FLUX 3 vs Seedance 2.5: Which AI Video Model to Use in 2026

Zoey Zhang

Oct 2026

FLUX 3 is Black Forest Labs' first video model; Seedance 2.5 is ByteDance's newest. Both turn a start frame into a clip with sound, and both are in Flick's image-to-video node. We gave them the same frames and the same prompts on three canvases and compared what came back.

The short version: Seedance 2.5 does more with your prompt, and FLUX 3 stays closer to your frame. Seedance edits, adds shots and invents; FLUX 3 holds the composition and moves less. Premium video models are available on Standard and above, and both of these are among them.

Quick answer: FLUX 3 or Seedance 2.5?

Connect a start frame to a video node in Flick, then:

Pick Seedance 2.5 for energy and coverage. It cut our comic prompt into several shots with three comic captions.
Pick FLUX 3 to keep the frame. It held our compositions and changed faces and small details instead.
Test at 720p and 5 seconds first. 170 credits on FLUX 3, 240 on Seedance 2.5.

	FLUX 3	Seedance 2.5
Maker	Black Forest Labs	ByteDance
Released	August 4, 2026 (video)	July 31, 2026
Length on Flick	5 to 20 s	4 to 30 s
Resolution on Flick	720p, 1080p	480p, 720p, 1080p
Aspect ratio	Pick one: 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 21:9, 4:3, 3:4	Follows the start frame
Audio	Native, generated with the picture	Native, on by default
5 s at 720p	170 credits	240 credits
5 s at 1080p	290 credits	540 credits
Plans	Standard and above	Standard and above

Try FLUX 3 and Seedance 2.5 side by side

One start frame, two models, pick the take you would cut in.

How we tested

Three start frames, each run through both models with an identical prompt:

Mice in a restaurant kitchen, a Midjourney still from one of our canvases, with a prompt asking for exaggerated cartoon motion and comic-book text.
A cartoon crowd and a figure in a misty city, both reference images from Flick's style library, with the prompts "animate" and "animate this scene".

These were real project runs, not a lab setup, so lengths and resolutions differ between some pairs; each section says what was used. No audio settings were changed.

Test 1: exaggerated cartoon motion with comic text

Animate this scene with really exaggerated, cartoony motion. Add some 2D comic-style text and sound effects, like "BOOM!" or little squeaking sounds from the mice.

Seedance 2.5 ran 20 seconds at 1080p; FLUX 3 ran 15 seconds at 1080p.

Seedance 2.5 animates a green-tiled restaurant kitchen full of mice: a mouse leaps past a WHOOSH caption, another bounces off a stool with a BOING, a white mouse dashes past a ZOOM, and the shot cuts to a close-up of the chef

FLUX 3 animates the same kitchen: mice shuffle across the checkered floor in the wide shot, then the shot moves to the chef plating a dish as a BOOM caption pops up

Four frames from each clip: Seedance 2.5 shows WHOOSH at 6 seconds, BOING at 8, ZOOM at 11 and a chef close-up at 12; FLUX 3 holds the wide kitchen at 0, 7 and 10 seconds and shows a BOOM caption beside the chef at 12.4 seconds

Seedance 2.5 took "really exaggerated" literally: mice leap and fly, the camera whips past a running mouse, and three comic captions (WHOOSH, BOING, ZOOM) land between 6 and 11 seconds before a cut to the chef. FLUX 3 kept the wide shot for about ten seconds with the mice shuffling, then moved to the chef plating, with one BOOM caption at 12.4 seconds. Both followed the prompt; Seedance followed it harder.

Test 2: "animate" on a cartoon crowd

Seedance 2.5 ran 30 seconds at 720p; FLUX 3 ran 5 seconds at 720p.

Seedance 2.5 turns a close-packed cartoon crowd into a 30 second sequence: the camera pulls back over a vast crowd, which looks up as a flying saucer descends with a blue beam

FLUX 3 keeps the same cartoon crowd in frame for 5 seconds: faces blink and shift, then several break into wide grins

Four frames from each clip: Seedance 2.5 pulls back from the crowd at 0 and 10 seconds to a huge crowd at 20 and a flying saucer overhead at 28; FLUX 3 holds the same close crowd at 0, 1.5 and 3 seconds, with faces grinning at 4.5

With a one-word prompt and 30 seconds to fill, Seedance 2.5 wrote a story: it pulled back to show an enormous crowd and brought in a flying saucer. Nothing in the prompt asked for it. FLUX 3, with 5 seconds, kept the frame and animated the faces. If you want Seedance to stay put, give it a camera note and a single action.

