Seedream 4.5vs.SDXL Turbo

Which one is better?

In our own test, Seedream 4.5 leads. Neither is in the arena. Neither has an API price.

Test images

Same task, the first image of each. The task with the biggest difference is preselected.

Seedream 4.5: Typography and layout, first image from the fixed test run — Seedream 4.584 out of 100

SDXL Turbo: Typography and layout, first image from the fixed test run — SDXL Turbo3 out of 100

Result for “Typography and layout”:Seedream 4.5 ahead

Prompt given to both modelsCreate a square editorial poster for an imaginary night train called MONDFALTER. Show the exact German headline MONDFALTER and the exact subline BERLIN NACH LISSABON. Use a restrained midnight-blue and warm-cream palette, one stylized moth, strong Swiss-grid typography, generous negative space, and no additional words or logos.

What the rating looks at: Legible text, hierarchy, and composition.

“Ahead”: better in all three rating rounds. “Slightly ahead”: a higher value, but not in every round.

Test protocol of the images

Each test attempt uses the same archived prompt and one request. The first output of that attempt counts. Repeats after technical test failures are disclosed for the affected images. Files are normalized to 1,024 × 1,024 pixels without cropping. Provider resolution, randomness, quality tier and prompt processing can still differ. The images are a practical visual test, not a reconstruction of the arena configuration.

Character and detail

Seedream 4.5: fal, requested native 2048x2048 square, n=1, seed=607017308, estimated cost $0.040000, source 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:50 PM. Source

SDXL Turbo: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; stabilityai/sdxl-turbo@71153311d3dbb46851df1931d3ca6e939de83304; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=1, guidance=0.0, seed=660064698563452219; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; float16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE; native tokenizer truncation: tokenizer 80 to 77 tokens, tokenizer_2 80 to 77 tokens; archived input unchanged, generated Nov 2, 2026, 6:23 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: 985a75b38642a9f0e5e0c0e0c67f1b7f67780d42bd2168fa24e9a7a7a94b0da6

Seedream 4.5 image SHA 256: 614d5b810be9f7cc54c999fb930e5bb1a7a5b58f7211a3b71aa92e83a360cf78

SDXL Turbo image SHA 256: 9ee6443f4690649e93bdca408e5e8d317b312244636a3af47a02fe14eaf6c20c

Infographic

Seedream 4.5: fal, requested native 2048x2048 square, n=1, seed=467481828, estimated cost $0.040000, source 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:51 PM. Source

SDXL Turbo: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; stabilityai/sdxl-turbo@71153311d3dbb46851df1931d3ca6e939de83304; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=1, guidance=0.0, seed=6060807684445796734; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; float16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE, generated Nov 2, 2026, 6:23 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: ed65cb4e6a51e2336f8b149ad4cbb16e020f07d527ad94362e719d2dcf91d94f

Seedream 4.5 image SHA 256: ec1e2be1080670edf050cff00a094ff471c1b480a11a3922cf8c25f0ef0f6a5e

SDXL Turbo image SHA 256: 20395d858252aa131f235baa1f514039503a52dfec958c8f5b299db708bf4090

Product photography

Seedream 4.5: fal, requested native 2048x2048 square, n=1, seed=1880157282, estimated cost $0.040000, source 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:50 PM. Source

SDXL Turbo: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; stabilityai/sdxl-turbo@71153311d3dbb46851df1931d3ca6e939de83304; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=1, guidance=0.0, seed=4654331835179858246; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; float16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE; native tokenizer truncation: tokenizer 80 to 77 tokens, tokenizer_2 80 to 77 tokens; archived input unchanged, generated Nov 2, 2026, 6:22 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: c67fd71e91304458a2feef5c91efa8677260fab0c0099a29a2c52cb579f5b2f3

Seedream 4.5 image SHA 256: 48a36dede8c680fa8e2231ac33a95b1417dcded96ad753c98218cc78ed96a65b

SDXL Turbo image SHA 256: 75e5b85283110815e51a0470c937c3e42407244b50d918a3c0c54e10998a4b4c

Typography and layout

Seedream 4.5: fal, requested native 2048x2048 square, n=1, seed=775629027, estimated cost $0.040000, source 2048x2048, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:50 PM. Source

SDXL Turbo: manual, local PyTorch 2.13.0, Diffusers 0.36.0; stabilityai/sdxl-turbo@71153311d3dbb46851df1931d3ca6e939de83304; native 1024x1024, 1:1; one request, first output; steps=1, guidance=0.0, seed=1511362670078321145; mps for text encoder and denoising; cpu for native VAE decode; float16 for text encoder and transformer; float32 for VAE, generated Nov 2, 2026, 6:21 PM. Source

Protocol gradually-image-comparison-v1. Prompt SHA 256: 2e012c3d14ee5dd02203a94f394ca80a5038cdebd6032b25a8b8a221f2255419

Seedream 4.5 image SHA 256: 62d4e5b0b3c9ca5a55952dc2c5aca878ed687c76f302ad632136bd3e6bee3872

SDXL Turbo image SHA 256: 963088c72f75c98a95fd71be5f8d6e14fdf17061ae984f1109522a39be24ac76

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

n/a

Seedream 4.5

not in the arena

n/a

SDXL Turbo

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Seedream 4.5

Rank 64 of 108

SDXL Turbo

Rank 105 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

n/a

Seedream 4.5

no API price

n/a

SDXL Turbo

no API price

Ranks among the 21 image models with an arena rating and the 108 with a GraduallyBench run; prices compared with 28 models with an API price.

Seedream 4.5

Subscription: No ByteDance / Volcengine subscription includes this model. Through other providers from ≈ €6.36 a month (ElevenLabs Starter, with limited credits). 39 plans in Germany.
Via API: No API price known. Access: API, Web app.
Weights: unknown.

SDXL Turbo

Subscription: n/a No plan in Germany names exactly this model.
Via API: No API price known. Access: local.
License: Open weights.

Subscriptions only count plans that name exactly this model. Subscription prices include VAT, API prices are in dollars.

GraduallyBench from Nov 3, 2026 · Subscription database from Sep 29, 2026 (38 days old)

All data side by side

The better value is bold. For ratings only when the gap is clear.

Kennzahl	Seedream 4.5	SDXL Turbo
Ratings
Arena ratingfrom votes by users, higher is better	n/a	n/a
Arena rank	n/a	n/a
Arena votesmore votes, a safer rating	n/a	n/a
GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100	48	4
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	84	3
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	44	3
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	37	3
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	27	8
API price
Per imagelower is better	n/a	n/a
100 images	n/a	n/a
Profile
Released	n/a	n/a
Weightsopen means: runs locally	unknown	open
Lifecycle	Still-listed T2I/I2I model ID; Ark marks it as pending shutdown without giving a date in the reviewed source	Older open fast checkpoint; no active hosted API ID claimed in the reviewed model list
Access	API, Web app	local
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	not consistently published	not consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	39	n/a

API prices for one image at 1,024 × 1,024 pixels according to Artificial Analysis.

Sources: Seedream 4.5 model source, status source (verified Nov 1, 2026) · SDXL Turbo model source, status source (verified Nov 1, 2026)

Arena ratings by category

From blind votes on LMArena. “Ahead” means the lead is clear.

No shared arena score in the stored snapshot

The stored benchmark database contains no measurement for Seedream 4.5 and SDXL Turbo from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

More comparisons

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