Quick answer: Seedream 5.5 is ByteDance's newest AI image generation and editing model, released by the Seed team on November 9, 2026. It keeps unedited areas pixel-stable across up to 100 rounds of edits, outputs true transparent (RGBA) images, and renders lighting, skin and dense small text more naturally than Seedream 5.0 Pro. It is now live on AKOOL. Try it in the Seedream 5.5 AI image generator.
What is Seedream 5.5?
Seedream 5.5 is the latest model in ByteDance's Seedream image family, built by the same Seed team behind the Seedance video models. It succeeds Seedream 5.0 Pro and is designed for production work rather than one-off experiments.
Most image models are good at first drafts. Seedream 5.5 is built for the 20th draft: the color change, the new headline, the swapped prop and the cutout for the landing page. Its three headline upgrades all serve that goal:
- Up to 100 rounds of editing on the same image, with pixel-level preservation of everything you did not ask to change
- Native transparency: RGBA output with full and partial transparency, straight from the model
- More natural realism and text: better light, materials and skin, and more accurate dense small text and complex characters
Seedream 5.5 release date and availability
- Released by ByteDance: November 9, 2026, rolling out across ByteDance's own apps (Jimeng/Dreamina, Doubao) and Volcano Engine
- Live on AKOOL: now, in the AKOOL AI Image Generator
- Seedream 5.5 Pro: ByteDance says a Pro version is planned, with no date yet
Seedream 5.5 arrives 124 days after Seedream 5.0 Pro (July 8, 2026), the fourth Seedream release in under a year after Seedream 4.5 (December 2025) and Seedream 5.0 Lite (February 2026).
What's new in Seedream 5.5
1. Up to 100 edits with no drift
Repeated editing usually degrades an image: colors shift, faces soften and backgrounds wander a little more every round. Seedream 5.5 preserves unedited areas at the pixel level and reduces color shift and detail loss across rounds. ByteDance demonstrates up to 100 rounds of continuous edits on one image.
In practice, you can approve a key visual and keep iterating on it (new cap color, new label, new light) without the parts you liked changing underneath you.
2. True transparent output (RGBA)
Seedream 5.5 generates images with a real alpha channel, including semi-transparent materials such as glass, smoke, hair and soft shadows. That means product cutouts, stickers, game items and UI elements come out ready to drop into a layout, with no separate background-removal step. Save as PNG to keep the transparency.
3. Small text that holds together
Dense small text and complex characters (including Chinese) render more accurately than in earlier Seedream versions. In ByteDance's tests the severe text-breakage rate was 0.4% and the minor rate 1.7%. Posters, labels, slides and infographics need far fewer fixes, though you should still proofread before you print.
4. More natural light, materials and skin
Lighting, material texture and skin tones look more natural. ByteDance reports a +55.6% preference for Seedream 5.5's image-to-image realism over the previous generation.
How Seedream 5.5 performs: ByteDance's benchmark results
ByteDance tested Seedream 5.5 on its MagicArena platform with expert raters across six production scenarios. These are vendor tests, not independent benchmarks:
- Higher scores than Seedream 5.0 Pro in all six scenarios: e-commerce, marketing, film and TV, games, office work and fashion design
- Usable rate more than doubled in film and TV, and in office work
- Text breakage: 0.4% severe, 1.7% minor
- Versus other models: ByteDance says Seedream 5.5 leads GPT Image 2.5 and Nano Banana 2.1 on text structure and text-to-image realism
Seedream 5.5 vs Seedream 5.0 Pro
- Released: Seedream 5.0 Pro on July 8, 2026; Seedream 5.5 on November 9, 2026
- Multi-round editing: 5.0 Pro does single and multi-image editing; 5.5 goes up to 100 rounds with unedited areas kept pixel-stable
- Transparent output: 5.0 Pro no; 5.5 native RGBA, including semi-transparency
- Small and complex text: 5.0 Pro strong; 5.5 more accurate, with 0.4% severe breakage
- Realism: 5.5 is preferred by +55.6% in image-to-image tests
- Best for: 5.0 Pro for high-quality first drafts; 5.5 for iterating, cutouts and text-heavy layouts
Seedream 5.5 vs Nano Banana and GPT Image
There is no single best image model; there is a best model for the job. On AKOOL you can run the same prompt across models and keep the best result:
- Seedream 5.5: pick it when you will edit many times, need transparent assets, or have dense copy in the image
- Nano Banana Pro: pick it when you are combining many references (up to 14 in one generation on AKOOL)
- GPT Image 2.0: pick it to compare OpenAI's take on the same brief
- Seedream 5.0: pick it when the image depends on current information (reasoning and real-time web search)
How to use Seedream 5.5 on AKOOL
- Open the image generator. Go to the AKOOL AI Image Generator and choose Seedream 5.5 in the Model menu.
