Is 1080p worth 2.5x the price of 720p: cost vs quality for AI video

Whether 1080p is worth the higher cost depends on your output needs: on RelayDance, Seedance 2.0 at 720p costs about $0.190 per second, while 1080p costs about $0.470 per second, roughly 2.5 times more. For drafts, previews, and internal review, 720p keeps spend lower. For final deliverables where detail matters, 1080p may justify the premium. Both share the same OpenAI-compatible workflow.

What is the price difference between 720p and 1080p

The core difference is that Seedance 2.0 1080p (about $0.470 per second) costs roughly 2.5x the 720p rate (about $0.190 per second). Over a 15-second clip, the maximum supported length, that gap widens: 720p reaches about $2.85 while 1080p reaches about $7.05. If you need lower cost still, Seedance Fast is priced at about $0.152 per second. According to the official relaydance.com/docs, 「Failed or errored requests are never billed」, so failed test runs do not add to the difference. All rates are pay-as-you-go and listed live at relaydance.com/models.

How the resolution tiers compare

The tiers scale from Seedance Fast through native 4K, letting you match resolution to budget. The table below lists current per-model rates for a quick comparison.

For a 5-second clip, native 4K bills a flat $4.90, while 1080p over the same length totals about $2.35. Choose based on the final display target and delivery requirements.

When 720p is the practical choice

720p fits iteration, testing, and short-form content where the 2.5x saving matters. At about $0.190 per second, you can generate multiple variations for the cost of a single 1080p pass. Because failed requests carry no charge, testing prompts before committing to a higher resolution is low-risk. The same request structure applies across tiers: submit a task, poll for status, then retrieve the video url. Each request supports up to 9 reference images, 3 reference videos, and 3 audio tracks, cited in the prompt as @image1 to @imageN, so you can validate composition at 720p before scaling up.

How to generate at either resolution

Set resolution in the request metadata, then follow the standard submit-and-poll flow. According to the official relaydance.com/docs, 「Set base_url to https://relaydance.com/v1 and keep your OpenAI SDK」.

1. Create an API key at https://relaydance.com/console and set Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY.
2. Point your OpenAI SDK base_url to https://relaydance.com/v1.
3. Submit with POST /v1/video/generations, passing model, prompt, seconds, and metadata (including resolution as 720p or 1080p).
4. Poll GET /v1/video/generations/{task_id} until status is succeeded or failed, or set metadata.callback_url for webhook delivery.
5. Read the video url from the succeeded result.

See the full reference at relaydance.com/docs.

FAQ

Is 1080p exactly 2.5x the price of 720p? It is approximately 2.5x: 720p is about $0.190 per second and 1080p is about $0.470 per second.

Am I charged if a generation fails? No. Failed or errored requests are never billed under the pay-as-you-go model.

Is there a cheaper option than 720p? Seedance Fast is priced at about $0.152 per second. Live rates are at relaydance.com/models.