Last updated: August 23, 2026
Seedance availability is not a single yes-or-no question. ByteDance’s AI video models reach people through at least four separate doors: Jimeng and Doubao inside China, Dreamina and CapCut internationally, the BytePlus ModelArk API for developers outside China, and third-party hosts such as fal, Replicate, Together and Runway. Each door opens in a different set of countries, on a different schedule, and sometimes with a different version of the model behind it.
This guide maps where Seedance works, region by region, as of August 23, 2026. It relies only on ByteDance’s own announcements, CapCut and Dreamina rollout notes, BytePlus’s published availability list and dated press reporting, and it says plainly where the record is unclear.
One warning up front: these facts moved fast in 2026. Seedance 2.0 launched in China in February, had its global rollout paused in March and reached the US in April, and Seedance 2.5 followed a similarly staggered path. Every claim below carries a date.
- China got Seedance 2.0 on February 12, 2026 via Jimeng, Doubao and Volcano Ark, and Seedance 2.5 on July 31; its API followed on August 7.
- The US got Seedance 2.0 on April 7, 2026; Seedance 2.5 was missing from the July 31 list and was announced for US users about a week later in a Dreamina post that cannot be verified against the live page.
- BytePlus ModelArk’s availability page omits the United States, India, mainland China, Russia and Ukraine; its terms state the service is not available in the US.
- Third-party APIs (fal, Replicate, Together, Runway, OpenRouter) are in practice the remaining route where BytePlus does not sell, though none of them publishes a country-availability list.
- Availability differs because of the March 2026 IP pause, regional regulation and each platform’s age and subscription gates.
Table of contents
Seedance availability by country: the summary table
The table condenses every dated announcement in our sources into one view. “Consumer” means Dreamina and the CapCut editor outside China, or Jimeng and Doubao inside China; “BytePlus” is the ModelArk API. Third-party hosts sit outside both columns.
| Region | Seedance 2.0 (consumer) | Seedance 2.5 (consumer) | BytePlus ModelArk API |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mainland China | Jimeng, Doubao, Volcano Ark since Feb 12, 2026 | Jimeng AI and Doubao Pro (Enhanced and Premium tiers) since Jul 31, 2026 | Not listed; Volcengine Ark instead (2.5 API since Aug 7) |
| United States | CapCut since Apr 7, 2026 (Dreamina undated; “live globally”) | Not in the Jul 31 list; announced for US users around Aug 6 | Not available (terms and list) |
| EU and UK | CapCut since Mar 28, 2026 | In the Jul 31 rollout (“Europe”), subscribers over 16 | Listed (UK, Germany, France, EU members) |
| Japan | CapCut since Mar 31, 2026 | Only “Asia”; not named separately | Listed |
| Southeast Asia | First markets (Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia), paid CapCut users | Named as already rolled out in Dreamina’s August post (reported; post unverified) | Listed (incl. Singapore); 2.5 hosted in ap-southeast-1 |
| Middle East and Africa | CapCut since Mar 25, 2026 | Middle East in the Jul 31 rollout; Africa in the August post | Check the BytePlus list |
| Latin America | Brazil and Mexico first; more of South America from Mar 25 | South America in the Jul 31 rollout | Check the list |
| Canada, Australia, NZ | Not in the rollout notes; named in the June 4K post | Not named; “broader availability continuing to expand” | Canada and Australia listed |
| South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan | South Korea in the June 4K post; HK and Taiwan not named | “Asia” only | All three listed |
| India | Not named anywhere; reported absent in late March | Not named; “Asia” is ambiguous | Not listed |
| Russia, Ukraine | No rollout note found | No rollout note found | Not listed |
The four ways Seedance reaches a country
Inside China, Seedance ships through ByteDance’s own apps: the February 12, 2026 launch note said Seedance 2.0 was fully integrated into Doubao and Jimeng and live in the Volcano Ark experience center, under the model ID doubao-seedance-2-0-260128. Outside China, the consumer surfaces are Dreamina and the CapCut editor, plus Pippit. Advertisers get a separate path through TikTok’s Symphony Creative Studio, generally available with Seedance 2.0 from May 13, 2026 and rolling out Seedance 2.5 to select paid advertisers in select markets from August 3.