Test 3: "animate this scene" on a quiet city shot

Both ran 5 seconds; Seedance 2.5 at 720p, FLUX 3 at 1080p.

Seedance 2.5 animates a lone figure in a red cloak standing on a reflective plaza before a misty green city, with glowing symbols drifting on the towers

FLUX 3 animates the same misty city shot with the cloaked figure almost still and the light shifting gently on the water

First and last frames of each clip: Seedance 2.5 adds glowing symbols on the towers; FLUX 3 keeps the city and the figure nearly unchanged

On a calm frame the gap narrows. Seedance 2.5 added animated glyphs to the towers; FLUX 3 kept the shot almost still. Neither moved the figure much.

Cost, time and output

Clip	Model	Settings	Credits today
Mice kitchen	Seedance 2.5	20 s, 1080p	2,160
Mice kitchen	FLUX 3	15 s, 1080p	870
Cartoon crowd	Seedance 2.5	30 s, 720p	1,440
Cartoon crowd	FLUX 3	5 s, 720p	170
City figure	Seedance 2.5	5 s, 720p	240
City figure	FLUX 3	5 s, 1080p	290

Credits are today's Flick rates for those settings; see model credit costs. Per second, FLUX 3 costs about 70% of Seedance 2.5 at 720p and about 54% at 1080p.

The runs we have timings for: FLUX 3 took 5 min 39 s for 15 seconds at 1080p and 3 min 44 s for 5 seconds at 1080p; Seedance 2.5 took 7 min 38 s for 30 seconds at 720p.

Output frames: FLUX 3 renders 1920 × 1088 at 1080p and 1280 × 704 at 720p; Seedance 2.5 rendered 1924 × 1078 and 1282 × 718 from these start frames. Black Forest Labs says FLUX 3 generates in HD and reaches 1080p by upscaling.

Both models generated sound with every clip. Seedance's mixes were generally louder; the mice clips measured -20.0 LUFS on Seedance 2.5 and -33.3 LUFS on FLUX 3, so level them before cutting the two together.

Which one to use

You want	Use	Why
Energy, cuts and gags from one prompt	Seedance 2.5	Added shots and three comic captions in our test
The start frame kept as it is	FLUX 3	Held composition on all three frames
Clips longer than 20 seconds	Seedance 2.5	Up to 30 s; FLUX 3 stops at 20
A cheaper 1080p	FLUX 3	290 credits for 5 s against 540
An aspect ratio different from the frame	FLUX 3	Lets you pick the ratio; Seedance follows the frame

The column "Why" is our assessment from these runs. For more on directing Seedance, see the Seedance performance guide and motion not what I asked.

Tips for either model

Say how many shots you want. Seedance 2.5 will cut a loose prompt into a sequence; "one shot" and a camera note keep it in place.
Ask for the motion you want to see. FLUX 3 moved little on "animate"; describe the action.
Match length to the idea. A long clip with a short prompt gives Seedance room to invent.
Draft first. Seedance 2.5 has a cheaper Draft Mode; test FLUX 3 at 720p.

Sources

FLUX 3 Video, Part 1: Generation, Black Forest Labs, August 4, 2026
Release notes, Black Forest Labs, checked October 21, 2026
Seedance 2.5, ByteDance Seed, checked October 21, 2026
ByteDance launches Seedance 2.5 video generation model, TechNode, July 31, 2026
Seedance 2.5 breaks the 30-second barrier, The Decoder
Clips, credit rates, timings and measurements from Flick canvases, October 2026

よくある質問

Is FLUX 3 better than Seedance 2.5?

How long can FLUX 3 and Seedance 2.5 videos be? FLUX 3 up to 20 seconds, Seedance 2.5 up to 30 seconds.

How long can FLUX 3 and Seedance 2.5 videos be?

Do both generate audio? Yes. Both generate sound with the picture.

Do both generate audio?

Which is cheaper? FLUX 3: 170 credits for 5 seconds at 720p against 240 for Seedance 2.5, and 290 against 540 at 1080p.

Which is cheaper?

Are they on the Free plan? No. Premium video models, including FLUX 3 and Seedance 2.5, are available on Standard and above.