Seedream 4.0 vs Wan 2.6
Head-to-head across 12 challenges
Seedream 4.0
42.1%
win rate
Ties
15.8%
Wan 2.6
42.1%
win rate
Challenge Results
Man and Car in California
Editing“Make a photo of the man driving the car down the California coastline”
AI Judge Analysis
Seedream 4.0
- + Perfectly preserves the specific features of the man including his hairstyle, scarf, and jacket pattern.
- + Matches the car model and color with high accuracy to the source image.
- + Captures the iconic Big Sur/California coastline aesthetic and motion blur on the road.
- − The steering wheel is positioned slightly too high relative to the driver's hands.
Wan 2.6
- + Accurately depicts a California coastline with palm trees and cliffs.
- + Maintains the car's model and color well.
- − Completely fails to preserve the man's identity; he is replaced by a generic figure in a hat.
- − The lighting on the front of the car feels slightly flat compared to the bright background.
Verdict: Seedream 4.0 is much better as it successfully integrated both source images, preserving the man's distinct hairstyle and clothing while placing the correct car in the requested environment. Wan 2.6 failed the image editing task by replacing the man with a different person who does not resemble the source image at all.
Modern Clean Menu
Text-to-Image“Modern minimalist restaurant menu design, white background with colorful food photos in grid, sections for appetizers/pizza/mains, bold sans-serif fonts, vibrant accents, clean professional layout for casual dining.”
AI Judge Analysis
Seedream 4.0
- + Perfectly legible section headers
- + High-quality, appetizing food photography
- + Clean white background
- − Lacks actual menu content like item names or prices
- − Layout is more of a collage than a functional menu design
- − Large empty white spaces feel unfinished
Wan 2.6
- + Complete menu structure including item lists and pricing
- + Excellent professional grid layout with vibrant color accents
- + Strong adherence to the 'modern minimalist' aesthetic for casual dining
- − Text contains gibberish/hallucinated characters
- − Pizza is shown in the appetizers section
- − Mains section lacks corresponding photos in its immediate block
Verdict: Wan 2.6 provides a much more convincing and professional menu template that includes pricing, sections, and a clear design system, though the text is partially illegible. Seedream 4.0 creates a clean collage with perfect typography, but fails to actually design a functional menu beyond the primary section headers.
Bald man challenge
Editing“Give the person a full, thick head of natural hair with realistic texture, density, and a natural hairline. Preserve facial features and lighting.”
AI Judge Analysis
Seedream 4.0
- + Perfectly preserves facial features, clothing, and background
- + Maintains identical lighting and grain texture from the original
- + Matches the beard color and texture well
- − The hairline is unnaturally square and high
- − The hair volume is overly vertical and stiff-looking
Wan 2.6
- + Produces a much more realistic and stylish hairstyle
- + Excellent hair texture with natural-looking waves and flow
- + Maintains the overall facial structure and environmental context
- − Slightly alters the shape of the glasses and the bridge of the nose
- − The ear is partially obscured and reshaped compared to the original
Verdict: Wan 2.6 provides a significantly more natural and aesthetically pleasing head of hair that feels integrated into the image, whereas Seedream 4.0 creates a stiff, boxy hairline that looks like a literal 'edit.' While Seedream 4.0 is better at preserving the exact geometry of the face and glasses, Wan 2.6 is the clear winner for its realistic texture and superior adherence to the core request of providing 'realistic texture' and a 'natural hairline'.
Isometric Miniature Diorama Scenes
Text-to-Image“Create a clear, 45° top-down isometric miniature 3D cartoon scene of Japan's signature dish: sushi, with soft refined textures, realistic PBR materials, gentle lighting, on a small raised diorama base with minimal garnish and plate. Solid light blue background. At top-center: 'JAPAN' in large bold text, 'SUSHI' below it, small flag icon. Perfectly centered, ultra-clean, high-clarity, square format.”
AI Judge Analysis
Seedream 4.0
- + Excellent text rendering and placement.
