# Grok-2 (Dec 2024) vs Step 3.5 Flash

> Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 41.7 to 33.4 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/grok-2-vs-step-3-5-flash
- Last updated: 2026-10-10
- Shared benchmarks: 17

## Summary

- They share 17 benchmarks with published results for both. Grok-2 (Dec 2024) scores higher in 0 categories and Step 3.5 Flash in 8 categories; 8 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in math, where Step 3.5 Flash leads 40.6 to 19.6.
- Step 3.5 Flash has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.

## Snapshot

| | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | xAI | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 33.4 | 41.7 |
| Rank | 233 | 116 |
| Context | — | 256K |
| Input $/M | — | $0.10 |
| Output $/M | — | $0.30 |
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |

## Coding

- Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 32.9 (#254)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 41.7 (#106)

| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1288 | 1436 |
| WeirdML | 22.2% | — |
| LiveBench Coding | 46.4% | — |

## Reasoning

- Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 16.4 (#294)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 21.2 (#202)

| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1272 | 1411 |
| SimpleBench | 22.7% | — |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |
| LiveBench Reasoning | 54.8% | — |
| DTBench | 65.2% | — |
| LiveBench Data Analysis | 54.5% | — |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 130.48 | — |
| LiveBench | 54.3% | — |

## Math

- Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 19.6 (#278)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 40.6 (#77)

| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1283 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024-2025 | 11.5% | — |
| LiveBench Math | 54.9% | — |
| MATH Level 5 | 63.5% | — |
| FrontierMath (Feb 2025 set) | 0.7% | — |

## Knowledge

- Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 29.8 (#225)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 39.0 (#127)

| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1254 | 1422 |
| GPQA Diamond | 53.8% | — |
| Confabulations | 20.1% | — |

## Multilingual

- Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 43.3 (#183)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 50.7 (#115)

| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1282 | 1386 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1289 | 1448 |
| LMArena French | 1317 | 1421 |
| LMArena German | 1287 | 1404 |
| LMArena Japanese | 1244 | 1353 |
| LMArena Korean | 1237 | 1350 |
| LMArena Russian | 1286 | 1385 |
| LMArena Spanish | 1281 | 1419 |

## Instruction Following

- Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 67.1 (#197)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 73.3 (#119)

| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1270 | 1385 |
| LiveBench Instruction Following | 69.6% | — |

## Long Context

- Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 38.7 (#186)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#112)

| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1276 | 1402 |

## Writing & Preference

- Grok-2 (Dec 2024): 48.8 (#192)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 59.0 (#108)

| Benchmark | Grok-2 (Dec 2024) | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1305 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1284 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1290 | 1405 |
| Short-Story Creative Writing | 63.6% | — |
| LiveBench Language | 45.6% | — |

## FAQ

### Is Grok-2 (Dec 2024) better than Step 3.5 Flash?

Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 41.7 to 33.4 on the Noometry Index.

### Is Grok-2 (Dec 2024) or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?

Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 41.7 versus 32.9 in the Noometry coding category.

### How many benchmarks do Grok-2 (Dec 2024) and Step 3.5 Flash share?

17 benchmarks have published results for both models. Grok-2 (Dec 2024) has 34 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.