Model comparison
Grok-2 (Dec 2024) vs Step 3.5 Flash
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 33.7 on the Noometry Index.
Last verified . 17 shared benchmarks.
StepFunSummary
- They share 17 benchmarks with published results for both. Grok-2 (Dec 2024) 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 20.8.
- Step 3.5 Flash has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.
Side by side
| Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | xAI | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 33.7 | 42.3 |
| Released | 2024-08-13 | 2026-01-29 |
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| Context window | — | 256K |
| Max output | — | 256K |
| Input $ / M tokens | — | $0.10 |
| Output $ / M tokens | — | $0.30 |
| Results tracked | 34 | 19 |
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Category by category
Coding Step 3.5 Flash leads
Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 33.3 (#258), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.4 (#105)
| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1287 | 1436 |
| WeirdML | 22.2% | — |
| LiveBench Coding | 46.4% | — |
Reasoning Step 3.5 Flash leads
Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 16.9 (#299), Step 3.5 Flash: 22.2 (#202)
| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1272 | 1411 |
| SimpleBench | 22.7% | — |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |
| LiveBench Reasoning | 54.8% | — |
| DTBench | 65.2% | — |
| LiveBench Data Analysis | 54.5% | — |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 130.48 | — |
| LiveBench | 54.3% | — |
Math Step 3.5 Flash leads
Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 20.8 (#284), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.6 (#84)
| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1283 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024-2025 | 11.5% | — |
| LiveBench Math | 54.9% | — |
| MATH Level 5 | 63.5% | — |
| FrontierMath (Feb 2025 set) | 0.7% | — |
Knowledge Step 3.5 Flash leads
Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 29.8 (#233), Step 3.5 Flash: 39.6 (#132)
| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1254 | 1421 |
| GPQA Diamond | 53.8% | — |
| Confabulations | 20.1% | — |
Multilingual Step 3.5 Flash leads
Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 43.1 (#188), Step 3.5 Flash: 50.5 (#119)
| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1282 | 1385 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1289 | 1447 |
| LMArena French | 1318 | 1421 |
| LMArena German | 1287 | 1405 |
| LMArena Japanese | 1244 | 1354 |
| LMArena Korean | 1237 | 1352 |
| LMArena Russian | 1286 | 1385 |
| LMArena Spanish | 1281 | 1419 |
Instruction Following Step 3.5 Flash leads
Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 66.9 (#202), Step 3.5 Flash: 73.1 (#124)
| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1270 | 1385 |
| LiveBench Instruction Following | 69.6% | — |
Long Context Step 3.5 Flash leads
Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 38.8 (#190), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#117)
| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1276 | 1402 |
Writing & Preference Step 3.5 Flash leads
Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 48.6 (#198), Step 3.5 Flash: 58.8 (#113)
| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1305 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1284 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1290 | 1405 |
| Short-Story Creative Writing | 63.6% | — |
| LiveBench Language | 45.6% | — |
Frequently asked questions
Is Grok-2 (Dec 2024) better than Step 3.5 Flash?
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 33.7 on the Noometry Index.
Is Grok-2 (Dec 2024) or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?
Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 42.4 versus 33.3 in the Noometry coding category.
How many benchmarks do Grok-2 (Dec 2024) and Step 3.5 Flash share?
17 benchmarks have published results for both models. Grok-2 (Dec 2024) has 34 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.