Seedream 5.0 Litevs.FLUX.1 Kontext [max]

Which one is better?

In our own test, Seedream 5.0 Lite 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 5.0 Lite: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — Seedream 5.0 Lite89 out of 100

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]: Product photography, first image from the fixed test run — FLUX.1 Kontext [max]29 out of 100

Result for “Product photography”:Seedream 5.0 Lite ahead

Prompt given to both modelsCreate a square premium product photograph of a brushed titanium wristwatch standing upright on dark green marble. The watch has a cream dial, thin black hands set to 10:10, twelve distinct hour markers, a realistic crown, and a dark brown leather strap. Soft window light from the left, controlled reflections, shallow depth of field, no text, no logo, no extra objects.

What the rating looks at: Materials, reflections, and fine details.

“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 5.0 Lite: fal, requested 2560x2560 square, the route's minimum native pixel width, n=1, seed=69737196, estimated cost $0.035000, source 2560x2560, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:54 PM. Source

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=2413815648, Fal schema has no resolution field; official 1:1 example returns 1024x1024, estimated cost $0.080000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:03 PM. Source

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

Seedream 5.0 Lite image SHA 256: e462824323b9bc065e16a0ab8da5835ea1d32541153fa535fc3a94ef5cec85cd

FLUX.1 Kontext [max] image SHA 256: 11ac5858ed56d1db44139faebd83b9aa3e13fb9e8cadd6748d4bfc9a20a7b85b

Infographic

Seedream 5.0 Lite: fal, requested 2560x2560 square, the route's minimum native pixel width, n=1, seed=464378822, estimated cost $0.035000, source 2560x2560, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:54 PM. Source

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=372152929, Fal schema has no resolution field; official 1:1 example returns 1024x1024, estimated cost $0.080000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:03 PM. Source

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

Seedream 5.0 Lite image SHA 256: 6fab6f06e5f001f85b4c049f79e4220b50345b08eb3a8954e778c1d5802d2cf0

FLUX.1 Kontext [max] image SHA 256: cf1d34943829e1361560aee05277bb096e19399f7d231ee114ba1e6d3a865787

Product photography

Seedream 5.0 Lite: fal, requested 2560x2560 square, the route's minimum native pixel width, n=1, seed=1604459337, estimated cost $0.035000, source 2560x2560, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:53 PM. Source

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=314349008, Fal schema has no resolution field; official 1:1 example returns 1024x1024, estimated cost $0.080000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:03 PM. Source

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

Seedream 5.0 Lite image SHA 256: 3d6bb69ff171c033881277a81b933654b6213b317462c0be1e1f75150501fd64

FLUX.1 Kontext [max] image SHA 256: 85f361575b24f97fc43e88b3fdc8e6c12fb1077d95f11d1704447222bac13f59

Typography and layout

Seedream 5.0 Lite: fal, requested 2560x2560 square, the route's minimum native pixel width, n=1, seed=1149290713, estimated cost $0.035000, source 2560x2560, stored 1024x1024 (Lanczos3 downscale), generated Nov 2, 2026, 2:52 PM. Source

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]: fal, aspect ratio 1:1, n=1, seed=4136483547, Fal schema has no resolution field; official 1:1 example returns 1024x1024, estimated cost $0.080000, generated Nov 1, 2026, 9:02 PM. Source

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

Seedream 5.0 Lite image SHA 256: 8642e711e827c543a8bdd23be9d3142e014cb746d885dd37f9b7405666ed4350

FLUX.1 Kontext [max] image SHA 256: f0591cb9970c7608e7bf3a52c32c88301b622673e3c250fd9dd41d32e1673f1c

The numbers at a glance

Arena ratingfrom votes by users · higher is better

n/a

Seedream 5.0 Lite

not in the arena

n/a

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]

not in the arena

GraduallyBenchour own rating, 0 to 100 · higher is better

Seedream 5.0 Lite

Rank 32 of 108

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]

Rank 71 of 108

Price per imagedollars through the API · lower is better

n/a

Seedream 5.0 Lite

no API price

n/a

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]

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 5.0 Lite

Subscription: No ByteDance / Volcengine subscription includes this model. Through other providers from €6.83 a month (Poe Basic, with limited points). 27 plans in Germany.
Via API: No API price known. Access: API, Web app.
Weights: unknown.

FLUX.1 Kontext [max]

Subscription: No Black Forest Labs subscription includes this model. Through other providers from ≈ €12.72 a month (Leonardo.Ai Essential). 15 plans in Germany.
Via API: No API price known. Access: API.
Weights: unknown.

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 5.0 Lite	FLUX.1 Kontext [max]
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	67	39
GraduallyBench by task
Typography and layoutLegible text, hierarchy, and composition	76	46
Product photographyMaterials, reflections, and fine details	89	29
Character and detailAnatomy, clothing, and spatial consistency	49	27
InfographicNumbers, labels, and visual organization	56	54
API price
Per imagelower is better	n/a	n/a
100 images	n/a	n/a
Profile
Released	Feb 13, 2026	n/a
Weightsopen means: runs locally	unknown	unknown
Lifecycle	Still-listed T2I/I2I model ID; Ark marks it as pending shutdown without giving a date in the reviewed source	Edit-first model line; API also supports image creation from text, but the main GraduallyBench tasks are not edit-based
Access	API, Web app	API
Parameters	not published	not published
Largest output	not consistently published	not consistently published
Plans in Germanynaming exactly this model	27	15

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

Sources: Seedream 5.0 Lite model source, status source (verified Nov 1, 2026) · FLUX.1 Kontext [max] 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 5.0 Lite and FLUX.1 Kontext [max] from the same arena and category. Older model versions are not used as substitutes.

More comparisons

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