Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Step3-VL-10B
Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Step3-VL-10B are closely matched at 32.4 and 26.1 on the LLM Stats Score.
Anthropic · StepFun · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Step3-VL-10B are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 32.4 and 26.1.
In the 1 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Step3-VL-10B wins 1; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Claude Sonnet 4.5
- you want predictable pricing at $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output
Choose Step3-VL-10B
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 1 of 1 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jan 2026
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
9 reported for Claude Sonnet 4.5 · 6 for Step3-VL-10B
Claude Sonnet 4.5 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Step3-VL-10B is better at 1 benchmark (AIME 2025).
Step3-VL-10B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Claude Sonnet 4.5 specifies input context (200,000 tokens). Only Claude Sonnet 4.5 specifies output context (64,000 tokens).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Step3-VL-10B support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude Sonnet 4.5
Step3-VL-10B
License
Usage and distribution terms
Claude Sonnet 4.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Step3-VL-10B uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Claude Sonnet 4.5 was released on 2025-09-29, while Step3-VL-10B was released on 2026-01-15.
Step3-VL-10B is 4 months newer than Claude Sonnet 4.5.
Sep 29, 2025
11 months ago
Jan 15, 2026
7 months ago
3mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Claude Sonnet 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-31, while Step3-VL-10B's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Claude Sonnet 4.5's training data extends to 2025-01-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Step3-VL-10B's cutoff date.
Jan 2025
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Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Step3-VL-10B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs Step3-VL-10B.