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Image models compared

Ideogram 3.0 vs Seedream 5.0 Lite: the same prompts, side by side

Ideogram 3.0 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.

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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 Ideogram 3.0 11, each image checked the same way. Seedream 5.0 Lite was quicker, 47.0 s an image against 73.5 s. In llmwise an image from either counts as 2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages, up to 125 images a month on Pro.

Ideogram 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite in llmwise

What llmwise asks Ideogram 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite for, and what an image of each counts as.

Ideogram 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite in llmwise
FactIdeogram 3.0Seedream 5.0 Lite
Made byIdeogramByteDance
Made throughkie.aikie.ai
Output sizeabout 1 megapixel2K
Aspect ratiossquare 1:1, portrait 3:4, landscape 4:3square 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

Ideogram 3.0 passed 11 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.

Ideogram 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite, job by job
JobIdeogram 3.0Seedream 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 photos1 of 2 passed, 6 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
Illustrations1 of 2 passed, 9 of 10 checks2 of 2 passed, 10 of 10 checks
Portraits0 of 2 passed, 5 of 13 checks1 of 2 passed, 12 of 13 checks
YouTube thumbnails2 of 2 passed, 12 of 12 checks2 of 2 passed, 12 of 12 checks
Social media posts1 of 2 passed, 11 of 12 checks1 of 2 passed, 11 of 12 checks

The same prompts, side by side

Ideogram 3.0'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 Ideogram 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 58.2 s sooner (46.2 s to 104.4 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.008 less at kie.ai.

    Ideogram 3.0Passed
    Ideogram 3.0'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 Ideogram 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 20.1 s sooner (43.4 s to 63.6 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.008 less at kie.ai.

        Ideogram 3.0Passed
        Ideogram 3.0'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 Ideogram 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 20.9 s sooner (43.7 s to 64.6 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.008 less at kie.ai.

            Ideogram 3.0Passed
            Ideogram 3.0'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 Ideogram 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Ideogram 3.0's image came 12.6 s sooner (62.1 s to 74.6 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.008 less at kie.ai.

                Ideogram 3.0Passed
                Ideogram 3.0'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

                    Only Seedream 5.0 Lite passed, not Ideogram 3.0: Ideogram 3.0 made no image.

                    Ideogram 3.0Failed

                    No image: kie.ai reported that the task failed, both times we tried.

                    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 Ideogram 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 21.7 s sooner (41.8 s to 63.6 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.008 less at kie.ai.

                      Ideogram 3.0Passed
                      Ideogram 3.0'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 Ideogram 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 36.6 s sooner (46.6 s to 83.3 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.008 less at kie.ai.

                          Ideogram 3.0Passed
                          Ideogram 3.0'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 Ideogram 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 25.5 s sooner (37.2 s to 62.7 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.008 less at kie.ai.

                              Ideogram 3.0Passed
                              Ideogram 3.0'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

                                  Only Seedream 5.0 Lite passed, not Ideogram 3.0; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 25.6 s sooner (57.4 s to 83.0 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.008 less at kie.ai.

                                  Ideogram 3.0Failed
                                  Ideogram 3.0's image for “A watercolour fox for a children's book”
                                  • Is it a watercolour painting, not a photo or a 3D render? No: It looks like a digital painting with soft brushwork and detailed rendering, not clearly a watercolour, photo or 3D render.
                                  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 Ideogram 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 25.1 s sooner (38.4 s to 63.5 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.008 less at kie.ai.

                                    Ideogram 3.0Passed
                                    Ideogram 3.0'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

                                        Only Seedream 5.0 Lite passed, not Ideogram 3.0: Ideogram 3.0 made no image.

                                        Ideogram 3.0Failed

                                        No image: kie.ai reported that the task failed, both times we tried.

                                        Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
                                        Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A studio headshot”

                                        • A fisherman holding a rope in both hands

                                          Neither Ideogram 3.0 nor Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 10.0 s sooner (53.5 s to 63.5 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.008 less at kie.ai.

                                          Ideogram 3.0Failed
                                          Ideogram 3.0'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 hands are clasped and partly hidden by the rope, so not every finger can be counted and confirmed as five.
                                          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 Ideogram 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 63.5 s sooner (61.1 s to 124.6 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.008 less at kie.ai.

                                          Ideogram 3.0Passed
                                          Ideogram 3.0'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

                                              Both Ideogram 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 22.8 s sooner (40.7 s to 63.6 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.008 less at kie.ai.

                                              Ideogram 3.0Passed
                                              Ideogram 3.0's image for “A phone review thumbnail with a question”
                                                Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
                                                Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A phone review thumbnail with a question”

                                                • A summer sale post

                                                  Both Ideogram 3.0 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 17.8 s sooner (45.9 s to 63.7 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.008 less at kie.ai.

                                                  Ideogram 3.0Passed
                                                  Ideogram 3.0'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 Ideogram 3.0 nor Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 24.8 s sooner (38.8 s to 63.5 s), and Seedream 5.0 Lite's cost $0.008 less at kie.ai.

                                                      Ideogram 3.0Failed
                                                      Ideogram 3.0's image for “A book club announcement, top and bottom”
                                                      • Is there an open book? No: The book is standing upright with its page edges facing the viewer, so it is closed, not open.
                                                      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 Ideogram 3.0 better than Seedream 5.0 Lite?

                                                    On our 16 image test prompts, Seedream 5.0 Lite passed 14 and Ideogram 3.0 11, each image checked the same way. Seedream 5.0 Lite was quicker, 47.0 s an image against 73.5 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, Ideogram 3.0 or Seedream 5.0 Lite?

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

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