# Qwen Max vs Step 3.5 Flash

> Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 41.7 to 34.4 on the Noometry Index.

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

## Summary

- They share 17 benchmarks with published results for both. Qwen Max 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 math, where Step 3.5 Flash leads 40.6 to 21.0.
- Step 3.5 Flash is cheaper at $0.10 / $0.30 per million input/output tokens, against $1.60 / $6.40 for Qwen Max.
- Step 3.5 Flash accepts more context: 256K tokens versus 33K.
- Step 3.5 Flash has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.

## Snapshot

| | Qwen Max | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Alibaba (Qwen) | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 34.4 | 41.7 |
| Rank | 226 | 116 |
| Context | 33K | 256K |
| Input $/M | $1.60 | $0.10 |
| Output $/M | $6.40 | $0.30 |
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |

## Coding

- Qwen Max: 30.3 (#288)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 41.7 (#106)

| Benchmark | Qwen Max | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1288 | 1436 |
| Aider Polyglot | 21.8% | — |

## Reasoning

- Qwen Max: 24.1 (#154)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 21.2 (#202)

| Benchmark | Qwen Max | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1270 | 1411 |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |

## Math

- Qwen Max: 21.0 (#272)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 40.6 (#77)

| Benchmark | Qwen Max | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1275 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024-2025 | 16.1% | — |
| MATH Level 5 | 67.2% | — |
| FrontierMath (Feb 2025 set) | 1% | — |

## Knowledge

- Qwen Max: 30.3 (#222)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 39.0 (#127)

| Benchmark | Qwen Max | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1248 | 1422 |
| GPQA Diamond | 56.1% | — |

## Multilingual

- Qwen Max: 42.0 (#197)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 50.7 (#115)

| Benchmark | Qwen Max | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1263 | 1386 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1254 | 1448 |
| LMArena French | 1329 | 1421 |
| LMArena German | 1254 | 1404 |
| LMArena Japanese | 1205 | 1353 |
| LMArena Korean | 1141 | 1350 |
| LMArena Russian | 1274 | 1385 |
| LMArena Spanish | 1290 | 1419 |

## Instruction Following

- Qwen Max: 66.7 (#203)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 73.3 (#119)

| Benchmark | Qwen Max | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1262 | 1385 |

## Long Context

- Qwen Max: 39.4 (#175)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#112)

| Benchmark | Qwen Max | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1289 | 1402 |
| Fiction.LiveBench | 66.7% | — |

## Writing & Preference

- Qwen Max: 48.0 (#200)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 59.0 (#108)

| Benchmark | Qwen Max | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1282 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1248 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1277 | 1405 |

## FAQ

### Is Qwen Max better than Step 3.5 Flash?

Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 41.7 to 34.4 on the Noometry Index.

### Which is cheaper, Qwen Max or Step 3.5 Flash?

Step 3.5 Flash is cheaper. It lists at $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.30 per million output tokens; Qwen Max lists at $1.60 and $6.40.

### Is Qwen Max or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?

Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 41.7 versus 30.3 in the Noometry coding category.

### Which has the bigger context window?

Step 3.5 Flash does, with 256K tokens against 33K.

### How many benchmarks do Qwen Max and Step 3.5 Flash share?

17 benchmarks have published results for both models. Qwen Max has 23 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.