- Write a prompt or upload images. Describe the subject, setting, light and camera. Put any text that must appear in quotes.
- Set the output. Pick aspect ratio, resolution and background (choose transparent for cutouts). You see the credit cost before you generate.
- Edit, then export. Make one change per round and say what must stay the same. Download as PNG (keeps transparency) or JPEG.
New to AKOOL? A free account includes 20 introductory credits (free output has a watermark). See akool.com/pricing for the plans that include Seedream 5.5.
6 Seedream 5.5 prompts to try
Product hero
A matte black wireless earbud case, lid open, on a wet slate surface. Soft overhead softbox light with a thin rim light from behind. Macro lens, shallow depth of field. Small white logo on the lid reads "AURA".
Transparent asset
A clear glass perfume bottle half-filled with amber liquid, gold cap, soft internal reflections and a faint contact shadow. Transparent background, PNG with alpha. Centered, front view.
Text-heavy poster
Minimal poster, cream paper texture. Headline at top in bold black sans: "SUMMER MARKET". Below in small type: "Saturday 9am–2pm · 41 local vendors · Free entry · Pier 7". Hand-drawn lemon illustration in the center.
Multi-round edit
Round 1: Change only the sofa to deep green velvet. Round 2: Add a brass floor lamp to the left of the sofa. Round 3: Make it golden hour through the window. Each round: keep the room layout, walls, rug and camera angle exactly as they are.
Natural portrait
Editorial portrait of a woman in her 60s with silver hair, natural skin texture and fine lines, soft north window light, neutral grey backdrop, 85mm lens, calm direct gaze, linen shirt.
Office infographic
Clean 16:9 infographic slide titled "Q3 Results". Four stat cards in a row: "Revenue +18%", "New customers 2,400", "Churn 3.1%", "NPS 62". Navy and white, simple line icons, lots of white space.
Copy any of these prompts into the Seedream 5.5 AI image generator, swap in your own subject, and generate.
Tips for getting the most out of Seedream 5.5
- One change per round. Small, specific edits keep the rest of the image stable.
- Say what stays. "Keep her face, pose, background and framing exactly as they are" is as important as the change itself.
- Quote your copy. Put exact wording in quotes and say where it goes and how big it is.
- Save PNG for cutouts. JPEG drops the alpha channel.
- Give each reference a job. "Product from image 1, lighting from image 2."
What to make with Seedream 5.5
- E-commerce: hero shots, colorway variants and transparent catalog cutouts
- Marketing: ads, banners and posters with copy you can ship
- Film and TV: key art and storyboards with consistent characters and light
- Games: transparent sprites, items, icons and concept art
- Office: slides and infographics with legible small text
- Fashion: lookbooks and fabric or color tests on one look
Turn a Seedream 5.5 image into video
Seedream makes the frame; Seedance moves it. On AKOOL you can send your Seedream 5.5 image straight to Seedance 2.5 for a clip of up to 30 seconds with sound, then add an avatar, a voice or a translation, all in one workspace.
Seedream 5.5 FAQ
When was Seedream 5.5 released?
ByteDance's Seed team released Seedream 5.5 on November 9, 2026. It is now live on AKOOL.
Is Seedream 5.5 available on AKOOL?
Yes. Choose Seedream 5.5 in the Model menu of the AKOOL AI Image Generator.
Is Seedream 5.5 free?
You can create a free AKOOL account, which includes 20 introductory credits (free output has a watermark). Some models need a paid plan, so check akool.com/pricing to see which plans include Seedream 5.5.
What is the difference between Seedream 5.5 and Seedream 5.0 Pro?
Seedream 5.5 adds up to 100 rounds of pixel-stable editing and native transparent output, and improves small-text accuracy and realism. ByteDance reports it beats 5.0 Pro in all six production scenarios it tested.
Can Seedream 5.5 make transparent PNGs?
Yes. Ask for a transparent background and Seedream 5.5 outputs an RGBA image, including semi-transparent areas like glass and smoke. Save as PNG to keep it.
Is there a Seedream 5.5 Pro?
ByteDance says a Pro version of Seedream 5.5 is planned but has not given a date.
Who makes Seedream 5.5?
ByteDance's Seed team, which also makes the Seedance video models.
Start creating with Seedream 5.5
Seedream 5.5 is built for real production work: edit as many times as you need, export clean cutouts and ship text that reads. Open the Seedream 5.5 AI image generator on AKOOL and try your first prompt.
