| Signal | GPT-4.1 | Delta | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 83 | +17 | |
Benchmarks | 70 | +4 | |
Pricing | 92 | -8 | |
Context window size | 86 | +9 | |
Recency | 57 | -43 | |
Output Capacity | 20 | -50 | |
| Overall Result | 3 wins | of 6 | 3 wins |
Score History
67.2
current score
GPT-4.1
right now
66.6
current score
OpenAI
StepFun
Step 3.5 Flash saves you $576.00/month
That's $6912.00/year compared to GPT-4.1 at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | GPT-4.1 | Step 3.5 Flash | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67 | 67 | GPT-4.1 |
| Rank | #110 | #112 | GPT-4.1 |
| Quality Rank | #110 | #112 | GPT-4.1 |
| Adoption Rank | #110 | #112 | GPT-4.1 |
| Parameters | -- | -- | -- |
| Context Window | 1048K | 262K | GPT-4.1 |
| Pricing | $2.00/$8.00/M | $0.09/$0.30/M | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 83 | 67 | GPT-4.1 |
| Benchmarks | 70 | 66 | GPT-4.1 |
| Pricing | 92 | 100 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| Context window size | 86 | 77 | GPT-4.1 |
| Recency | 57 | 100 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| Output Capacity | 20 | 70 | Step 3.5 Flash |
Our score (0-100) is driven by benchmark performance (90%) from Arena Elo ratings, MMLU, GPQA, HumanEval, SWE-bench, and 15+ standardized evaluations. Capabilities and context window serve as tiebreakers (10%). Learn more about our methodology.
Scores 67/100 (rank #110), placing it in the top 62% of all 290 models tracked.
Scores 67/100 (rank #112), placing it in the top 62% of all 290 models tracked.
With only a 1-point gap, these models are in the same performance tier. The practical difference in output quality is minimal - your choice should depend on pricing, latency requirements, and specific feature needs.
Step 3.5 Flash offers 96% better value per quality point. At 1M tokens/day, you'd spend $5.85/month with Step 3.5 Flash vs $150.00/month with GPT-4.1 - a $144.15 monthly difference.
Both models have comparable response speeds. For most applications, the latency difference is negligible.
When latency matters most: Interactive chatbots, IDE code completion, real-time translation, and user-facing applications where response time directly impacts experience. For batch processing, background summarization, or offline analysis, latency is less critical.
Code generation & review
Based on overall model capabilities and architecture for coding tasks like generating functions, debugging, and refactoring
Customer support chatbot
Suitable for user-facing chat with competitive response times. Step 3.5 Flash also offers lower per-token costs for high-volume support
Long document analysis
Larger context window (1048K tokens) can process longer documents, contracts, and research papers in a single pass
Batch data extraction
Lower output pricing ($0.30/M) reduces costs when processing thousands of records daily
Creative writing & content
Higher overall composite score (67/100) correlates with better nuance, coherence, and style in long-form content
Image understanding & OCR
Supports vision input - can analyze screenshots, diagrams, photos, and scanned documents directly
GPT-4.1 and Step 3.5 Flash are extremely close in overall performance (only 0.6000000000000085 points apart). Your best choice depends entirely on which specific strengths matter most for your use case.
Best for Quality
GPT-4.1
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
Step 3.5 Flash
96% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
GPT-4.1
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
GPT-4.1
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
GPT-4.1
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by OpenAI
| Capability | GPT-4.1 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input)differs | ||
| Function Calling | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Mode | ||
| Reasoningdiffers | ||
| Web Searchdiffers | ||
| Image Output |
OpenAI
StepFun
Step 3.5 Flash saves you $12.68/month
That's 96% cheaper than GPT-4.1 at 1,000 tokens/request and 100 requests/day.
Assumes 60% input / 40% output token ratio per request. Actual costs may vary based on your usage pattern.
| Parameter | GPT-4.1 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 1.0M | 262K |
| Max Output Tokens | -- | 16,384 |
| Open Source | No | Yes |
| Created | Apr 14, 2025 | Jan 29, 2026 |