Model comparison

Inkling-Small vs Step 2 16k Exp 202412

Inkling-Small is the stronger model overall, scoring 46.5 to 39.2 on the Noometry Index.

Last verified . 12 shared benchmarks.

Inkling-Small Thinking Machines Lab

46.5

Rank #63 Confirmed

Step 2 16k Exp 202412 StepFun

39.2

Rank #171 Confirmed

Summary

  • They share 12 benchmarks with published results for both. Inkling-Small scores higher in 8 categories and Step 2 16k Exp 202412 in 0 categories; 8 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
  • The widest gap is in knowledge, where Inkling-Small leads 48.2 to 35.2.
  • Inkling-Small has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.

Side by side

Inkling-Small and Step 2 16k Exp 202412 specifications
Inkling-SmallStep 2 16k Exp 202412
ProviderThinking Machines LabStepFun
Noometry Index46.539.2
Released2026-07-15—
WeightsOpenProprietary
Context window524K—
Max output1.05M—
Input $ / M tokens$0.45—
Output $ / M tokens$1.20—
Results tracked3312

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Category by category

Coding Inkling-Small leads

Inkling-Small: 43.6 (#85), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 38.5 (#174)

Coding benchmarks
BenchmarkInkling-SmallStep 2 16k Exp 202412
LMArena Coding14511316
LMArena WebDev1409—
SciCode48.7%—

Reasoning Inkling-Small leads

Inkling-Small: 38.6 (#63), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 25.9 (#142)

Reasoning benchmarks
BenchmarkInkling-SmallStep 2 16k Exp 202412
LMArena Hard Prompts14231299
ARC-AGI-240.1%—
ARC-AGI-184%—
CritPt8.3%—
Chess Puzzles18%—
Mystery Game Puzzles6%—
Epoch Capabilities Index150.15—

Math Inkling-Small leads

Inkling-Small: 45.1 (#77), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 36.3 (#169)

Math benchmarks
BenchmarkInkling-SmallStep 2 16k Exp 202412
LMArena Math14591304
FrontierMath (Tiers 1-3)46.3%—
FrontierMath Tier 417.1%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024-202590%—
ProofBench6%—

Knowledge Inkling-Small leads

Inkling-Small: 48.2 (#77), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 35.2 (#187)

Knowledge benchmarks
BenchmarkInkling-SmallStep 2 16k Exp 202412
LMArena Expert14421279
GPQA Diamond88.5%—
SimpleQA Verified19.1%—

Multimodal Not comparable

Inkling-Small: 39.1 (#62), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: —

Multimodal benchmarks
BenchmarkInkling-SmallStep 2 16k Exp 202412
LMArena Vision1235—

Multilingual Inkling-Small leads

Inkling-Small: 51.7 (#104), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 43.7 (#181)

Multilingual benchmarks
BenchmarkInkling-SmallStep 2 16k Exp 202412
LMArena Non-English14021290
LMArena Chinese14651331
LMArena Russian13911324
LMArena French1436—
LMArena German1405—
LMArena Japanese1405—
LMArena Korean1363—
LMArena Spanish1428—

Instruction Following Inkling-Small leads

Inkling-Small: 73.8 (#114), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 67.9 (#192)

Instruction Following benchmarks
BenchmarkInkling-SmallStep 2 16k Exp 202412
LMArena Instruction Following13991287

Long Context Inkling-Small leads

Inkling-Small: 42.7 (#118), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 39.7 (#170)

Long Context benchmarks
BenchmarkInkling-SmallStep 2 16k Exp 202412
LMArena Longer Query14011307

Writing & Preference Inkling-Small leads

Inkling-Small: 59.6 (#107), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 52.3 (#173)

Writing & Preference benchmarks
BenchmarkInkling-SmallStep 2 16k Exp 202412
LMArena Text14141321
LMArena Creative Writing13311328
LMArena Multi-Turn14181292
EQ-Bench Creative Writing1491—

Frequently asked questions

Is Inkling-Small better than Step 2 16k Exp 202412?

Inkling-Small is the stronger model overall, scoring 46.5 to 39.2 on the Noometry Index.

Is Inkling-Small or Step 2 16k Exp 202412 better for coding?

Inkling-Small scores higher on coding benchmarks: 43.6 versus 38.5 in the Noometry coding category.

How many benchmarks do Inkling-Small and Step 2 16k Exp 202412 share?

12 benchmarks have published results for both models. Inkling-Small has 33 scored results on Noometry and Step 2 16k Exp 202412 has 12.

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