🔥LIMITED OFFER
01:58:23
GET 50% OFF

Hands-on image model review · November 2026

GPT Image 2.6 vs Seedream 5.5

Seedream 5.5 kept the untouched colors closer to the original in our three-round edit. GPT Image 2.6 offers SVG and animated GIF output through the OpenAI Image API. We ran both models on the same four briefs to see what changes in the finished image.

Try the image generator

One olive oil brief, two product photos

The same brief asked for a copper cap, an exact label, two olives and side lighting. Compare how each image handles label legibility, stone texture and room around the product.

Read the prompt

Landscape 3:2 editorial product photograph for a fictional olive oil brand. One tall rectangular olive-green glass bottle with a brushed copper cap and an off-white paper label reading exactly "VALE" then "EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL". Put the bottle on pale travertine with two loose green olives to its right and a sprig of olive leaves to its left. Late-afternoon sunlight from the upper left, visible stone grain, natural reflections in the glass, softly blurred warm beige wall. No extra text, no border.

GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst

Tighter crop and larger label. The words are easy to read, and Sunburst adds an olive illustration to the label.

Seedream 5.5

Wider framing gives the shadows and travertine more room. The smaller label leaves more space around the bottle.

Both rendered the four requested English and Chinese text lines. GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst kept more space around the ceramic vessel.
Both completed all three edits. Seedream 5.5 shifted the colors less in the two untouched areas we measured.
Both exported genuine transparency around the subject. The glass centers remained nearly opaque in both samples.

See the difference in three image tasks

We kept the first completed result per model and task. GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst ran on Replicate at medium quality, with high complexity for the poster and low for the other tasks. Seedream 5.5 ran on Kie.ai at 1.5K. Both requested 3:2 PNGs. Compare these samples at full size.

Bilingual typography

The same copy leaves different room for the artwork

Sample result: Both reproduce all four lines

Prompt: Landscape 3:2 Swiss-style poster for a fictional bilingual ceramics market. On warm cream paper, put these exact lines in black, keeping them separate and in this order: "CLAY WEEKEND", "周末陶艺市集", "SAT 14 NOV · 10:00–18:00", "HALL B · FREE ENTRY". Keep every line readable at full size. Set the headline large at top left, with the Chinese line below and the two detail lines small at the lower left. Place one red geometric clay vessel to the right, with open space around the letters. No additional text, no watermark.

GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst

All four lines are legible. Sunburst uses larger text and keeps the full faceted vase inside the right margin.

Seedream 5.5

All four lines are legible. Seedream uses condensed lettering and a larger, rounded vase that reaches beyond the right edge.

Three rounds of reference editing

Both finish the edits. The untouched colors shift by different amounts.

Sample result: Less background color shift with Seedream 5.5
Open the shared starting image

Prompt: Round 1. Change only the orange mug body and handle to deep cobalt blue. Keep the mug silhouette, cream opening, the cream packet and its exact text, right-side circle, backgrounds, framing and all other pixels unchanged. Round 2. Change only the fill color of the small circle at the right to sunflower yellow. Preserve the circle size and position, blue mug, cream packet and its exact text, background, framing and all other pixels. Round 3. On the cream packet, change only the small line "LOT 07" to "LOT 12". Match the original type style, size and placement. Preserve the packet, larger "FIELD NOTES" text, blue mug, yellow circle, background and framing.

GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst

All three changes are visible. Mean absolute RGB difference across the wall and floor patches was 5.8 on a 0–255 scale.

Seedream 5.5

All three changes are visible. The same two patches averaged 1.7 levels of color difference from the starting image.

Transparent glass cutout

The background drops out. The glass centers stay nearly opaque.

Sample result: Both produce transparent cutouts

Prompt: Create a single isolated teal glass perfume bottle with a small opaque brushed brass cap and a loop of white silk ribbon around its neck. The glass body should transmit the background, and the cap must stay opaque. Show the full bottle and ribbon, centered with generous margins. Keep the entire area outside the silhouette fully transparent with a real alpha channel. No floor, shadow, text, frame, or drawn checkerboard. Landscape 3:2.

GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst

The outer area has fully transparent pixels. The center of the glass measured 253 out of 255 for opacity, so the checkerboard barely shows through.

Seedream 5.5

The outer area has fully transparent pixels. The glass center measured 255 out of 255 for opacity. The checkerboard in both previews shows where the file is transparent.

Documented API capability coverage

Each score counts how many features in that card are documented in the OpenAI Image API for GPT Image 2.6 and the Kie.ai API for Seedream 5.5.

Text-to-image and reference editing

Both cover 2 of 2
GPT Image 2.6100
Seedream 5.5100

Transparent PNG output

Both cover 1 of 1
GPT Image 2.6100
Seedream 5.5100

SVG and animated GIF generation

OpenAI covers 2 of 2
GPT Image 2.6100
Seedream 5.50

Layer decomposition and text recognition

Kie.ai covers 2 of 2
GPT Image 2.60
Seedream 5.5100

Coverage is the number of documented items divided by the number listed in each card. Each card has equal weight in the overall coverage rating. A zero indicates that the named API lacks documentation for the listed feature. The scores measure the workflows in those APIs. Visual quality, speed and user ratings are outside the scoring criteria.

GPT Image 2.6 vs Seedream 5.5 specs

Match the model and provider to your deliverable. Our image results use Replicate and Kie.ai. The table names the interface for each feature.

API variants

By workflow

GPT Image 2.6

OpenAI lists gpt-image-2.6-sunburst for detailed work and gpt-image-2.6-flare for faster iteration.

Seedream 5.5

Kie.ai exposes separate Seedream 5.5 endpoints for generation, reference editing and layer decomposition.