Developers have two first-party APIs. Volcengine Ark’s terms license use only within mainland China; BytePlus ModelArk hosts the international model IDs, such as dreamina-seedance-2-5-260628 in ap-southeast-1. Third-party hosts including fal, Replicate, Together, Runway, OpenRouter and WaveSpeed resell access under their own contracts. For each route step by step, see every working way to access Seedance.
Region-by-region detail
Mainland China
China has had every Seedance release first. ByteDance released Seedance 2.0 on February 12, 2026, and for a few weeks it was the only place in the world to use it; Al Jazeera reported on February 16 that the model was available only in China. ByteDance Seed’s July 31, 2026 launch post put Seedance 2.5 on Jimeng AI and Doubao Pro, with API access “coming soon” via BytePlus ModelArk.
Access within China is tiered. Tencent News reported that Seedance 2.5 on Doubao opened to the Enhanced and Premium tiers of Doubao Pro, not the Standard or free tiers. Volcano Engine launched the Seedance 2.5 API on August 7, 2026.
Jimeng registration uses a phone number, Volcengine’s Ark terms license the service only within mainland China and require written permission for commercial use, and China’s AI-content labeling rules, in force since September 1, 2025, apply to outputs. Our explainer on Jimeng versus Dreamina versus seed.bytedance.com untangles which site is which.
United States
The US was not in the first international wave. CapCut’s rollout log records “We have expanded Dreamina Seedance 2.0 to the US” on April 7, 2026, about a week after The Next Web noted the US was absent; Dreamina’s own tools page says only that Seedance 2.0 is “now live globally,” without a date. The version that arrived carries the revised safeguards: no real-face inputs, visible and invisible watermarks, and C2PA Content Credentials.
Seedance 2.5 lagged again. The July 31 posts listed Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America, naming the United States for the companion Dola Seedream 5.0 Pro image model but not for Seedance 2.5. Dreamina’s X account was then reported as posting “Dreamina Seedance 2.5 is officially live in the US!” in a message whose ID decodes to roughly August 6, 2026 — the post itself is not retrievable and the wording comes from a search-index listing, so treat both quote and date as approximate.
US developers face a firmer wall. BytePlus’s Specific Terms for its Video Generation Model Services state that “The BytePlus Model Services are not available in the United States,” and the availability page omits the US. In practice the remaining route is a third-party host, though none of them publishes a country-availability list: fal launched Seedance 2.0 on April 9, 2026, Replicate hosts 2.0 and 2.5, Together marks 2.5 “Launching soon,” Runway added 2.5 on August 7 and OpenRouter listed 2.0 from April 15. Prices are compared in our Seedance API guide.
European Union and United Kingdom
Europe joined the CapCut rollout on March 28, 2026 and was named again in CapCut’s June post on Seedance 2.0 4K. For Seedance 2.5, “Europe” was in the July 31 list for subscriber accounts over 16. BytePlus’s list includes the UK, Germany, France and EU member states; the third-party hosts do not publish country restrictions either way, so check each provider’s terms.
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia was the proving ground. CapCut’s phased rollout first brought Dreamina Seedance 2.0 to certain paid users in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia (plus Brazil and Mexico), with real-face inputs restricted; TechCrunch covered that wave on March 26, 2026.
The region is central on the developer side too. BytePlus hosts dreamina-seedance-2-5-260628 in ap-southeast-1, Singapore is on the availability list, and Dreamina’s contracting entity is Bytedance Pte. Ltd. in Singapore.
Dreamina’s August US post named Southeast Asia as already covered for Seedance 2.5. Note the higher minimum ages in Dreamina’s terms: 14 in Indonesia and 18 in Vietnam.
Middle East, Africa and Latin America
Brazil and Mexico were in the first CapCut wave, and the March 25, 2026 update added “more markets today across Africa, South America, and the Middle East.” For Seedance 2.5, the Middle East and South America were in the July 31 rollout and Dreamina’s August post added Africa.
