Seed-2.0-Mini is $2.9 cheaper per 1M input tokens (96.7% lower; 30x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Seed-2.0-Mini vs Claude Sonnet 4.6
Pick Seed-2.0-Mini for lower cost; pick Claude Sonnet 4.6 only if the larger context window matters more.
Pricing data updated:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Seed-2.0-Mini for lower cost; pick Claude Sonnet 4.6 only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Seed-2.0-Mini is estimated at $0.3 vs $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4.6, saving $10.2 (97.1% lower).
Cost-first pickSeed-2.0-Mini
Context-first pickClaude Sonnet 4.6
Sample savings$10.297.1%
10x traffic gap$102
Claude Sonnet 4.6 has more context, but Seed-2.0-Mini saves $10.2 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $102. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Seed-2.0-Mini stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Seed-2.0-Mini | Claude Sonnet 4.6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Seed-2.0-Mini | $0.7 | $22.5 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Seed-2.0-Mini | $0.5 | $18 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Seed-2.0-Mini | $2.1 | $78 |
Seed-2.0-Mini is $14.6 cheaper per 1M output tokens (97.3% lower; 37.5x difference).
Claude Sonnet 4.6 has 737.86K more context (3.81x larger).
Seed-2.0-Mini is $10.2 cheaper on the standard workload (97.1% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.
Quick Decision
Seed-2.0-Mini has the lower input price; Seed-2.0-Mini has the lower output price; Claude Sonnet 4.6 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Seed-2.0-Mini is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.3 for Seed-2.0-Mini and $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Choose Seed-2.0-Mini when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
Choose Claude Sonnet 4.6 when you care most about larger context window.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Seed-2.0-Mini is estimated at $0.3 vs $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4.6, saving $10.2 (97.1% lower).
- Seed-2.0-Mini is $10.2 cheaper on the standard workload (97.1% lower).
- Seed-2.0-Mini is $2.9 cheaper per 1M input tokens (96.7% lower; 30x difference).
- Seed-2.0-Mini is $14.6 cheaper per 1M output tokens (97.3% lower; 37.5x difference).
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 has 737.86K more context (3.81x larger).
| Feature | Seed-2.0-Mini (ByteDance Seed) | Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.1 | $3 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0.4 | $15 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.3 | $10.5 |
| Context Window | 262.14K | 1M |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Seed-2.0-Mini | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Seed-2.0-Mini is estimated at $0.3 vs $10.5 for Claude Sonnet 4.6, saving $10.2 (97.1% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Seed-2.0-Mini | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Seed-2.0-Mini | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Claude Sonnet 4.6 | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Seed 1.6 Flash can replace Seed-2.0-Mini when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.22.
- Claude 3 Haiku can replace Claude Sonnet 4.6 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.88.
- Claude 3.5 Haiku can replace Claude Sonnet 4.6 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $2.8.
- Anthropic Claude Haiku Latest can replace Claude Sonnet 4.6 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $3.5.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- GPT-5.4 offers 1.05M context with $10 sample workload cost.
- No popular competitor is currently available.
Cheaper alternatives
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Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
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