- + High detail in the sushi textures, particularly the fish and roe.
- + Soft, appealing 3D cartoon aesthetic that retains realism.
- − The diorama base is just a small tray rather than a distinct raised block.
- − Perspective is slightly flatter than the requested 45-degree angle.
Wan 2.6
- + Captured the 'raised diorama base' instruction perfectly with the grey pedestal.
- + Strong isometric perspective and clean composition.
- + Includes additional garnish like ginger as requested.
- − The 'JAPAN' text is slightly off-center and awkwardly aligned with the icon.
- − The flag icon is integrated into the text line rather than being a separate small icon as requested.
Verdict: Seedream 4.0 produced a more visually appetizing and detailed set of sushi with superior typography, whereas Wan 2.6 better adhered to the 'diorama base' and layout requirements. Seedream 4.0 is preferred for its higher material quality and cleaner text, which better fits the 3D cartoon style requested.
Night Sky Transformation
Editing“Change the scene to night: a deep, dark sky with subtle, glistening stars visible behind the mountain.”
AI Judge Analysis
Seedream 4.0
- + Excellent source preservation, keeping the town and mountain textures nearly identical to the original.
- + Realistic sky treatment with natural-looking star clusters and a subtle atmosphere.
- − The lighting on the mountain peak is slightly too bright for a deep night scene, retaining much of the sunset glow.
Wan 2.6
- + Deep, dark sky effectively changes the mood of the entire scene.
- + Preserves the foreground architecture and landscape layout very well.
- − The stars appear as uniform, artificial white dots rather than astronomical bodies.
- − The lighting on the mountain and hillsides has been significantly darkened, losing some of the fine detail present in the source.
Verdict: Both models did an excellent job of preserving the composition and complex town details of the source image. Seedream 4.0 is the winner because its night sky looks much more realistic, whereas Wan 2.6 uses a very basic star pattern that looks like a simple overlay. Seedream 4.0 also managed to keep more of the original mountain detail while still successfully transitioning the atmosphere to night.
Over-the-top cartoon caricature
Editing“Create a caricature of me and my job. Make it exaggerated and humorous, incorporating my profession as a tv show anchor and my love for dogs and hockey.”
AI Judge Analysis
Seedream 4.0
- + Excellent character preservation while applying a classic bobblehead caricature style.
- + Perfect integration of the original background and clothing from the source image.
- + Includes all requested elements: anchor desk, dog, and hockey jersey details naturally.
- − The hand holding the phone has some anatomical issues with the thumb and finger spacing.
Wan 2.6
- + Very clean, vibrant illustrative style.
- + Clear and intentional placement of the hockey stick, puck, and dog.
- + Strong 'TV Studio' lighting and composition.
- − Poor face preservation; the character looks like a generic cartoon and does not resemble the subject in the source image.
- − Complete loss of the source image's background and clothing.
Verdict: Seedream 4.0 is the clear winner for an image editing task because it successfully preserves the subject's identity and original environment while applying a distinct caricature effect. In contrast, Wan 2.6 generates a generic cartoon character from scratch, failing to maintain any recognizable traits from the provided source photo of the woman.
Studio Ghibli Anime Style
Editing“Transform this photo into a Studio Ghibli–inspired illustration. Use soft pastel colors, hand-painted textures, gentle lighting, dreamy backgrounds, and a warm, nostalgic mood”
AI Judge Analysis
Seedream 4.0
- + Perfectly captures the minimalist Studio Ghibli character design style.
- + Beautiful watercolor texture and soft, hand-painted aesthetic.
- + Accurately recreates the iconic expressions and poses from the source meme in the new style.
- − Completely loses the background detail, replacing it with abstract watercolor washes.
- − The character faces are very simplified compared to the source.
Wan 2.6
- + Excellent preservation of the background architecture and details from the original photo.
- + Maintains the facial likeness of the original people while stylizing them.
- + Pleasant use of light and watercolor effects.
- − The art style leans more towards modern shoujo manga or generic watercolor illustration than specific Ghibli style.