Planning and edit control

Markup or edit chains

GPT Image 2.6

The OpenAI Image API exposes low, medium and high complexity plus markup-guided edits.

Seedream 5.5

ByteDance focuses on preserving untouched regions through successive edits. Its launch demo used a chain of 100 edits.

Bilingual poster sample

Both on text

GPT Image 2.6

All four lines reproduced with the full vase in frame.

Seedream 5.5

All four lines reproduced with a crop at the right edge.

Still formats and transparency

Both on transparent PNG

GPT Image 2.6

The OpenAI Image API supports PNG, JPEG and WebP. Use PNG or WebP for transparency.

Seedream 5.5

Kie.ai supports PNG and JPEG. Choose PNG for transparency. ByteDance documents native full and partial alpha.

Vector, animation and layers

By deliverable

GPT Image 2.6

OpenAI documents SVG generation and animated GIF output.

Seedream 5.5

Kie.ai documents a layer decomposition endpoint with optional text recognition.

Billing

Compare cost per usable asset

GPT Image 2.6

OpenAI lists standard rates of $5 per million text input tokens, $8 per million image input tokens and $30 per million image output tokens.

Seedream 5.5

Kie.ai charges by output size. Reference images are billed separately on its edit endpoint. BytePlus also advertises per-image pricing.

Sample output size

Both use 3:2

GPT Image 2.6

1,536 × 1,024 on Replicate at medium quality.

Seedream 5.5

1,872 × 1,248 on Kie.ai at the 1.5K setting.

Which model fits your project?

Start with Seedream 5.5 if revisions must leave surrounding colors alone. Choose an OpenAI Image API integration when the deliverable calls for SVG or an animated GIF.

GPT Image 2.6 for layout and output controls

Set planning for the brief

The poster sample kept all four lines and left a margin around the vase. Try Sunburst at higher complexity when text, spacing and object placement must work together.

Use an API workflow for SVG or GIF

Choose an interface that exposes those formats. The GPT Image 2.6 generator on this site makes raster stills.

Seedream 5.5 for successive revisions and layers

Keep changes local over successive edits

Seedream 5.5 preserved the two sampled wall and floor colors more closely through three edits. Compare each round against the original when brand colors or locked regions matter.

Break finished artwork into parts

Kie.ai exposes a separate layer decomposition endpoint with text recognition. Use that workflow when you need individually compositable raster layers.

What should you try first?

Use the brief you actually need to ship and check the exported file at its final size.

Product photos and catalog shots

Choose Sunburst for a tighter crop

Sunburst gives the product more frame space in our sample. Seedream gives the surface and shadows more room. Try the same label and crop on both.

Bilingual posters with exact copy

Choose Sunburst for a first layout pass

Both samples reproduce the copy. Sunburst keeps the vessel inside the margin in this layout. Check punctuation, font size and crop before export.

Repeated product revisions

Choose Seedream 5.5

Start with the same original and compare locked colors and geometry at every round. Keep the original next to the newest version.

Transparent stickers and cutouts

Choose either model for solid subjects

Both cut out the bottle with real transparency. Composite glass, mesh or veils onto two backgrounds before approving the asset.

An editable logo or short loop

Choose GPT Image 2.6 through the OpenAI Image API

Select SVG for paths and shapes or GIF for a short animation. Confirm your integration supports the format.

Reusable parts from a finished image

Choose Seedream 5.5 with layer decomposition

Use the separate Kie.ai endpoint when you need individual raster layers and optional text recognition.

GPT Image 2.6 vs Seedream 5.5 FAQ

1

Is Seedream 5.5 better than GPT Image 2.6 for image editing?

Seedream 5.5 shifted the two sampled background areas less after three consecutive edits. Both models made the requested changes. Start with Seedream for a chain where untouched colors matter, then test preservation on your own source.

2

Does Seedream 5.5 preserve pixels across 100 edits?

ByteDance demonstrated 100 successive edits on its own example. Our test ran three edits. We compared mean RGB values in two untouched patches, one on the wall and one on the floor. We averaged the absolute differences across the three channels and both patches.

3

Which model is better for Chinese and English text?

Both rendered the four requested lines in our bilingual poster. Sunburst gave the text more room and kept the vase in frame. For smaller or denser copy, compare the result against the exact wording at the size readers will see.

4

Can both models generate transparent PNGs?

Yes. Both test files had fully transparent pixels outside the subject. The glass centers were almost opaque or fully opaque in the samples. Preview the asset over a colored background when partial transparency matters.

5

Is GPT Image 2.6 cheaper than Seedream 5.5?

OpenAI bills GPT Image 2.6 by token usage. Seedream 5.5 providers can bill per image or output size, with separate charges for reference inputs on some edit endpoints. Compare the full job cost including references, retries and edits.

6

Did you test GPT Image 2.6 Flare?

The four image pairs use Sunburst, with medium quality and the planning settings listed above. OpenAI offers Flare for faster iteration. This review does not measure Flare output or relative latency.

7

Can I try both models on Nano Banana 2?

Yes. Both models have dedicated generators linked below. Our samples used Replicate for GPT Image 2.6 Sunburst and Kie.ai for Seedream 5.5. Check the settings in each generator when repeating a brief.

Try GPT Image 2.6 with your own brief

Pick Sunburst or Flare, add a reference if you need one and inspect the image at its intended output size.

Open GPT Image 2.6

More image models and comparisons

Try both generators or compare another image editing workflow.

GPT Image 2.6 image generator

Try Sunburst or Flare with adjustable quality and planning.

Seedream 5.5 image generator

Try the same prompt or reference in the dedicated Seedream 5.5 generator.

GPT Image 2.5 vs GPT Image 2.6

See the changes to planning, output formats and editing between the two OpenAI versions.