Model comparison
Olmo 3 32b Think vs Step 3.5 Flash
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 38.7 on the Noometry Index.
Last verified . 14 shared benchmarks.
Allen Institute for AI (Ai2)
StepFunSummary
- They share 14 benchmarks with published results for both. Olmo 3 32b Think 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 writing & preference, where Step 3.5 Flash leads 58.8 to 49.1.
Side by side
| Olmo 3 32b Think | Step 3.5 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Allen Institute for AI (Ai2) | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 38.7 | 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 | 14 | 19 |
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Category by category
Coding Step 3.5 Flash leads
Olmo 3 32b Think: 38.6 (#172), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.4 (#105)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3 32b Think | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1319 | 1436 |
Reasoning Olmo 3 32b Think leads
Olmo 3 32b Think: 25.9 (#140), Step 3.5 Flash: 22.2 (#202)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3 32b Think | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1302 | 1411 |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |
Math Step 3.5 Flash leads
Olmo 3 32b Think: 36.5 (#165), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.6 (#84)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3 32b Think | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1316 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |
Knowledge Step 3.5 Flash leads
Olmo 3 32b Think: 35.0 (#190), Step 3.5 Flash: 39.6 (#132)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3 32b Think | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1273 | 1421 |
Multilingual Step 3.5 Flash leads
Olmo 3 32b Think: 41.2 (#210), Step 3.5 Flash: 50.5 (#119)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3 32b Think | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1255 | 1385 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1300 | 1447 |
| LMArena French | 1291 | 1421 |
| LMArena German | 1290 | 1405 |
| LMArena Russian | 1254 | 1385 |
| LMArena Japanese | — | 1354 |
| LMArena Korean | — | 1352 |
| LMArena Spanish | — | 1419 |
Instruction Following Step 3.5 Flash leads
Olmo 3 32b Think: 67.2 (#198), Step 3.5 Flash: 73.1 (#124)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3 32b Think | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1275 | 1385 |
Long Context Step 3.5 Flash leads
Olmo 3 32b Think: 39.4 (#182), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#117)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3 32b Think | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1296 | 1402 |
Writing & Preference Step 3.5 Flash leads
Olmo 3 32b Think: 49.1 (#193), Step 3.5 Flash: 58.8 (#113)
| Benchmark | Olmo 3 32b Think | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1300 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1256 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1290 | 1405 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Olmo 3 32b Think better than Step 3.5 Flash?
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 38.7 on the Noometry Index.
Is Olmo 3 32b Think or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?
Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 42.4 versus 38.6 in the Noometry coding category.
How many benchmarks do Olmo 3 32b Think and Step 3.5 Flash share?
14 benchmarks have published results for both models. Olmo 3 32b Think has 14 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.