- − Includes distracting white circular 'bokeh' or dust artifacts across the image.
Verdict: Seedream 4.0 delivers a much more authentic Studio Ghibli adaptation, capturing the specific simplified line work and watercolor feel associated with the studio, though it sacrifices the background detail. Wan 2.6 does a better job of preserving the composition and background of the original photo, but the character designs feel less like Ghibli and more like high-detail digital illustration.
Neutral Expression to Genuine Smile
Editing{
"action": "image_edit",
"reference": "uploaded neutral portrait",
"change": "Warm genuine Duchenne smile: lips curved up, slight natural teeth, soft eye crinkles, subtle cheek raise",
"details": "Realistic smiling skin (dimples if present, soft cheek shadows), slightly brighter eyes; keep exact eye shape/color/iris",
"preserve_exact": "Face identity/structure, eyes/nose/lips/eyebrows, hair, skin texture/pores/freckles, makeup, clothing, head pose, background, lighting, shadows, framing",
"no_changes": "No face shape change, no new features, no gaze shift, no hair/clothing/lighting/background edits",
"style": "Ultra-photorealistic 8K portrait, sharp face focus, natural soft lighting, realistic skin glow"
}
AI Judge Analysis
Seedream 4.0
- + Successfully creates a warm, genuine smile with visible teeth.
- + Matches the hair, clothing, and background almost perfectly to the source.
- + High visual quality with smooth lighting on the face.
- − Loss of fine skin details like freckles and pores on the cheeks and nose.
- − Eye shape changed significantly, losing the specific characteristic of the source's eyes.
- − The face appears slightly 'beautified' or airbrushed compared to the source.
Wan 2.6
- + Excellent preservation of skin texture, freckles, and fine lines from the source image.
- + Accurately renders the ‘Duchenne’ smile with realistic eye crinkles and cheek raises.
- + Maintains the exact eye shape and iris details while making them subtley brighter.
- − The teeth rendering is slightly less defined than in Model A.
- − Very minor change to the chin shape due to the smile stretching.
Verdict: Wan 2.6 is the clear winner for its superior ability to preserve the subject's identity and skin texture. While Seedream 4.0 creates a pleasant smile, it airbrushes away the freckles and changes the eye shape, whereas Wan 2.6 successfully adds a realistic Duchenne smile while keeping the exact skin details and facial structure of the original photo.
Intricate Floral Mandala
Text-to-Image“Perfectly symmetrical mandala made entirely of real flowers, petals, leaves, fruits, and seeds in vibrant natural colors, intricate layered patterns with radial symmetry, top-down view on a soft neutral background, hyper-detailed organic textures and subtle shadows, photorealistic, 8K masterpiece.”
AI Judge Analysis
Seedream 4.0
- + Excellent variety of fruits, seeds, and organic textures as requested.
- + Rich, vibrant colors with complex layering.
- + Successful photorealistic rendering and depth.
- − The symmetry is slightly imperfect and asymmetrical in several areas.
- − The composition feels a bit crowded and heavy compared to a traditional mandala.
Wan 2.6
- + Perfect radial symmetry across all elements.
- + Very clean, clear representation of petals, leaves, and seeds.
- + High-quality lighting with subtle shadows that enhance the depth.
- − Less variety in the types of organic matter used compared to the prompt's request for fruits.
- − The arrangement is somewhat simplistic and lacks the 'intricate layered patterns' seen in the other model.
Verdict: Wan 2.6 is the winner because it achieves the 'perfectly symmetrical' aspect of the prompt, which is a core feature of a mandala. While Seedream 4.0 provides a more diverse and lush set of organic textures, its failure to maintain strict radial symmetry makes it less successful as a mandala.
Golden Hour Stroll
Editing“Add dynamic motion to this photo: make hair blow in the wind, add leaves flying, energetic and lively feel.”
