# Step 3 vs Step 3.5 Flash

> Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 40.5 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/step-3-vs-step-3-5-flash
- Last updated: 2026-10-10
- Shared benchmarks: 15

## Summary

- They share 15 benchmarks with published results for both. Step 3 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 reasoning, where Step 3 leads 28.4 to 22.2.

## Snapshot

| | Step 3 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | StepFun | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 40.5 | 42.3 |
| Rank | 149 | 116 |
| Context | — | 256K |
| Input $/M | — | $0.10 |
| Output $/M | — | $0.30 |
| Weights | Open | Open |

## Coding

- Step 3: 40.1 (#147)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.4 (#105)

| Benchmark | Step 3 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1367 | 1436 |

## Reasoning

- Step 3: 28.4 (#105)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 22.2 (#202)

| Benchmark | Step 3 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1355 | 1411 |
| Kagi LLM Benchmark | 62.3% | — |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |

## Math

- Step 3: 37.6 (#148)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.6 (#84)

| Benchmark | Step 3 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1366 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |

## Knowledge

- Step 3: 36.8 (#164)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 39.6 (#132)

| Benchmark | Step 3 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1333 | 1421 |

## Multimodal

- Step 3: 35.5 (#86)
- Step 3.5 Flash: —

| Benchmark | Step 3 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Vision | 1177 | — |

## Multilingual

- Step 3: 46.3 (#159)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 50.5 (#119)

| Benchmark | Step 3 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1327 | 1385 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1397 | 1447 |
| LMArena German | 1371 | 1405 |
| LMArena Korean | 1269 | 1352 |
| LMArena Russian | 1331 | 1385 |
| LMArena Spanish | 1371 | 1419 |
| LMArena French | — | 1421 |
| LMArena Japanese | — | 1354 |

## Instruction Following

- Step 3: 70.4 (#164)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 73.1 (#124)

| Benchmark | Step 3 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1332 | 1385 |

## Long Context

- Step 3: 40.3 (#157)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#117)

| Benchmark | Step 3 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1326 | 1402 |

## Writing & Preference

- Step 3: 54.3 (#151)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 58.8 (#113)

| Benchmark | Step 3 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1350 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1321 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1341 | 1405 |

## FAQ

### Is Step 3 better than Step 3.5 Flash?

Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 40.5 on the Noometry Index.

### Is Step 3 or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?

Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 42.4 versus 40.1 in the Noometry coding category.

### How many benchmarks do Step 3 and Step 3.5 Flash share?

15 benchmarks have published results for both models. Step 3 has 17 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.