API pricing for ByteDance's Seedance 2.0 video generation model has appeared on the Volcengine Ark console, even though the official API launch remains delayed. The listing shows 28 yuan (~$4) per million tokens for video extension tasks and 46 yuan (~$6.50) per million tokens for text-to-video and image-to-video generation.
The console page reveals three distinct modes: multimodality-to-video, video editing, and video extension. Token consumption follows a straightforward formula: width multiplied by height, multiplied by frame rate and duration, divided by 1024. Run the math on a 15-second 720p clip at 24fps and you get roughly 308,880 tokens, which works out to about 14.2 yuan ($2.17). That's approximately $0.14 per second of generated video.
For context, third-party providers have already been offering Seedance 2.0 access at around $0.05 per 5-second clip, according to developer guides tracking the ecosystem. The official Volcengine API was originally slated for February 24 but was postponed after copyright disputes with the Motion Picture Association and Disney forced ByteDance to strengthen content safety mechanisms. No new launch date has been confirmed.
The pricing page requires a Volcengine account to view, which is why this reads more like a leak than an announcement. ByteDance released Seedance 2.0 on February 12, and the model quickly went viral with clips that drew cease-and-desist letters from major Hollywood studios. The API delay followed days later. At these token rates, Seedance 2.0 would undercut Sora 2 by a wide margin on a per-clip basis, though independent cost comparisons will have to wait until the API actually goes live.
Bottom Line
A 15-second 720p Seedance 2.0 video would cost roughly $2.17 at the listed API rates, with video extension tasks priced 40% cheaper than generation from scratch.
Quick Facts
- Text-to-video / image-to-video: 46 yuan (~$6.50) per million tokens
- Video extension: 28 yuan (~$4) per million tokens
- Token formula: Width x Height x FPS x Duration / 1024
- 15-second 720p clip at 24fps: ~308,880 tokens (~$2.17)
- Official API launch delayed from Feb 24, no new date confirmed
