Seedance is one of the most searched names in AI video — but what actually is it? Here's a clear explainer of what Seedance is, who builds it, and how the versions differ.
What is Seedance?
Seedance is a family of AI video generation models developed by ByteDance Seed, the research group inside ByteDance (the company behind TikTok). You give Seedance a text prompt or an image, and it generates a short video clip — with camera movement, consistent characters and, in the latest versions, native sound and dialogue.
In other words, Seedance turns a description or a photo into moving footage, without cameras, actors or editing software.
Who owns Seedance?
Seedance is made by ByteDance. The model itself is proprietary (not open source) and is accessed through hosted apps and APIs. Seedance Studio is an independent app that gives you a simple way to use the Seedance 2.0 model in your browser.
What can Seedance do?
The current model, Seedance 2.0, is multimodal — it accepts text, images, video and audio in a single prompt. Its main capabilities:
- Text-to-video — describe a scene and get a clip.
- Image-to-video — upload a photo and bring it to life.
- Native sound — music, effects and lip-synced dialogue generated with the picture.
- Multi-reference consistency — keep a face, product or character the same across shots.
You can read the full feature list on the Seedance 2.0 page.
Seedance version history
- Seedance 1.0 (mid-2025) — the first widely used release, strong text-to-video for its time.
- Seedance 1.5 / 1.5 Pro (late 2025) — quality and motion improvements.
- Seedance 2.0 (February 2026) — the multimodal leap: native audio, up to 12 references, and the #1 arena ranking for text-to-video and image-to-video.
- Seedance 2.5 (July 2026) — 30-second clips, up to 50 references and frame-local editing. See what's coming.
Is Seedance free?
Yes, you can try it free. Seedance Studio's free plan includes a couple of Seedance 2.0 videos a month with no card required, and paid plans start at $14/month — see the pricing page.
How do I try Seedance?
Create a free account and Seedance 2.0 is ready in the prompt box. Describe a scene, optionally add a reference image, and generate your first AI video in about a minute.