Model comparison
Granite 4.1 8b vs Step 3.5 Flash
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 37.4 on the Noometry Index.
Last verified . 12 shared benchmarks.
StepFunSummary
- They share 12 benchmarks with published results for both. Granite 4.1 8b scores higher in 1 category and Step 3.5 Flash in 7 categories; 8 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in coding, where Step 3.5 Flash leads 42.4 to 30.1.
Side by side
| Granite 4.1 8b | Step 3.5 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | IBM | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 37.4 | 42.3 |
| Released | — | 2026-01-29 |
| Weights | Open | Open |
| Context window | — | 256K |
| Max output | — | 256K |
| Input $ / M tokens | — | $0.10 |
| Output $ / M tokens | — | $0.30 |
| Results tracked | 13 | 19 |
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Category by category
Coding Step 3.5 Flash leads
Granite 4.1 8b: 30.1 (#297), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.4 (#105)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1312 | 1436 |
| LMArena WebDev | 1192 | — |
Reasoning Granite 4.1 8b leads
Granite 4.1 8b: 25.7 (#143), Step 3.5 Flash: 22.2 (#202)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1293 | 1411 |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |
Math Step 3.5 Flash leads
Granite 4.1 8b: 36.4 (#166), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.6 (#84)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1312 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |
Knowledge Step 3.5 Flash leads
Granite 4.1 8b: 36.1 (#174), Step 3.5 Flash: 39.6 (#132)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1309 | 1421 |
Multilingual Step 3.5 Flash leads
Granite 4.1 8b: 41.7 (#204), Step 3.5 Flash: 50.5 (#119)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1261 | 1385 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1337 | 1447 |
| LMArena Russian | 1240 | 1385 |
| LMArena French | — | 1421 |
| LMArena German | — | 1405 |
| LMArena Japanese | — | 1354 |
| LMArena Korean | — | 1352 |
| LMArena Spanish | — | 1419 |
Instruction Following Step 3.5 Flash leads
Granite 4.1 8b: 66.9 (#203), Step 3.5 Flash: 73.1 (#124)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1269 | 1385 |
Long Context Step 3.5 Flash leads
Granite 4.1 8b: 38.7 (#193), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#117)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1275 | 1402 |
Writing & Preference Step 3.5 Flash leads
Granite 4.1 8b: 48.1 (#204), Step 3.5 Flash: 58.8 (#113)
| Benchmark | Granite 4.1 8b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1290 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1251 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1268 | 1405 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Granite 4.1 8b better than Step 3.5 Flash?
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 37.4 on the Noometry Index.
Is Granite 4.1 8b or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?
Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 42.4 versus 30.1 in the Noometry coding category.
How many benchmarks do Granite 4.1 8b and Step 3.5 Flash share?
12 benchmarks have published results for both models. Granite 4.1 8b has 13 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.