Model comparison
Mistral Small 3.2 vs Step 5 Preview
Step 5 Preview is the stronger model overall, scoring 43.8 to 30.8 on the Noometry Index. Mistral Small 3.2 costs 11× less per token, which makes it the better buy when Step 5 Preview's lead doesn't matter for your workload.
Last verified . 0 shared benchmarks.
Mistral AI
StepFunSummary
- The widest gap is in reasoning, where Step 5 Preview leads 38.0 to 17.5.
- Mistral Small 3.2 is cheaper at $0.0938 / $0.25 per million input/output tokens, against $1 / $2.70 for Step 5 Preview.
- Step 5 Preview accepts more context: 1.02M tokens versus 256K.
- Mistral Small 3.2 has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.
Side by side
| Mistral Small 3.2 | Step 5 Preview | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Mistral AI | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 30.8 | 43.8 |
| Released | 2025-06-20 | 2026-09-16 |
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |
| Context window | 256K | 1.02M |
| Max output | 16K | 66K |
| Input $ / M tokens | $0.0938 | $1 |
| Output $ / M tokens | $0.25 | $2.70 |
| Results tracked | 6 | 3 |
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Category by category
Coding Not comparable
Mistral Small 3.2: —, Step 5 Preview: 50.6 (#40)
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3.2 | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena WebDev | — | 1569 |
| SciCode | — | 58.9% |
Reasoning Step 5 Preview leads
Mistral Small 3.2: 17.5 (#282), Step 5 Preview: 38.0 (#58)
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3.2 | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Kagi LLM Benchmark | 40.4% | — |
| CritPt | — | 20.9% |
| Chess Puzzles | 1% | — |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 131.73 | — |
Math Not comparable
Mistral Small 3.2: 24.9 (#251), Step 5 Preview: —
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3.2 | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024-2025 | 30.3% | — |
Knowledge Not comparable
Mistral Small 3.2: 26.8 (#249), Step 5 Preview: —
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3.2 | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond | 49.1% | — |
Writing & Preference Not comparable
Mistral Small 3.2: 45.1 (#219), Step 5 Preview: —
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3.2 | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| EQ-Bench Creative Writing | 1255 | — |
Frequently asked questions
Is Mistral Small 3.2 better than Step 5 Preview?
Step 5 Preview is the stronger model overall, scoring 43.8 to 30.8 on the Noometry Index. Mistral Small 3.2 costs 11× less per token, which makes it the better buy when Step 5 Preview's lead doesn't matter for your workload.
Which is cheaper, Mistral Small 3.2 or Step 5 Preview?
Mistral Small 3.2 is cheaper. It lists at $0.0938 per million input tokens and $0.25 per million output tokens; Step 5 Preview lists at $1 and $2.70.
Which has the bigger context window?
Step 5 Preview does, with 1.02M tokens against 256K.
How many benchmarks do Mistral Small 3.2 and Step 5 Preview share?
0 benchmarks have published results for both models. Mistral Small 3.2 has 6 scored results on Noometry and Step 5 Preview has 3.