Doubao Seed, Seedream & Seedance API Access Without a Chinese Phone (2026)

Published 2026-09-13 · NovAI Team

ByteDance's Doubao Seed family covers text (Seed 2.0), images (Seedream 5.0), and video (Seedance 2.5) — all through the Volcano Engine console, which is aimed at Chinese businesses: a Chinese phone number, real-name or business verification, and CNY payment.

The problem

Volcano Engine (火山引擎) requires a Chinese account context for model API activation and billing. International developers cannot complete verification or pay in CNY without a local entity.

The solution: access via NovAI

1. Register at aiapi-pro.com with any email — no phone verification.
2. Get $2 free credit after verifying your email; top up anytime with USDT (TRC20), PayPal or card.
3. Call the models below on the OpenAI-compatible endpoint https://aiapi-pro.com/v1.

Doubao models available on NovAI

Video generation (Seedance 2.0/2.5) is billed per second of output — see the Seedance 2.5 page for the full resolution price list. One API key covers text, image, and video.

Quickstart (image generation)

curl -X POST https://aiapi-pro.com/v1/images/generations \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $NOVAI_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "doubao-seedream-5.0",
    "prompt": "A red fox in a snowy forest at sunrise",
    "size": "2048x2048"
  }'

Text models work through the standard chat endpoint:

Quickstart

from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key="nvai-your-key",
    base_url="https://aiapi-pro.com/v1"
)

resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="doubao-seed-2.0-pro",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Write a product launch checklist"}]
)
print(resp.choices[0].message.content)

Heads-up: like all Chinese image models, Seedream burns a visible “AI生成” label into output under China's labelling rules — details here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use the Doubao Seed API without a Chinese phone number?

Yes. Register at NovAI (aiapi-pro.com) with any email and call doubao-seed-2.0 text models, Seedream 5.0 image models, and Seedance video models through one OpenAI-compatible API.

How is Seedream image generation billed outside China?

Per image, in USD: Seedream 5.0 is $0.027 per image at any resolution up to 2K, and Seedream 5.0 Pro is $0.034 per image up to 4K. No platform fee, and the $2 welcome credit works on images too.

Do Doubao image models add a watermark?

Yes. Under China's AI labelling rules every Chinese image model burns a visible AI-generated label into the output corner. NovAI cannot disable it - read the watermark notice for which models are affected.