# Dolly 2.0-12b vs Step 3.5 Flash

> Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 25.5 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/dolly-2-0-12b-vs-step-3-5-flash
- Last updated: 2026-10-12
- Shared benchmarks: 9

## Summary

- They share 9 benchmarks with published results for both. Dolly 2.0-12b scores higher in 0 categories and Step 3.5 Flash in 6 categories; 6 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Step 3.5 Flash leads 58.8 to 15.2.

## Snapshot

| | Dolly 2.0-12b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Databricks | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 25.5 | 42.3 |
| Rank | 342 | 116 |
| Context | — | 256K |
| Input $/M | — | $0.10 |
| Output $/M | — | $0.30 |
| Weights | Open | Open |

## Coding

- Dolly 2.0-12b: 23.4 (#332)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.4 (#105)

| Benchmark | Dolly 2.0-12b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 776 | 1436 |

## Reasoning

- Dolly 2.0-12b: 15.3 (#316)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 22.2 (#202)

| Benchmark | Dolly 2.0-12b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 804 | 1411 |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 89.67 | — |
| HellaSwag | 70.8% | — |
| PIQA | 75.4% | — |
| WinoGrande | 61.8% | — |

## Math

- Dolly 2.0-12b: 27.3 (#251)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.6 (#84)

| Benchmark | Dolly 2.0-12b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 871 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |

## Knowledge

- Dolly 2.0-12b: —
- Step 3.5 Flash: 39.6 (#132)

| Benchmark | Dolly 2.0-12b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | — | 1421 |
| ARC (AI2) Challenge | 39.6% | — |
| BoolQ | 56.3% | — |
| MMLU | 26.2% | — |
| OpenBookQA | 39.2% | — |

## Multilingual

- Dolly 2.0-12b: 17.4 (#296)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 50.5 (#119)

| Benchmark | Dolly 2.0-12b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 836 | 1385 |
| LMArena Chinese | 836 | 1447 |
| LMArena French | — | 1421 |
| LMArena German | — | 1405 |
| LMArena Japanese | — | 1354 |
| LMArena Korean | — | 1352 |
| LMArena Russian | — | 1385 |
| LMArena Spanish | — | 1419 |

## Instruction Following

- Dolly 2.0-12b: 38.7 (#304)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 73.1 (#124)

| Benchmark | Dolly 2.0-12b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 814 | 1385 |

## Long Context

- Dolly 2.0-12b: —
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#117)

| Benchmark | Dolly 2.0-12b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | — | 1402 |

## Writing & Preference

- Dolly 2.0-12b: 15.2 (#311)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 58.8 (#113)

| Benchmark | Dolly 2.0-12b | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 851 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 864 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 740 | 1405 |

## FAQ

### Is Dolly 2.0-12b better than Step 3.5 Flash?

Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 25.5 on the Noometry Index.

### Is Dolly 2.0-12b or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?

Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 42.4 versus 23.4 in the Noometry coding category.

### How many benchmarks do Dolly 2.0-12b and Step 3.5 Flash share?

9 benchmarks have published results for both models. Dolly 2.0-12b has 17 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.