Seedance API Pricing: Cost per Second, Credits, and Budget Math

Seedance API pricing is the first question teams ask when they move AI video from demo to production, and budgeting is straightforward because Pixapi bills everything transparently in credits: 1 credit = $0.01, determined by output duration, model tier, and resolution.

This guide walks through the complete Seedance 2 pricing matrix, valid model IDs, async task lifecycle handling, and practical cost optimization for production workloads.

Seedance 2 API pricing matrix

On Pixapi, video generation costs are calculated as n × seconds × rate(resolution). The default resolution on the platform is 720p.

Sample clip costs (5-second duration)

• Entry baseline (seedance-2-mini + 480p): 4 credits/sec × 5s = 20 credits ($0.20);
• Default baseline (seedance-2-mini + 720p): 8 credits/sec × 5s = 40 credits ($0.40);
• Fast iteration (seedance-2-fast + 720p): 13 credits/sec × 5s = 65 credits ($0.65);
• Full quality audio sync (seedance-2 + 720p): 16 credits/sec × 5s = 80 credits ($0.80).

Seedance is ByteDance's video generation model family. The version served on Pixapi features multimodal reference inputs and synchronized audio—clips come with contextually matched ambient audio and music, which is why teams choose it over silent alternatives. Full model specifications are on the Seedance model page.

How Seedance compares with other video APIs on Pixapi

Because every video model on Pixapi shares one credit pool, entry per-second pricing is directly comparable:

At the base tier, Seedance ties for the lowest per-second price while delivering integrated audio. If you previously paid higher rates elsewhere for silent video and bolted on a separate TTS/audio pipeline, switching to Seedance simplifies engineering and cuts overall expenses significantly.

What drives your final invoice

In production, your total spend depends on three choices:

1. Clip duration (seconds): The primary cost multiplier. A 5-second clip is half the price of a 10-second one, so keeping prompts tightly framed to necessary motion is the single best cost-saving habit.
2. Model tier and resolution: For early storyboarding, seedance-2-mini at 480p keeps costs at $0.20 per clip. For final marketing deliverables, switch to seedance-2 at 720p or 1080p.
3. Credit pack sizing: Seedance has no monthly seat fee or subscription lock-in (see pricing). Purchased credits remain valid for 365 days (1 year), and you only pay for completed renders.

Async video tasks: API workflow and code example

Video generation is compute-intensive and runs asynchronously. Valid model IDs are seedance-2, seedance-2-fast, and seedance-2-mini. The task terminal status is completed or failed.

# 1. Submit the async video generation task
curl -X POST https://api.pixapi.ai/v1/async/videos/generations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PIXAPI_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "seedance-2",
    "prompt": "A paper boat racing down a rain gutter, cinematic close-up, ambient rain sound",
    "seconds": 5,
    "resolution": "720p",
    "providerOptions": {
      "generate_audio": true,
      "aspect_ratio": "16:9"
    }
  }'
 
# 2. Poll until status becomes "completed"
curl -X GET https://api.pixapi.ai/v1/tasks/TASK_ID \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PIXAPI_API_KEY"

Understanding task status values

When polling GET /v1/tasks/{id}, the status field progresses through:

• submitted: Job queued and awaiting execution;
• processing: Rendering in progress on upstream infrastructure (result is null);
• completed: Successfully rendered; retrieve video URL from result.data[0].url;
• failed: Render failed or rejected by moderation; check the error message.

Best practice: Poll with exponential backoff (e.g. 3s, 5s, 10s intervals) rather than tight loops, and store the task_id in your database so jobs can resume across process restarts.

How to reduce your Seedance API cost

• Trim clip duration before tweaking anything else: Per-second billing is linear; trimming average duration from 8s to 5s saves ~37% with zero quality sacrifice.
• Draft on mini, finish on flagship: Explore storyboards with seedance-2-mini (4 credits/s at 480p), and re-render final takes on seedance-2.
• Take advantage of prepaid credits: Purchased credits have a generous 365-day validity window, letting you budget predictable capacity without recurring monthly burn.

When Seedance API pricing makes sense

• High-volume social media marketing: At $0.20 to $0.40 per 5-second creative, running multiple prompt variants is extremely affordable.
• Audio-synchronized content: Native sound eliminates separate audio synthesis steps.
• Multi-model pipelines: Seedance shares the same API key and balance as image models, allowing you to generate product photos (8 credits) and animate them into video under a single unified invoice.

Related reading

• Gemini 3 Pro Image API guide
• GPT Image 2 vs Nano Banana comparison
• Video generation API reference and credit pricing

To recap Seedance API pricing: entry tier from 4 credits ($0.04)/sec (480p mini), default 720p from 8 credits ($0.08)/sec, and full-featured generation at 16 credits ($0.16)/sec. Billed via reliable async tasks backed by a 365-day prepaid balance.