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Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Step-3.5-Flash

Gemini 3.8 Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 51.2 to 37.3. Step-3.5-Flash is 8.6x cheaper per token.

Google · StepFun · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

Gemini 3.8 Flash leads the overall LLM Stats Score 51.2 to 37.3, ranking #12 overall.

On price, Step-3.5-Flash is roughly 8.6x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Gemini 3.8 Flash also accepts a larger context window (1,048,576 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 3.8 Flash

  • overall performance matters — it scores 51.2 and ranks #12 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2026

Choose Step-3.5-Flash

  • cost matters — it's about 8.6x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

Gemini 3.8 Flash
Google
Step-3.5-Flash
StepFun
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
51.2
#12
37.3
#67
Reasoning
47.5
#23
37.3
#67
Coding
39.3
#14
20.5
#94
Agents
36.1
#16
15.5
#83
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
—
—
Input price
$0.75 / M
$0.10 / M
Output price
$3.75 / M
$0.40 / M
Context window
1,048,576
65,536

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

1 shared
Index
Gemini 3.8 Flash
Step-3.5-Flash
Tool use
26.9#25
13.3#95
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

13 reported for Gemini 3.8 Flash · 7 for Step-3.5-Flash

No common benchmarks found

Gemini 3.8 Flash and Step-3.5-Flashdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

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 3.8 Flash ($0.75/1M tokens) is 7.5x more expensive than Step-3.5-Flash ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Gemini 3.8 Flash ($3.75/1M tokens) is 9.4x more expensive than Step-3.5-Flash ($0.40/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Gemini 3.8 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
Tue Sep 08 2026 • llm-stats.com
Google
Gemini 3.8 Flash
Input tokens$0.75
Output tokens$3.75
Best providerGoogle
StepFun
Step-3.5-Flash
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.40
Best providerStepFun
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Gemini 3.8 Flash accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Step-3.5-Flash's 65,536 tokens. Gemini 3.8 Flash can generate longer responses up to 65,536 tokens, while Step-3.5-Flash is limited to 8,192 tokens.

Google
Gemini 3.8 Flash
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
StepFun
Step-3.5-Flash
Input65,536 tokens
Output8,192 tokens
Tue Sep 08 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Gemini 3.8 Flash supports multimodal inputs, whereas Step-3.5-Flash does not.

Gemini 3.8 Flash can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Gemini 3.8 Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Step-3.5-Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemini 3.8 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 3.8 Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

Step-3.5-Flash

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 3.8 Flash was released on 2026-09-02, while Step-3.5-Flash was released on 2026-02-02.

Gemini 3.8 Flash is 7 months newer than Step-3.5-Flash.

Gemini 3.8 Flash

Sep 2, 2026

6 days ago

7mo newer
Step-3.5-Flash

Feb 2, 2026

7 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 3.8 Flash has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2026-03-31, while Step-3.5-Flash's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Gemini 3.8 Flash's training data extends to 2026-03-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Step-3.5-Flash's cutoff date.

Gemini 3.8 Flash

Mar 2026

Step-3.5-Flash

—

Provider Availability

Gemini 3.8 Flash is available from Google. Step-3.5-Flash is available from StepFun.

Gemini 3.8 Flash

google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $0.75/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.75/1M

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?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemini 3.8 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemini 3.8 Flash
✓ Preferred
Step-3.5-Flash
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Step-3.5-Flash.

Which is better, Gemini 3.8 Flash or Step-3.5-Flash?

Gemini 3.8 Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 51.2 to 37.3. Gemini 3.8 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 3.8 Flash compare to Step-3.5-Flash in benchmarks?

Gemini 3.8 Flash scores Terminal-Bench 2.1: 89.4%, LVBench: 87.1%, CharXiv-R: 86.2%, LABBench2: 86.2%, DeepSWE 1.1: 73.7%. 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 3.8 Flash cheaper than Step-3.5-Flash?

Step-3.5-Flash is 7.5x cheaper for input tokens. Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $0.75/M input and $3.75/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 3.8 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash?

Gemini 3.8 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 3.8 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (51.2 vs 37.3), context window (1.0M vs 66K), input pricing ($0.75 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 3.8 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash?

Gemini 3.8 Flash is developed by Google and Step-3.5-Flash is developed by StepFun.

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