AI Judge Analysis
Seedream 4.0
- + Successfully added brown flying leaves that match the dynamic feel
- + Preserved the original composition and colors well
- − Noticeable loss of facial detail and slight identity shift
- − The hair edit looks a bit stiff and symmetrical
Wan 2.6
- + Excellent hair motion that looks natural and windswept
- + Very high source preservation with minimal identity shift
- + High image clarity and sharpness
- − Flying leaves look somewhat like green digital artifacts or 'floating' rather than integrated
- − The motion of the leaves is less dynamic than requested
Verdict: Wan 2.6 is the superior model because it successfully adds natural-looking wind effects to the hair while maintaining perfect facial detail and identity compared to the source. While Seedream 4.0 does a better job with the brown falling leaves, it degrades the quality of the woman's face and creates a less realistic hair motion.
Vintage Cafe Logo
Text-to-Image“Vintage minimalist restaurant logo for "Caffè Florian", retro cloche dome with steam and "Est. 1720" banner, classic typography, warm brown and cream tones, subtle texture on light background, vector emblem style.”
AI Judge Analysis
Seedream 4.0
- + Perfect text rendering for both the main title and the banner.
- + Excellent composition with a balanced emblem style.
- + The subtle canvas-like texture perfectly matches the vintage request.
- − The accent on 'Caffè' is slightly stylized as a dot rather than a standard Italian accent mark.
Wan 2.6
- + Clean vector aesthetic with good color choices.
- + Successfully included all requested elements like the steam and cloche.
- − The banner placement is awkward and tiny, making the 'Est. 1720' text difficult to read.
- − Composition feels bottom-heavy compared to the more traditional circular logo layout.
Verdict: Seedream 4.0 followed the prompt much more effectively, creating a cohesive emblem with legible, well-placed text and a beautiful vintage texture. Wan 2.6 struggled with the banner placement and typography scaling, resulting in a less professional logo design.
Apollo 11: Journey to Tranquility
Text-to-Image“Create a clean, modern vector infographic poster about the Apollo 11 mission. NASA-inspired palette (navy, white, muted red, light gray). Flat-vector style, crisp lines, consistent iconography, subtle gradients only. Steps (stop at landing): 1. Launch (Saturn Vicon) 2. Earth Orbit (Earth + orbit ring icon) 3. Translunar (trajectory arc icon) 4. Lunar Orbit (Moon + orbit ring icon) 5. Descent (lunar module descending icon) 6. Landing (lunar module on the surface icon) Small supporting elements (minimal text): • Crew strip: three silhouette icons with only last names: Armstrong, Aldrin, Collins. • Landing site marker: Moon pin labeled "Tranquility" only. Layout constraints: generous margins, large readable labels, clean background with subtle stars. Vector-only, print-poster look, high resolution.”
AI Judge Analysis
Seedream 4.0
- + Excellent adherence to all 6 requested infographic steps with corresponding icons.
- + Text rendering is highly accurate and readable for both the header and sub-points.
- + Successfully incorporates the requested 'NASA-inspired' color palette and flat-vector style.
- − The transition from the navy sky to the gray ground is a bit harsh.
- − Some icons exhibit minor rendering artifacts (e.g., the lunar lander's legs).
Wan 2.6
- + Clean, minimalist aesthetic that follows the requested color palette well.
- + Good balance of negative space and crisp typography.
- − Completely failed to include the requested 6-step infographic content.
- − Omitted almost all specific icons requested (Saturn V, Earth, Trajectory, etc.).
- − The layout is too empty for an infographic poster.
Verdict: Seedream 4.0 followed the complex prompt instructions perfectly, providing all six chronological steps with appropriate icons and legible text. In contrast, Wan 2.6 failed the infographic requirements entirely, delivering a minimalist poster that lacked the core informational content requested.
Seedream 4.0
ByteDance's image generation model with integrated text-to-image and image editing capabilities in a unified architecture, supporting up to 4K resolution
Wan 2.6
Alibaba's multimodal generation model from the Wan AI suite, supporting text-to-video, image-to-video, reference-to-video with audio, and text-to-image, in both Chinese and English