I got tired of comparing Seedance 2.0 API providers.

There are simply too many. I have personally come across at least 20–30 platforms, and almost every one uses a different pricing model.

Some charge by output duration. Some charge for both input and output video length. Others use tokens, credits, subscriptions, or separate “less-restricted” endpoints.

Then there are other questions:

• Can I use my own real-person images or videos?
• How many tasks can run at the same time?
• Is watermark removal included?
• Do I need a paid subscription before buying API credits?
• Can I test the API before paying?

After spending far too much time comparing them, I decided to share what I found. Hopefully, this saves other indie developers some time.

I selected seven relatively well-known or competitively priced providers:

BytePlus, SeeGen AI, PiAPI, Replicate, Fal AI, AtlasCloud, and MuAPI.

Quick price comparison

For this comparison, I used:

• Seedance 2.0 standard or Pro
• 720p output
• 15-second generated video
• A second test with a 7-second reference video

*SeeGen AI pricing is based on its lowest credit rate, available with the $500 package. Smaller packages can still use the API, but the effective price is higher.

These are estimates based on public pricing pages and calculators. Actual costs may change because of token minimums, discounts, input rules, or different model variants.

SeeGen AI and Piapi can try generating 5-second videos.

The three options I would actually consider

BytePlus: best for low-cost text-to-video

BytePlus is the official API and usually has the lowest base cost.

I think it is the best choice when:

• Most tasks are text-to-video
• You do not need an easy custom real-person workflow
• Three concurrent tasks are enough
• Price matters more than convenience

The downsides are token-based billing, low default concurrency, prepaid resource packs, and no obvious free Seedance 2.0 trial.

SeeGen AI: best for high concurrency and real-person references

SeeGen AI is more suitable when:

• You need high concurrency
• Users upload their own authorized human images or videos
• You do not want separate watermark-removal fees
• You prefer one pricing system instead of standard, VIP, and less-restricted endpoints

It lists 480+ API concurrency, and smaller packages are not given a lower concurrency limit. The $9.99 package can also be used for API calls.

The main disadvantage is that the lowest effective price requires a $500 credit purchase.

SeeGen AI also offers free credits, so you can test Seedance 2.0 before buying a package.

PiAPI: best for a lower starting budget

PiAPI is a good middle option when:

• You need private human assets
• You want to start with a smaller payment
• Your concurrency needs are low
• You prefer fixed per-second pricing

At 720p, the standard model costs $0.20 per output second. Video input costs an additional $0.10 per second.

PiAPI also offers a way to test the service before making a larger payment.

However, higher concurrency depends on the subscription tier. API credits and account subscriptions are separate, watermark removal costs an extra $0.008 per second, and private human assets may require a more expensive less-restricted endpoint.

What about the other four?

Replicate has simple pricing, but it does not support custom human references.

Fal AI clearly explains its formula, but it is one of the more expensive options.

AtlasCloud shows the estimated cost before generation, but it only supports people from its public character library.

MuAPI supports real people and many different workflows, but its large number of Global, Chinese, VIP, Mini, face-training, and watermark-removal endpoints makes the final cost difficult to understand.

My conclusion

My biggest lesson is that the cheapest listed price is not always the cheapest option in practice.

Before choosing a provider, check the full video-input billing rules, real-person support, concurrency, subscription requirements, watermark fees, and whether you can test the API first.