Skip to content
llmwise
Sign inStart free

Image models compared

GPT Image 2.5 Flare vs Seedream 5.0 Lite: the same prompts, side by side

OpenAI's GPT Image 2.5 Flare and ByteDance's Seedream 5.0 Lite on the same 16 prompts, two for each of 8 jobs, from logos to YouTube thumbnails: each image as it was made, what the checks found, what it cost and how long it took.

Start freeSee pricing

Based on 32 images made on September 29, 2026 through kie.ai with llmwise's own settings for each model, each checked by Claude Sonnet 5.5. How the images are checked.

Short answer

On our 16 image test prompts, Seedream 5.0 Lite passed 14 and GPT Image 2.5 Flare 13, each image checked the same way. Seedream 5.0 Lite was quicker, 47.0 s an image against 67.4 s. In llmwise an image from either counts as 2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages, up to 125 images a month on Pro.

GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite in llmwise

What llmwise asks GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite for, and what an image of each counts as.

GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite in llmwise
FactGPT Image 2.5 FlareSeedream 5.0 Lite
Made byOpenAIByteDance
Made throughkie.aikie.ai
Output size1K2K
Aspect ratiossquare 1:1, portrait 2:3, landscape 3:2square 1:1, portrait 2:3, landscape 3:2
An image counts as2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages
Images on Proup to 125 a monthup to 125 a month

Job by job

GPT Image 2.5 Flare passed 13 of 16 and Seedream 5.0 Lite 14 of 16. A prompt passes when every piece of writing it asked for is there and every question about the image is a yes.

GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite, job by job
JobGPT Image 2.5 FlareSeedream 5.0 Lite
Logos2 of 2 passed, 12 of 12 checks2 of 2 passed, 12 of 12 checks
Text in images2 of 2 passed, 14 of 14 checks2 of 2 passed, 14 of 14 checks
Product photos2 of 2 passed, 12 of 12 checks2 of 2 passed, 12 of 12 checks
Photorealistic images2 of 2 passed, 11 of 11 checks2 of 2 passed, 11 of 11 checks
Illustrations2 of 2 passed, 10 of 10 checks2 of 2 passed, 10 of 10 checks
Portraits1 of 2 passed, 12 of 13 checks1 of 2 passed, 12 of 13 checks
YouTube thumbnails1 of 2 passed, 11 of 12 checks2 of 2 passed, 12 of 12 checks
Social media posts1 of 2 passed, 10 of 12 checks1 of 2 passed, 11 of 12 checks

The same prompts, side by side

GPT Image 2.5 Flare's and Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for each prompt, with each question either one was answered no on; a prompt's title links to it in full, with every answer.

  1. A coffee shop logo with its name

    Both GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 12.7 s sooner (46.2 s to 58.9 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

    GPT Image 2.5 FlarePassed
    GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “A coffee shop logo with its name”
      Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
      Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A coffee shop logo with its name”

      • A wheel and a wrench in one icon

        Both GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 12.7 s sooner (43.4 s to 56.1 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

        GPT Image 2.5 FlarePassed
        GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “A wheel and a wrench in one icon”
          Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
          Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A wheel and a wrench in one icon”

          • A bakery sign with two lines

            Both GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 15.0 s sooner (43.7 s to 58.8 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

            GPT Image 2.5 FlarePassed
            GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “A bakery sign with two lines”
              Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
              Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A bakery sign with two lines”

              • A café menu board with four prices

                Both GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image came 15.2 s sooner (59.5 s to 74.6 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

                GPT Image 2.5 FlarePassed
                GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “A café menu board with four prices”
                  Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
                  Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A café menu board with four prices”

                  • A white sneaker on a grey background

                    Both GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 15.8 s sooner (41.2 s to 57.0 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

                    GPT Image 2.5 FlarePassed
                    GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “A white sneaker on a grey background”
                      Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
                      Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A white sneaker on a grey background”

                      • A perfume bottle and its reflection

                        Both GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 19.9 s sooner (41.8 s to 61.8 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

                        GPT Image 2.5 FlarePassed
                        GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “A perfume bottle and its reflection”
                          Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
                          Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A perfume bottle and its reflection”

                          • A bowl of ramen from above

                            Both GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 68.0 s sooner (46.6 s to 114.6 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

                            GPT Image 2.5 FlarePassed
                            GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “A bowl of ramen from above”
                              Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
                              Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A bowl of ramen from above”

                              • A rainy street at night, one red umbrella

                                Both GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 28.2 s sooner (37.2 s to 65.4 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

