Seed 1.6 Flash vs Hermes 3 405B Instruct
Seed 1.6 Flash costs 3.3x less per output token than Hermes 3 405B Instruct ($0.30 vs $1.00 per million). Updated October 23, 2026; no benchmark has tested both models yet.
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $0.30
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $1.00
Seed 1.6 Flash or Hermes 3 405B Instruct: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Seed 1.6 Flash for output tokens 3.3x cheaper ($0.30 vs $1.00 per million) and a larger context window (262K against 131K tokens).
No benchmark has tested either model yet, so price and context are the only way to compare them.
Which one for your work
Each card is decided by one number both models carry. Where only one has it, the card says so and makes no call.
Coding
Vibe Coding Index, six public coding benchmarks
No call
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Long documents
Listed context window
Seed 1.6 Flash
Seed 1.6 Flash takes 262K tokens against 131K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Seed 1.6 Flash
Seed 1.6 Flash $0.0002, Hermes 3 405B Instruct $0.0015 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Seed 1.6 Flash not benchmarked, Hermes 3 405B Instruct not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- None yet: no category has been tested on both models.
- Widest single gap
- None yet: no benchmark has tested both models.
- Output price
- Seed 1.6 Flash $0.30 against Hermes 3 405B Instruct $1.00 per million output tokens, 3.3x apart.
- Context window
- Seed 1.6 Flash takes 262K tokens, Hermes 3 405B Instruct 131K.
Benchmark by benchmark
Every board either model has a result on, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale. Only one model is measured on each, so no row names a leader.
What each workload costs
Three fixed token mixes at each model's listed price, so per-token rates become a bill.
Chat turn
1K input + 500 output tokens
Seed 1.6 Flash costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Seed 1.6 Flash costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Seed 1.6 Flash costs less
Listed OpenRouter rates, without cache or batch discounts. A workload that does not fit a model's context window would need splitting.
Specification differences
The leading value in a row is marked; a row with a missing value names no leader. Our two rows are marked in red.
| Specification | ByteDance Seed Seed 1.6 Flash | Nous Hermes 3 405B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | ByteDance Seed | Nous Research |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | December 23, 2025 | August 16, 2024 |
| Context window | 262K | 131K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.075 | $1.00 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.30 | $1.00 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Seed 1.6 Flash better than Hermes 3 405B Instruct for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Seed 1.6 Flash for output tokens 3.3x cheaper ($0.30 vs $1.00 per million) and a larger context window (262K against 131K tokens).
Which is cheaper, Seed 1.6 Flash or Hermes 3 405B Instruct?
Seed 1.6 Flash costs $0.075 per million input tokens and $0.30 per million output tokens; Hermes 3 405B Instruct costs $1.00 and $1.00. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Seed 1.6 Flash or Hermes 3 405B Instruct?
Seed 1.6 Flash, with 262K tokens against 131K.
Has any benchmark tested both Seed 1.6 Flash and Hermes 3 405B Instruct?
No benchmark has tested either model yet, so price and context are the only way to compare them. Data as of October 23, 2026.