Our sources never enumerate countries within these regions, so a region label does not guarantee yours is included; Dreamina’s press release cautions that “Model availability, subscription plans, output options and launch offers may vary by market.” Brazil carries a minimum age of 16.
India
India is the clearest gap. It is absent from the BytePlus list in both the March 9 and April 21, 2026 versions, no CapCut or Dreamina rollout note names it, and The Next Web’s March 31 report described India, like the US, as absent from the rollout.
That is not a confirmed block. The July 31 posts said “Asia,” and Dreamina’s August press release claimed “global availability.” Until ByteDance names India, the safe reading is: Dreamina status unclear, BytePlus unavailable, third-party APIs subject to each provider’s terms.
Everywhere else
Japan got its own line in CapCut’s log on March 31, 2026. South Korea, Canada, Australia and New Zealand appear in no written rollout note, but all four are in CapCut’s TikTok post from around June 23, 2026 announcing Dreamina Seedance 2.0 4K across “Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, SEA, MENA, LATAM and Africa.” A 4K option only makes sense where the base model already runs.
On the developer side these are the firmest rows in the table: Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Singapore are all on the BytePlus list. Seedance 2.5 is the weak spot — the July 31 posts said only “Asia,” and Hong Kong and Taiwan appear in no consumer rollout note we can cite. Dreamina’s terms set a minimum age of 14 in South Korea.
The BytePlus country list and its omissions
BytePlus publishes an International Availability page for its Model Service, last updated April 21, 2026. It lists roughly 185 countries and regions where the service is available “with the exception of Restricted Models” — BytePlus’s own pages give slightly different counts — and omits the United States, India, mainland China, Russia and Ukraine. The prior March 9 version already left out the United States and India, so the US gap predates the Seedance 2.0 pause.
| Status on the BytePlus list | Countries and regions (examples from the page) |
|---|---|
| Included | Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Singapore and EU member states |
| Omitted | United States, mainland China, India, Russia, Ukraine |
Three disclaimers matter. Availability “shall be determined at the point of purchase”; “the versions of BytePlus Model Service available under the same Model Card may differ for customers in different countries/regions”; and “Restricted Models” are those tagged in the model card plus any others BytePlus adds later. Separately, BytePlus’s activation page (updated August 14, 2026) switches on Seedance 2.5, 2.0, 2.0 mini and 2.0 fast for a balance, savings plan or resource pack of at least USD 30, and states no country rules of its own. Setup is covered in our Volcengine and BytePlus developer guide.
Being on the BytePlus list does not mean every Seedance version is offered in your country, and being off it does not block third-party APIs. Read it as “where BytePlus will sell you the service,” nothing more.
Why Seedance availability differs by country
The Hollywood IP pause
On February 12, 2026, the day Seedance 2.0 shipped, the Motion Picture Association called on ByteDance to cease “infringing activity”; Disney sent a cease-and-desist the next day and Paramount followed that Saturday. ByteDance said on February 16 it was “taking steps to strengthen current safeguards,” and the MPA sent its own on February 20.
The planned mid-March global rollout — API availability through BytePlus plus a consumer app outside China, as eMarketer described it — was then halted. TechRepublic noted on March 17 that ByteDance had not publicly confirmed the delay, and Senators Marsha Blackburn and Peter Welch wrote to its CEO on March 16 demanding the model be shut down. What emerged was a slower release with a real-face input block, copyrighted-character filters, watermarks and C2PA credentials. On August 17, 2026 the MPA and ByteDance announced a Memorandum of Understanding covering Seedance and Seedream, though The Next Web noted neither side spelled out the guardrails. More in our piece on why Seedance’s global launch is limited.
Regulation, terms and territory clauses
The second driver is legal geography. BytePlus attributes version differences to “regional regulatory variations,” and its video terms carve out the United States by name. Volcengine’s Ark terms point the other way, licensing use only within mainland China, where labeling rules impose explicit and implicit marking obligations that Volcengine says customers must handle themselves.
Those boundaries change what the model can do. On fal, Seedance 2.5 generates at 480p or 720p, while BytePlus ModelArk exposes 480p, 720p and 1080p for the same model, and 4K is documented on the API only for Seedance 2.0. Where you access Seedance can decide your maximum resolution; see our resolutions and durations guide.
