ByteDance (Doubao) API Pricing
ByteDance sells Doubao through Volcano Engine, priced in yuan and aimed squarely at the Chinese market. The dollar figures here are a conversion, and that matters for how much weight you put on them.
| Model | Input / 1M | Output / 1M | Cached input / 1M | Batch | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doubao Seed 2.1 Pro | $0.85 | $4.23 | N/A | N/A | ByteDance quotes this model in CNY (¥6 in / ¥30 out per 1M). Figures here are converted at roughly ¥7.1 to the dollar and will drift with the exchange rate. |
ByteDance has one model tracked here, Doubao Seed 2.1 Pro, at $0.85 in / $4.23 out per 1M tokens. That ranks #31 of 60 models across 17 providers on a blended 3:1 rate.
About the currency conversion
ByteDance quotes Doubao Seed 2.1 Pro at ¥6 per million input tokens and ¥30 per million output. The figures in the table are converted at roughly ¥7.1 to the dollar, which is a snapshot rather than a fixed rate. Move the exchange rate a few percent and the dollar figure moves with it, so treat these as approximate in a way the USD-native providers on this site are not.
The published CNY price is the authoritative one. If you are actually budgeting against Doubao, budget in yuan and convert at the end.
Where Doubao lands
Converted, Doubao Seed 2.1 Pro is priced below every Western flagship and in the same neighbourhood as Kimi K2.6 and GLM-4.6. That is consistent with the broader pattern across Chinese providers tracked here: DeepSeek, Qwen, GLM, Kimi, and Doubao all cluster well below the US price band without a corresponding cluster in capability.
ByteDance also runs a wider spread of cheap Lite and Mini tiers than this page tracks. Only models where both the input and output rate could be confirmed are listed, because a half-known rate is worse than no rate on a page people use for budgeting.
Every ByteDance model on this site
| Model | Blended / 1M | Rank of 60 | Full pricing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doubao Seed 2.1 Pro | $1.70 | #31 | Doubao Seed 2.1 Pro pricing page |
ByteDance pricing FAQ
How much does the Doubao API cost?
Doubao Seed 2.1 Pro is listed at ¥6 per million input tokens and ¥30 per million output, which converts to roughly $0.85 and $4.23 at ¥7.1 to the dollar. The yuan figure is the official one; the dollar figure moves with the exchange rate.
Is Doubao cheaper than GPT or Claude?
Yes, considerably, in line with the other Chinese providers tracked here. Whether it is usable for you is a separate question from price, and depends on data residency, latency from your region, and access to Volcano Engine.
Why are only some Doubao models listed?
Only models where both the input and the output rate could be confirmed are included. ByteDance ships more tiers than appear here, but a model with a half-known price would make this page less reliable, not more complete.