Model comparison
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B vs Step 3.5 Flash
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 29.9 on the Noometry Index.
Last verified . 17 shared benchmarks.
Google
StepFunSummary
- They share 17 benchmarks with published results for both. Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B scores higher in 0 categories and Step 3.5 Flash in 8 categories; 8 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in math, where Step 3.5 Flash leads 42.6 to 14.2.
- Step 3.5 Flash has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.
Side by side
| Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B | Step 3.5 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | StepFun | |
| Noometry Index | 29.9 | 42.3 |
| Released | 2024-10-03 | 2026-01-29 |
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| Context window | — | 256K |
| Max output | — | 256K |
| Input $ / M tokens | — | $0.10 |
| Output $ / M tokens | — | $0.30 |
| Results tracked | 21 | 19 |
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Category by category
Coding Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B: 35.5 (#225), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.4 (#105)
| Benchmark | Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1218 | 1436 |
Reasoning Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B: 20.0 (#244), Step 3.5 Flash: 22.2 (#202)
| Benchmark | Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1209 | 1411 |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |
| DTBench | 50% | — |
Math Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B: 14.2 (#302), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.6 (#84)
| Benchmark | Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1207 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024-2025 | 4.6% | — |
Knowledge Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B: 16.0 (#289), Step 3.5 Flash: 39.6 (#132)
| Benchmark | Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1185 | 1421 |
| GPQA Diamond | 33% | — |
Multimodal Not comparable
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B: 28.2 (#115), Step 3.5 Flash: —
| Benchmark | Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Vision | 1044 | — |
Multilingual Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B: 38.5 (#229), Step 3.5 Flash: 50.5 (#119)
| Benchmark | Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1215 | 1385 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1231 | 1447 |
| LMArena French | 1234 | 1421 |
| LMArena German | 1206 | 1405 |
| LMArena Japanese | 1150 | 1354 |
| LMArena Korean | 1140 | 1352 |
| LMArena Russian | 1236 | 1385 |
| LMArena Spanish | 1212 | 1419 |
Instruction Following Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B: 62.8 (#236), Step 3.5 Flash: 73.1 (#124)
| Benchmark | Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1199 | 1385 |
Long Context Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B: 37.0 (#225), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#117)
| Benchmark | Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1219 | 1402 |
Writing & Preference Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B: 42.8 (#232), Step 3.5 Flash: 58.8 (#113)
| Benchmark | Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1226 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1218 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1185 | 1405 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B better than Step 3.5 Flash?
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 29.9 on the Noometry Index.
Is Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?
Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 42.4 versus 35.5 in the Noometry coding category.
How many benchmarks do Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B and Step 3.5 Flash share?
17 benchmarks have published results for both models. Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B has 21 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.