| Signal | Qwen3 Max | Delta | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 50 | -17 | |
Benchmarks | 69 | +3 | |
Pricing | 96 | -4 | |
Context window size | 77 | -- | |
Recency | 87 | -13 | |
Output Capacity | 75 | +5 | |
| Overall Result | 2 wins | of 6 | 3 wins |
Score History
66.9
current score
Qwen3 Max
right now
66.6
current score
Alibaba
StepFun
Step 3.5 Flash saves you $249.00/month
That's $2988.00/year compared to Qwen3 Max at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | Qwen3 Max | Step 3.5 Flash | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67 | 67 | Qwen3 Max |
| Rank | #111 | #112 | Qwen3 Max |
| Quality Rank | #111 | #112 | Qwen3 Max |
| Adoption Rank | #111 | #112 | Qwen3 Max |
| Parameters | -- | -- | -- |
| Context Window | 262K | 262K | -- |
| Pricing | $0.78/$3.90/M | $0.09/$0.30/M | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 50 | 67 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| Benchmarks | 69 | 66 | Qwen3 Max |
| Pricing | 96 | 100 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| Context window size | 77 | 77 | Qwen3 Max |
| Recency | 87 | 100 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| Output Capacity | 75 | 70 | Qwen3 Max |
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 #111), 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 0-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 92% better value per quality point. At 1M tokens/day, you'd spend $5.85/month with Step 3.5 Flash vs $70.20/month with Qwen3 Max - a $64.35 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 (262K 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
Qwen3 Max and Step 3.5 Flash are extremely close in overall performance (only 0.30000000000001137 points apart). Your best choice depends entirely on which specific strengths matter most for your use case.
Best for Quality
Qwen3 Max
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
Step 3.5 Flash
92% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
Qwen3 Max
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
Qwen3 Max
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
Qwen3 Max
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by Alibaba
| Capability | Qwen3 Max | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input) | ||
| Function Calling | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Mode | ||
| Reasoningdiffers | ||
| Web Search | ||
| Image Output |
Alibaba
StepFun
Step 3.5 Flash saves you $5.56/month
That's 91% cheaper than Qwen3 Max 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 | Qwen3 Max | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 262K | 262K |
| Max Output Tokens | 32,768 | 16,384 |
| Open Source | No | Yes |
| Created | Sep 23, 2025 | Jan 29, 2026 |