Model comparison
Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct vs Step 3.5 Flash
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 33.0 on the Noometry Index.
Last verified . 17 shared benchmarks.
Microsoft
StepFunSummary
- They share 17 benchmarks with published results for both. Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct scores higher in 0 categories and Step 3.5 Flash in 8 categories; 7 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Step 3.5 Flash leads 58.8 to 34.1.
Side by side
| Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Microsoft | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 33.0 | 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 | 17 | 19 |
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Category by category
Coding Step 3.5 Flash leads
Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct: 32.9 (#268), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.4 (#105)
| Benchmark | Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1130 | 1436 |
Reasoning Too close to call
Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct: 21.7 (#214), Step 3.5 Flash: 22.2 (#202)
| Benchmark | Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1127 | 1411 |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |
Math Step 3.5 Flash leads
Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct: 33.4 (#202), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.6 (#84)
| Benchmark | Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1173 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |
Knowledge Step 3.5 Flash leads
Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct: 30.2 (#229), Step 3.5 Flash: 39.6 (#132)
| Benchmark | Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1108 | 1421 |
Multilingual Step 3.5 Flash leads
Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct: 30.6 (#263), Step 3.5 Flash: 50.5 (#119)
| Benchmark | Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1094 | 1385 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1108 | 1447 |
| LMArena French | 1110 | 1421 |
| LMArena German | 1101 | 1405 |
| LMArena Japanese | 1042 | 1354 |
| LMArena Korean | 954 | 1352 |
| LMArena Russian | 1145 | 1385 |
| LMArena Spanish | 1095 | 1419 |
Instruction Following Step 3.5 Flash leads
Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct: 57.6 (#268), Step 3.5 Flash: 73.1 (#124)
| Benchmark | Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1113 | 1385 |
Long Context Step 3.5 Flash leads
Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct: 34.0 (#255), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#117)
| Benchmark | Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1120 | 1402 |
Writing & Preference Step 3.5 Flash leads
Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct: 34.1 (#272), Step 3.5 Flash: 58.8 (#113)
| Benchmark | Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1138 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1107 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1088 | 1405 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct better than Step 3.5 Flash?
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 33.0 on the Noometry Index.
Is Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?
Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 42.4 versus 32.9 in the Noometry coding category.
How many benchmarks do Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct and Step 3.5 Flash share?
17 benchmarks have published results for both models. Phi 3 Medium 4k Instruct has 17 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.