# Recraft API vs Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk

> Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk scores 53.8 (D) to Recraft's 52.8 (D) for image generation. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/recraft-vs-seedream-on-byteplus-modelark
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/recraft-vs-seedream-on-byteplus-modelark.md (~2,500 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/recraft-vs-seedream-on-byteplus-modelark.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/recraft-vs-seedream-on-byteplus-modelark.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk scores 53.8 (D) on agent readiness against Recraft API's 52.8 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Recraft API leads on reliability and payments & pricing. Both do image generation.

- Recraft API: grade D, 52.8/100, rank #726 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/recraft.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/recraft.json
- Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk: grade D, 53.8/100, rank #700 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/seedream-on-byteplus-modelark.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/seedream-on-byteplus-modelark.json
- Best image generation for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/image-generation/index.md
- All 66 image comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/image-generation/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Recraft API (D)

Good for: Logos, icons and brand-consistent graphics where SVG matters.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 70 against 43
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 20

Also in its favour:
- No incidents deducted, where Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk loses 3 points for them

Watch for: No changelog and no error reference

### Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk (D)

Good for: Agents that need ByteDance's Seedream models first-hand, multi-reference edits, 4K output or layered PNG output at a published per-image price, for users outside the United States.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 72 against 62
- Security & auth, 70 against 30
- Maintenance & community, 73 against 48

Watch for: No status page, incident history or ModelArk SLA was found in the pages read


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Recraft API | Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 43 | Recraft API +27 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 64 | 62 | Recraft API +2 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 62 | 72 | Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk +10 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 30 | 70 | Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk +40 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 20 | Recraft API +10 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 48 | 73 | Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk +25 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 59 | 60 | Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk +1 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -3 | |
| **Total** | | **52.8 · D** | **53.8 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Recraft API | Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | Model API |
| Vendor | Recraft | BytePlus Pte. Ltd. (ByteDance) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://external.api.recraft.ai/v1` | `https://ark.ap-southeast.bytepluses.com/api/v3` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | Proprietary service under the BytePlus Customer Agreement and Service Specific Terms. The Go and Python SDK repositories are Apache-2.0 |
| Tools exposed | 9 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | none | 2026-09-17 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-08-11 | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-03-12 | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | couldn't be read |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

**Recraft API.** Native SVG vector generation, not traced raster. No changelog and no error reference.

**Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk.** Per-image prices from $0.018 are public, and API keys can be limited to named models and an IP allowlist. No status page, SLA or OpenAPI file was found, onboarding needs a browser sign-up, and BytePlus says its model services are not available in the United States.

## Before you call either

### Recraft API

1. Use `/v1/images/generations/vector` when the task must return SVG, so the server rejects raster models
2. Ask for `b64_json` or `multipart` if you can't fetch the URL within a day
3. Name `recraftv4_1_flash` for drafts at $0.007. The default `recraftv4_1` costs $0.035
4. Stay under 100 images a minute and 5 requests a second per user
5. Point the OpenAI SDK at `https://external.api.recraft.ai/v1`, but expect some parameters to be ignored

### Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk

1. POST to `https://ark.ap-southeast.bytepluses.com/api/v3/images/generations` with `Authorization: Bearer $ARK_API_KEY`. Keys and model activation are per region
2. Set `watermark` to false if the image must not carry the AI-generated mark. The default is true
3. Download `data[].url` within 24 hours, or ask for `response_format` `b64_json`
4. Check each `data[].error` in a sequential batch. One moderated image does not fail the others, and only `usage.generated_images` is billed
5. Stay under 500 images a minute per model and back off with jitter on 429. Layer decomposition reserves 17 against that limit per request

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Recraft API or Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk?

Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk scores 53.8 (D) on agent readiness against Recraft API's 52.8 (D), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Recraft API leads on reliability and payments & pricing.

### Do Recraft API and Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk need an API key?

Recraft API takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk needs an API key.

### Can an agent call Recraft API and Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk without installing anything?

Yes. Recraft API has a hosted endpoint at https://external.api.recraft.ai/v1 and Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk at https://ark.ap-southeast.bytepluses.com/api/v3.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/recraft-vs-seedream-on-byteplus-modelark.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/recraft-vs-seedream-on-byteplus-modelark.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "recraft", "b": "seedream-on-byteplus-modelark"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare recraft seedream-on-byteplus-modelark`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/recraft.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/seedream-on-byteplus-modelark.json

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