                                GPT Image 2.5 FlarePassed
                                GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “A rainy street at night, one red umbrella”
                                  Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
                                  Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A rainy street at night, one red umbrella”

                                  • A watercolour fox for a children's book

                                    Both GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 10.2 s sooner (57.4 s to 67.6 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

                                    GPT Image 2.5 FlarePassed
                                    GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “A watercolour fox for a children's book”
                                      Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
                                      Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A watercolour fox for a children's book”

                                      • Three people at one laptop, flat vector

                                        Both GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 28.8 s sooner (38.4 s to 67.2 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

                                        GPT Image 2.5 FlarePassed
                                        GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “Three people at one laptop, flat vector”
                                          Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
                                          Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “Three people at one laptop, flat vector”

                                          • A studio headshot

                                            Both GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 18.1 s sooner (40.7 s to 58.8 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

                                            GPT Image 2.5 FlarePassed
                                            GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “A studio headshot”
                                              Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
                                              Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A studio headshot”

                                              • A fisherman holding a rope in both hands

                                                Neither GPT Image 2.5 Flare nor Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 45.9 s sooner (53.5 s to 99.4 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

                                                GPT Image 2.5 FlareFailed
                                                GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “A fisherman holding a rope in both hands”
                                                • Does every hand you can see have five fingers and look natural? No: The fingers are partly hidden by the rope and jacket, so a clear count of five natural fingers on each hand isn't possible.
                                                Seedream 5.0 LiteFailed
                                                Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A fisherman holding a rope in both hands”
                                                • Does every hand you can see have five fingers and look natural? No: The fingers are mostly hidden or wrapped around the rope, so five fingers on each hand cannot be confirmed.

                                              • A cooking video thumbnail

                                                Both GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 5.3 s sooner (61.1 s to 66.3 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

                                                GPT Image 2.5 FlarePassed
                                                GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “A cooking video thumbnail”
                                                  Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
                                                  Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A cooking video thumbnail”

                                                  • A phone review thumbnail with a question

                                                    Only Seedream 5.0 Lite passed, not GPT Image 2.5 Flare; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 15.2 s sooner (40.7 s to 55.9 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

                                                    GPT Image 2.5 FlareFailed
                                                    GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “A phone review thumbnail with a question”
                                                    • Is there only one piece of writing? No: The writing is on two separate lines, 'WORTH' and 'IT?', although they form one phrase.
                                                    Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
                                                    Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A phone review thumbnail with a question”

                                                    • A summer sale post

                                                      Both GPT Image 2.5 Flare and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 12.6 s sooner (45.9 s to 58.5 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

                                                      GPT Image 2.5 FlarePassed
                                                      GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “A summer sale post”
                                                        Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
                                                        Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A summer sale post”

                                                        • A book club announcement, top and bottom

                                                          Neither GPT Image 2.5 Flare nor Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 34.1 s sooner (38.8 s to 72.9 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.002 less at kie.ai.

                                                          GPT Image 2.5 FlareFailed
                                                          GPT Image 2.5 Flare's image for “A book club announcement, top and bottom”
                                                          • Is there one line of writing at the top and one at the bottom? No: The top has two lines of writing (BOOK and CLUB), not one, plus THURSDAY 7PM at the bottom.
                                                          • Apart from those two lines, is nothing else written? No: Besides the top and bottom text, the open book's pages have small print, though it is unreadable.
                                                          Seedream 5.0 LiteFailed
                                                          Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A book club announcement, top and bottom”
                                                          • Apart from those two lines, is nothing else written? No: The book's pages show tiny, unreadable text-like marks, so the image contains more than those two lines.

                                                        More image models, compared

                                                        Questions

                                                        Is GPT Image 2.5 Flare better than Seedream 5.0 Lite?

                                                        On our 16 image test prompts, Seedream 5.0 Lite passed 14 and GPT Image 2.5 Flare 13, each image checked the same way. Seedream 5.0 Lite was quicker, 47.0 s an image against 67.4 s. In llmwise an image from either counts as 2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages, up to 125 images a month on Pro.

                                                        Which is cheaper in llmwise, GPT Image 2.5 Flare or Seedream 5.0 Lite?

                                                        Neither: in llmwise an image from either counts as 2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages.

                                                        Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, Grok, Kimi, and GLM, in one chat.

                                                        See what a message costs before you send it. Free is 5 messages to try; sign in with an email link, no password or card.

                                                        Start freeSee pricing