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Gemini 3 Flash vs Step-3.5-Flash

Gemini 3 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash are closely matched at 36.5 and 36.8 on the LLM Stats Score. Step-3.5-Flash is 6.4x cheaper per token.

Google · StepFun · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

Gemini 3 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 36.5 and 36.8.

In the 3 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Gemini 3 Flash wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.

On price, Step-3.5-Flash is roughly 6.4x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Gemini 3 Flash also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose Gemini 3 Flash

  • you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 3 exact shared results
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window

Choose Step-3.5-Flash

  • cost matters — it's about 6.4x cheaper per token
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2026
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

Gemini 3 Flash
Google
Step-3.5-Flash
StepFun
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
36.5
#93
36.8
#90
Reasoning
37.5
#85
36.9
#89
Coding
22.0
#100
20.4
#115
Agents
17.5
#94
15.3
#108
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
2 of 3
1 of 3
Input price
$0.50 / M
$0.10 / M
Output price
$3.00 / M
$0.40 / M
Context window
1,000,000
65,536

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

2 shared
Index
Gemini 3 Flash
Step-3.5-Flash
Math
37.3#34
33.9#54
Tool use
15.4#105
13.2#115
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

24 reported for Gemini 3 Flash · 7 for Step-3.5-Flash

3 shared

Gemini 3 Flash outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AIME 2025, SWE-Bench Verified), while Step-3.5-Flash is better at 1 benchmark (Terminal-Bench 2.0).

Gemini 3 Flash shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Fri Oct 23 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Step-3.5-Flash costs less

For input processing, Gemini 3 Flash ($0.50/1M tokens) is 5.0x more expensive than Step-3.5-Flash ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Gemini 3 Flash ($3.00/1M tokens) is 7.5x more expensive than Step-3.5-Flash ($0.40/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Gemini 3 Flash is more expensive than Step-3.5-Flash.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Oct 23 2026 • llm-stats.com
Google
Gemini 3 Flash
Input tokens$0.50
Output tokens$3.00
Best providerGoogle
StepFun
Step-3.5-Flash
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.40
Best providerStepFun
Notice missing or incorrect data?

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Gemini 3 Flash accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Step-3.5-Flash's 65,536 tokens. Gemini 3 Flash can generate longer responses up to 65,536 tokens, while Step-3.5-Flash is limited to 8,192 tokens.

Google
Gemini 3 Flash
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
StepFun
Step-3.5-Flash
Input65,536 tokens
Output8,192 tokens
Fri Oct 23 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Gemini 3 Flash supports multimodal inputs, whereas Step-3.5-Flash does not.

Gemini 3 Flash can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Gemini 3 Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Step-3.5-Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemini 3 Flash is licensed under a proprietary license, while Step-3.5-Flash uses Apache 2.0.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Gemini 3 Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

Step-3.5-Flash

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 3 Flash was released on 2025-12-17, while Step-3.5-Flash was released on 2026-02-02.

Step-3.5-Flash is 2 months newer than Gemini 3 Flash.

Gemini 3 Flash

Dec 17, 2025

10 months ago

Step-3.5-Flash

Feb 2, 2026

8 months ago

1mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 3 Flash has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-31, while Step-3.5-Flash's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Gemini 3 Flash's training data extends to 2025-01-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Step-3.5-Flash's cutoff date.

Gemini 3 Flash

Jan 2025

Step-3.5-Flash

—

Provider Availability

Gemini 3 Flash is available from Google. Step-3.5-Flash is available from StepFun.

Gemini 3 Flash

google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $0.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.00/1M

Step-3.5-Flash

stepfun logo
StepFun
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemini 3 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemini 3 Flash
✓ Preferred
Step-3.5-Flash
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 3 Flash vs Step-3.5-Flash.

Which is better, Gemini 3 Flash or Step-3.5-Flash?

Gemini 3 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash are closely matched on the LLM Stats Score at 36.5 and 36.8. Gemini 3 Flash is made by Google and Step-3.5-Flash is made by StepFun. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does Gemini 3 Flash compare to Step-3.5-Flash in benchmarks?

Gemini 3 Flash scores Vending-Bench 2: 100.0%, AIME 2025: 99.7%, Global PIQA: 92.8%, MMMLU: 91.8%, GPQA: 90.4%. Step-3.5-Flash scores AIME 2025: 97.3%, Tau-bench: 88.2%, LiveCodeBench v6: 86.4%, IMO-AnswerBench: 85.4%, SWE-Bench Verified: 74.4%.

Is Gemini 3 Flash cheaper than Step-3.5-Flash?

Step-3.5-Flash is 5.0x cheaper for input tokens. Gemini 3 Flash costs $0.50/M input and $3.00/M output via google. Step-3.5-Flash costs $0.10/M input and $0.40/M output via stepfun.

What are the context window sizes for Gemini 3 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash?

Gemini 3 Flash supports 1.0M tokens and Step-3.5-Flash supports 66K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Gemini 3 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (36.5 vs 36.8), context window (1.0M vs 66K), input pricing ($0.50 vs $0.10/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemini 3 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash?

Gemini 3 Flash is developed by Google and Step-3.5-Flash is developed by StepFun.

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