Seedance vs Veo 3: Veo 3 Is Retired, 3.1 Is Live
Seedance vs Veo 3 starts with a correction: Veo 3 passed its retirement date on 30 June 2026. Here is what replaced it and how Seedance 2.5 compares on rates.
Anyone running a seedance vs veo 3 comparison today is comparing against a model Google has already retired. The veo-3.0-generate-001 and veo-3.0-fast-generate-001 endpoints carried a retirement date of 30 June 2026, that date has passed, and the Veo 3 model page on Google's developer site now returns a 404. The current line is Veo 3.1, in Standard, Fast and Lite variants. There is no Veo 4 in any Google model listing, and Google itself no longer treats Veo as its default video model.
Veo 3 reached its retirement date on 30 June 2026
Google's deprecations page lists veo-3.0-generate-001 with a 30 June 2026 retirement and names veo-3.1-generate-preview or the GA enterprise models as the replacement. The Vertex documentation maps veo-3.0-generate-001 to veo-3.1-generate-001 and veo-3.0-fast-generate-001 to veo-3.1-fast-generate-001.
Google's own pages do not agree on what happened next. The Gemini API capability table still marks Veo 3 as stable, the deprecations table lists it as retired, the model detail page 404s, and the Vertex pricing page still prints Veo 3 rates. All four are live on Google properties, so treat "is Veo 3 callable today" as unsettled.
The second change matters more. Google's video guide now reads: use Gemini Omni Flash as your default model for video generation, and use Veo 3.1 for scene extension, last-frame control, or integration with legacy pipelines. Across all four Google AI subscription tiers, the Gemini app video model listed is Omni Flash, not Veo.
Seedance vs Veo 3 now means Seedance vs Veo 3.1
| Seedance 2.5 | Veo 3.1 Standard | Veo 3.1 Lite | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-pass duration | 4 to 30 seconds, default 5 | 4, 6 or 8 seconds | 4, 6 or 8 seconds |
| Resolutions | 480p, 720p, 1080p | 720p, 1080p, 4k | 720p, 1080p |
| 720p with audio, per second | $0.266824 | $0.40 | $0.05 |
| 1080p with audio, per second | $0.461856 | $0.40 | $0.08 |
| 4k with audio, per second | Not available | $0.60 | Not supported |
| Native audio | On by default, can be turned off | Always on | Always on |
| Aspect ratios | 7 including 21:9 and adaptive | 16:9 and 9:16 | 16:9 and 9:16 |
| Reference images | Up to 30 | Supported, forces 8 second output | Supported, forces 8 second output |
Rates above come from the Gemini Developer API price list, whose unit is stated as price per second in USD. The Vertex page quotes matching figures per "1 count" without defining that unit, so the per-second list is safer to quote.
Price per second, and the direction it runs
Veo undercuts Seedance at 1080p by a wide margin, and Seedance undercuts Veo at 720p on one tier. Veo 3.1 Lite delivers 1080p with audio at $0.08 per second against $0.461856 on Seedance 2.5, close to a sixfold difference. Veo 3.1 Fast sits at $0.12, and even the expensive Standard tier comes in at $0.40.
The exception is worth knowing before you quote a client. Veo 3.1 Standard charges the same $0.40 per second at 720p as at 1080p, while Seedance 2.5 charges $0.266824, so on that tier Seedance is cheaper by about a third.
Put that on an eight second clip, the longest Veo generates in one pass. Eight seconds of 1080p costs $3.69 on Seedance 2.5, $3.20 on Veo 3.1 Standard, $0.96 on Fast and $0.64 on Lite. Neither vendor charges for output that never arrives: Google does not bill a video blocked by safety or audio processing, and Seedance refunds failed jobs in full.
One wrinkle sits on the Vertex side, where Google lists a video-only rate at roughly half the with-audio rate. The Gemini Developer API has no silent tier at all.
Clip length, and an extension ceiling Google states two ways
Veo generates 4, 6 or 8 seconds per request, and 1080p, 4k, reference images and extension all force the 8 second option. Seedance 2.5 generates 4 to 30 seconds in a single pass, so a 30 second Veo deliverable is an assembly job and a 30 second Seedance deliverable is one request.
Extension is the route past 8 seconds, and its ceiling depends on which Google page you open. The Gemini API says a Veo video can be extended by 7 seconds up to 20 times, for a combined output up to 148 seconds. Vertex says input is limited to 1 to 30 seconds and that videos extend up to 37 seconds there. Both are Google's own words. Either way, extension output is 720p only, so any Veo clip past 8 seconds is a 720p clip.
Google also disagrees with itself about whether Veo 3.1 Lite can extend. The Gemini API says the feature is for Veo 3.1 and Fast only, not Lite; the Flow help centre says every 8 second video can be extended but you must use Lite to do it; the Vertex model card marks Lite as supported.
Audio, aspect ratio and reference material
Audio is native on both sides and behaves differently. Veo generates audio with every video, always on, covering dialogue, sound effects and ambient noise, with no way to request silence on the Gemini Developer API. Seedance 2.5 defaults generate_audio to true, returning synced speech, effects and music as one mono track you can disable.
Framing favours Seedance. Veo outputs 16:9 or 9:16 and runs at 24fps. Seedance accepts 16:9, 9:16, 1:1, 4:3, 3:4, 21:9 and an adaptive mode.
Reference handling is the widest gap after clip length. Seedance 2.5 takes up to 30 reference images, 10 reference video clips of 2 to 30 seconds each totalling no more than 30 seconds, and 10 audio tracks, with prompts up to 20,000 characters. Veo accepts reference images, and doing so pins the output to 8 seconds.
Frequently asked questions
Is Veo 3 still available? Its retirement date of 30 June 2026 has passed and its model page returns a 404, but Google's pages remain inconsistent: the capability table still calls it stable and the Vertex price list still shows its rates. Treat Veo 3.1 as the version to build on.
Is there a Veo 4? No. The DeepMind model overview, the Gemini API release notes, the deprecations page and the Cloud model catalogue all list Veo 3.1 as the current line, with no Veo 4 entry anywhere.
Is Seedance 2.5 cheaper than Veo 3.1? Only at 720p against the Standard tier, where Seedance charges $0.266824 per second and Veo 3.1 Standard charges $0.40. At 1080p, and against the Fast and Lite tiers at any resolution, Veo is considerably cheaper.
Which one generates longer video? Seedance 2.5, in a single pass: 30 seconds against 8. Veo goes further through extension, but its published ceiling is 148 seconds on one Google page and 37 seconds on another, and extended output is limited to 720p.
Which one fits your work
A seedance vs veo 3 shortlist should be rewritten as Seedance 2.5 against Veo 3.1, with Gemini Omni Flash noted as the model Google now recommends by default. On price, Veo wins nearly everywhere: Lite at $0.08 per second for 1080p is a rate Seedance does not approach, and only the Standard tier's flat $0.40 lets Seedance undercut it at 720p. On length and inputs, Seedance wins: 30 seconds in one request against 8, seven aspect ratios against two, and 30 reference images against a feature that locks your duration. Short wide-format clips on a budget go to Veo 3.1 Lite; long, vertical or square work built on reference material is where the cost difference starts buying something.