Platform rollouts, age gates and subscriptions
The third driver is commercial. CapCut’s first international wave was for paid users only; Seedance 2.5 launched on CapCut and Dreamina for subscriber accounts over 16; CapCut’s August 7 note says Seedance 2.5 on CapCut PC is used by Pro and Ultra members through credits; and Doubao limited it to its two upper Pro tiers.
Free access does exist. Dreamina’s Seedance 2.5 page says free daily credits let users test the model before subscribing, and its everyday-creator guide puts the allowance at 225 free daily credits — though Dreamina’s pricing page warns that promotions, taxes, regional availability and credit rules can change. We track the options in every legitimate way to use Seedance for free.
If you cite this page for a business decision, record the date you checked. Seedance availability changed roughly monthly through 2026, and ByteDance has not published a single consolidated country list for its consumer apps.
Honest limitations and caveats
This article is built from published announcements, terms documents and dated press coverage, not from logging in from every country. What an app shows can differ from what a newsroom post says, and CapCut itself notes that Seedance 2.5 appears only “as it becomes available in your region.”
Regional labels are vague. “Europe,” “Asia” and “South America” are never broken into countries by CapCut or Dreamina, so the table’s rows are inferences from those labels plus the BytePlus list. India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are where that inference is weakest.
Some dates are approximate: the Dreamina US announcement and CapCut’s 4K post are dated from post IDs, and the Dreamina post is no longer retrievable from X. BytePlus’s own pages give slightly different counts for the same list, which is settled at purchase anyway. Third-party hosts publish no country lists, so “works via third-party API” means the model is hosted, not that every jurisdiction is served.
Finally, availability is not the same product everywhere. The real-face input block applies to Seedance 2.0 and 2.5 on BytePlus and in the international apps, and Dreamina’s “4K” marketing for Seedance 2.5 conflicts with official API documentation that caps the model at 1080p. Commercial rights also vary by route; read our guide to Seedance watermarks and commercial usage rights before publishing.
Frequently asked questions
Is Seedance available in the United States?
Yes, through the consumer apps and third-party APIs. CapCut’s rollout log records Dreamina Seedance 2.0 reaching the US on April 7, 2026, and Dreamina was reported as announcing Seedance 2.5 for US users around August 6, 2026. BytePlus ModelArk is the exception: its terms state the service is not available in the United States.
Can I use Seedance in India?
It is unclear for the consumer apps and unavailable on BytePlus. India is absent from BytePlus’s availability list in both its March 9 and April 21, 2026 versions, and no CapCut or Dreamina rollout note names India. Press coverage in late March described India as absent alongside the US. Third-party hosts remain a possible route, subject to their own terms.
Why is BytePlus ModelArk not available in the United States?
BytePlus’s Specific Terms for its Video Generation Model Services state plainly that the BytePlus Model Services are not available in the United States, and its International Availability page omits the US. The page attributes version differences between countries to regional regulatory variations. The US was already missing from the March 9, 2026 version, so the omission predates the Seedance 2.0 pause.
Is Seedance 2.5 available in Europe and the UK?
Yes, on both the consumer and API side. CapCut and Dreamina said on July 31, 2026 that Seedance 2.5 would roll out in the coming week across Europe for subscriber accounts belonging to people over 16. BytePlus lists the United Kingdom, Germany, France and EU member states, so ModelArk is also an option.
The short version: in China, the EU, the UK, Japan and Southeast Asia, Seedance is available through at least one first-party route; in the US, the consumer apps work but the developer API does not; in India, the answer is still unclear. For what the newest model does, start with our Seedance 2.5 complete guide, and for the earlier model the Seedance 2.0 hub.
Sources: the CapCut newsroom post on Dreamina Seedance 2.0 (capcut.com); BytePlus ModelArk’s International Availability page (docs.byteplus.com); and the ByteDance Seed blog’s Seedance 2.5 launch post (seed.bytedance.com). Further detail from BytePlus terms and API docs, Dreamina and CapCut product pages, the Motion Picture Association and the press reports cited above.
