1,495 (#1) — blind human votes
- NewestSame release dateSeedance 2.5 Jul 31, 2026 · MiniMax H3 Jul 31, 2026
- Widest inputsSame inputsSeedance 2.5: Text prompts, Reference images, Audio, Video · MiniMax H3: Text prompts, Reference images, Audio, Video
- Native audioBoth generate soundGenerates an audio track with the video: Seedance 2.5 yes · MiniMax H3 yes
- Image to videoBoth animate imagesStarts from an uploaded image: Seedance 2.5 yes · MiniMax H3 yes
- Self-hostingMiniMax H3Downloadable weights (MiniMax H3 Community License Agreement)
- Most API hostsSame reachSeedance 2.5: 1 · MiniMax H3: 1
Every spec in one table
Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Seedance 2.5ByteDance Seed | MiniMax H3MiniMax |
|---|---|---|
| Quality (blind human votes) | ||
| Text to video arenaElo-style score · higher is better | 1,474 ±9#7 of 48 · 8,001 votes (best) | 1,460 ±9#8 of 48 · 11,417 votes |
| Image to video arenaElo-style score · higher is better | 1,477 ±7#4 of 48 · 15,729 votes | 1,495 ±5#1 of 48 · 57,112 votes (best) |
| Price | ||
| Starting price | $0.103/s 480p | — |
| 10-second clip | $1.03at the starting rate | — |
| How it is billed | Billed per video token ($10.70 per million); higher at 720p. | — |
| Output | ||
| Produces | Video with sound | Video with sound |
| Resolutions | 480p · 720p | — |
| Highest resolution | 720p | — |
| Clip length | 4–30 s | — |
| Longest clip | 30 s | — |
| Sound | Optional | Always generated |
| Frame control | First and last frame | — |
| Inputs | ||
| Text prompts | Yes | Yes |
| Start image (image to video) | Yes | Yes |
| Video input | Yes | Yes |
| Audio input | Yes | Yes |
| References | Up to 50 image, video and audio assets | — |
| Access | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | OpenMiniMax H3 Community License Agreement |
| API hosts | 1 | 1 |
| Released | Jul 31, 2026 | Jul 31, 2026 |
Which should you choose?
Which is better, Seedance 2.5 or MiniMax H3?
For text to video, voters rate them about the same (Seedance 2.5 1,474 (#7) · MiniMax H3 1,460 (#8)). For image to video, voters prefer MiniMax H3 (Seedance 2.5 1,477 (#4) · MiniMax H3 1,495 (#1)). Arena scores come from blind, side-by-side human votes on the same prompts; when the gap is inside both models’ error margins we call it a tie. Test your own prompts before you commit.
Which is cheaper?
Seedance 2.5 costs from $0.103/s (480p). A 10-second clip at the lowest rate: Seedance 2.5 $1.03. MiniMax H3 has no published per-second price. Prices are list rates and change often; check the lab before budgeting.
How long can the videos be, and at what resolution?
Seedance 2.5: 4–30 s, 480p / 720p; MiniMax H3: length not published.
What is the difference between Seedance 2.5 and MiniMax H3?
Seedance 2.5 is a video model from ByteDance Seed (Jul 31, 2026), taking text prompts, reference images, audio and video and producing video with sound. MiniMax H3 is a video model from MiniMax (Jul 31, 2026), taking text prompts, reference images, audio and video and producing video with sound.
Which is newer?
Seedance 2.5 Jul 31, 2026; MiniMax H3 Jul 31, 2026.
Which generates video with sound?
Generates an audio track with the video: Seedance 2.5 yes; MiniMax H3 yes.
Can I run any of these on my own hardware?
MiniMax H3. Downloadable weights (MiniMax H3 Community License Agreement).
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