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Image models compared

Qwen-Image 2.1 vs Seedream 5.0 Lite: the same prompts, side by side

Alibaba's Qwen-Image 2.1 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 Qwen-Image 2.1 11, each image checked the same way. Seedream 5.0 Lite was quicker, 47.0 s an image against 79.9 s. In llmwise a Qwen-Image 2.1 image counts as 1 Claude Haiku 4.5 message and a Seedream 5.0 Lite image as 2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages: up to 250 and 125 images a month on Pro.

Qwen-Image 2.1 and Seedream 5.0 Lite in llmwise

What llmwise asks Qwen-Image 2.1 and Seedream 5.0 Lite for, and what an image of each counts as.

Qwen-Image 2.1 and Seedream 5.0 Lite in llmwise
FactQwen-Image 2.1Seedream 5.0 Lite
Made byAlibabaByteDance
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 as1 Claude Haiku 4.5 message2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages
Images on Proup to 250 a monthup to 125 a month

Job by job

Qwen-Image 2.1 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.

Qwen-Image 2.1 and Seedream 5.0 Lite, job by job
JobQwen-Image 2.1Seedream 5.0 Lite
Logos1 of 2 passed, 11 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 images0 of 2 passed, 9 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
Portraits2 of 2 passed, 13 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, 11 of 12 checks1 of 2 passed, 11 of 12 checks

The same prompts, side by side

Qwen-Image 2.1'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 Qwen-Image 2.1 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 10.4 s sooner (46.2 s to 56.5 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

    Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
    Qwen-Image 2.1'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

        Only Seedream 5.0 Lite passed, not Qwen-Image 2.1; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 10.3 s sooner (43.4 s to 53.7 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

        Qwen-Image 2.1Failed
        Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A wheel and a wrench in one icon”
        • Is there a bicycle wheel in the icon? No: The icon is a plain circle with a short horizontal line, with no spokes, tire or hub, so it reads as a ring rather than a bicycle wheel.
        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 Qwen-Image 2.1 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Qwen-Image 2.1's image came 12.8 s sooner (30.9 s to 43.7 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

          Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
          Qwen-Image 2.1'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 Qwen-Image 2.1 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 8.0 s sooner (74.6 s to 82.7 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

              Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
              Qwen-Image 2.1'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 Qwen-Image 2.1 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 95.2 s sooner (41.2 s to 136.5 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

                  Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                  Qwen-Image 2.1'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 Qwen-Image 2.1 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 49.1 s sooner (41.8 s to 91.0 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

                      Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                      Qwen-Image 2.1'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

                          Only Seedream 5.0 Lite passed, not Qwen-Image 2.1; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 71.4 s sooner (46.6 s to 118.0 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

                          Qwen-Image 2.1Failed
                          Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A bowl of ramen from above”
                          • Are chopsticks resting across the bowl? No: The chopsticks lie on the table and reach the bowl's lower left edge, but they do not rest across the bowl. They look more like they pass over or in front of the rim than rest on it.
                          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

                            Only Seedream 5.0 Lite passed, not Qwen-Image 2.1; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 94.5 s sooner (37.2 s to 131.7 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

                            Qwen-Image 2.1Failed
                            Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A rainy street at night, one red umbrella”
                            • Is the person walking away from the camera? No: The person is seen from the side or back and appears to be crossing or facing sideways, so it isn't clearly walking away from the camera.
                            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 Qwen-Image 2.1 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 86.2 s sooner (57.4 s to 143.6 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

                              Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                              Qwen-Image 2.1'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 Qwen-Image 2.1 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 66.3 s sooner (38.4 s to 104.6 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

                                  Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                                  Qwen-Image 2.1'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 Qwen-Image 2.1 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 63.6 s sooner (40.7 s to 104.3 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

                                      Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                                      Qwen-Image 2.1'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

                                          Only Qwen-Image 2.1 passed, not Seedream 5.0 Lite; Qwen-Image 2.1's image came 22.7 s sooner (30.8 s to 53.5 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

                                          Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                                          Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A fisherman holding a rope in both hands”
                                            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

                                            Only Seedream 5.0 Lite passed, not Qwen-Image 2.1; Qwen-Image 2.1's image came 17.7 s sooner (43.4 s to 61.1 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

                                            Qwen-Image 2.1Failed
                                            Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A cooking video thumbnail”
                                            • Are there flames coming from the pan? No: The flames are on the far left beside the man, not coming from the pan, which only holds food and flying bits.
                                            Seedream 5.0 LitePassed
                                            Seedream 5.0 Lite's image for “A cooking video thumbnail”

                                            • A phone review thumbnail with a question

                                              Both Qwen-Image 2.1 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Qwen-Image 2.1's image came 5.0 s sooner (35.7 s to 40.7 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

                                              Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                                              Qwen-Image 2.1'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 Qwen-Image 2.1 and Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Qwen-Image 2.1's image came 22.8 s sooner (23.1 s to 45.9 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

                                                  Qwen-Image 2.1Passed
                                                  Qwen-Image 2.1'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 Qwen-Image 2.1 nor Seedream 5.0 Lite passed; Seedream 5.0 Lite's image came 52.9 s sooner (38.8 s to 91.7 s), and Qwen-Image 2.1's cost $0.007 less at kie.ai.

                                                      Qwen-Image 2.1Failed
                                                      Qwen-Image 2.1's image for “A book club announcement, top and bottom”
                                                      • Apart from those two lines, is nothing else written? No: The open book's pages show small blurry lines of text, so there is other writing, 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 Qwen-Image 2.1 better than Seedream 5.0 Lite?

                                                    On our 16 image test prompts, Seedream 5.0 Lite passed 14 and Qwen-Image 2.1 11, each image checked the same way. Seedream 5.0 Lite was quicker, 47.0 s an image against 79.9 s. In llmwise a Qwen-Image 2.1 image counts as 1 Claude Haiku 4.5 message and a Seedream 5.0 Lite image as 2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages: up to 250 and 125 images a month on Pro.

                                                    Which is cheaper in llmwise, Qwen-Image 2.1 or Seedream 5.0 Lite?

                                                    Qwen-Image 2.1: in llmwise its image counts as 1 Claude Haiku 4.5 message, against 2 Claude Haiku 4.5 messages for Seedream 5.0 Lite.

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