Native 4K generation vs 1080p upscaled to 4K: which looks better and costs less

Native 4K on RelayDance costs about $4.90 per 5-second Seedance clip, while a 1080p clip billed at about $0.470 per second reaches about $2.35 over the same 5 seconds before any external upscaling. Native 4K produces true 4K detail directly from the model; 1080p upscaled to 4K adds a separate processing step and does not add original detail. Native 4K looks better; 1080p is lower cost. See relaydance.com/models for live rates.

What each option costs

Native 4K is priced per clip, while 1080p and 720p are priced per second on RelayDance. Seedance native 4K costs about $4.90 per 5-second clip. Seedance 2.0 1080p costs about $0.470 per second, or about $2.35 for a 5-second clip. Seedance 2.0 720p costs about $0.190 per second, and Seedance Fast costs about $0.152 per second. Upscaling 1080p to 4K would require an additional step outside these listed rates. Billing is pay-as-you-go per generated video. According to the official relaydance.com docs, 「Failed or errored requests are never billed」, so a failed 4K job carries no charge. All figures are published at relaydance.com/models.

Cost and quality comparison

The table below compares native 4K against a 1080p clip at equal duration, using the published Seedance rates.

Native 4K gives true 4K detail at higher cost; 1080p gives lower cost at lower resolution.

How to generate a clip at either resolution

You submit both native 4K and 1080p through the same OpenAI-compatible endpoints on RelayDance. Follow these steps:

1. Create an API key at https://relaydance.com/console and set Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY.
2. Point your SDK at the RelayDance base URL. According to the official relaydance.com/docs, 「Set base_url to https://relaydance.com/v1 and keep your OpenAI SDK」.
3. Submit the task: POST /v1/video/generations with model, prompt, seconds, and metadata (ratio, resolution, generate_audio).
4. Poll GET /v1/video/generations/{task_id} until status is succeeded or failed, or set metadata.callback_url for webhook delivery.

Clips can run up to 15 seconds, so a 5-second 4K clip is within limits. See relaydance.com/docs.

When each option fits

Choose native 4K when true 4K detail matters and choose 1080p when cost per clip is the priority. Native 4K at about $4.90 per 5-second clip suits final deliverables that need real 4K resolution. A 1080p clip at about $0.470 per second (about $2.35 for 5 seconds) suits drafts, previews, or outputs that do not require 4K. Seedance Fast at about $0.152 per second and 720p at about $0.190 per second lower the cost further for iteration. Because failed or errored requests are never billed, testing resolutions carries no charge for jobs that error. Reference media (up to 9 images, 3 videos, and 3 audio tracks) apply to both paths through metadata.content[].

FAQ

Does 1080p upscaled to 4K match native 4K quality? No. Native 4K produces original detail at 4K; upscaling 1080p adds a processing step but does not add new original detail.

Which is cheaper for a 5-second clip? The 1080p clip is cheaper at about $2.35 (about $0.470 per second) versus about $4.90 for native 4K, before any upscaling step.

Am I billed if a 4K job fails? No. According to relaydance.com, 「Failed or errored requests are never billed」.