Ling 3.0 Flash vs Step-3.5-Flash

Ling 3.0 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash are closely matched at 36.5 and 37.3 on the LLM Stats Score. Ling 3.0 Flash is 1.9x cheaper per token.

InclusionAI · StepFun · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

Ling 3.0 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 36.5 and 37.3.

In the 3 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Step-3.5-Flash wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.

On price, Ling 3.0 Flash is roughly 1.9x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Ling 3.0 Flash also accepts a larger context window (131,072 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 Ling 3.0 Flash

cost matters — it's about 1.9x cheaper per token
you process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 token context window
you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2026

Choose Step-3.5-Flash

you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 3 exact shared results
you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

Better token value: Ling 3.0 Flash

Core performance indexes

LLM Stats Score

36.5

#75 · 19 evals

37.3

#67 · 7 evals

Best

Reasoning

35.6

#77 · 15 evals

37.3

#67 · 7 evals

Best

Coding

25.5

#67 · 6 evals

Best

20.5

#94 · 2 evals

Agents

19.7

#61 · 10 evals

Best

15.5

#83 · 3 evals

Cost, coverage & limits

Benchmark wins

1 of 3

2 of 3

Best

Input price

$0.06 / M

Best

$0.10 / M

Output price

$0.18 / M

Best

$0.40 / M

Context window

131,072

Best

65,536

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

2 shared

Index

Ling 3.0 Flash

Step-3.5-Flash

Math

29.8#79 · 3 evals

33.9#50 · 2 evals

Tool use

18.1#67 · 4 evals

13.3#95 · 2 evals

Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

19 reported for Ling 3.0 Flash · 7 for Step-3.5-Flash

3 shared

Ling 3.0 Flash outperforms in 1 benchmarks (BrowseComp), while Step-3.5-Flash is better at 2 benchmarks (IMO-AnswerBench, LiveCodeBench v6).

Step-3.5-Flash shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Tue Sep 08 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Ling 3.0 Flash costs less

For input processing, Ling 3.0 Flash ($0.06/1M tokens) is 1.7x cheaper than Step-3.5-Flash ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Ling 3.0 Flash ($0.18/1M tokens) is 2.2x cheaper than Step-3.5-Flash ($0.40/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Step-3.5-Flash is more expensive than Ling 3.0 Flash.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers

Tue Sep 08 2026 • llm-stats.com

Ling 3.0 Flash

Input tokens$0.06

Output tokens$0.18

Best providerDeepinfra

Step-3.5-Flash

Input tokens$0.10

Output tokens$0.40

Best providerStepFun

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

72.0B diff

Step-3.5-Flash has 72.0B more parameters than Ling 3.0 Flash, making it 58.1% larger.

Ling 3.0 Flash

124.0Bparameters

Step-3.5-Flash

196.0Bparameters

124.0B

Ling 3.0 Flash

196.0B

Step-3.5-Flash

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Ling 3.0 Flash accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to Step-3.5-Flash's 65,536 tokens. Ling 3.0 Flash can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Step-3.5-Flash is limited to 8,192 tokens.

Ling 3.0 Flash

Input131,072 tokens

Output131,072 tokens

Step-3.5-Flash

Input65,536 tokens

Output8,192 tokens

Tue Sep 08 2026 • llm-stats.com

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Ling 3.0 Flash was released on 2026-08-04, while Step-3.5-Flash was released on 2026-02-02.

Ling 3.0 Flash is 6 months newer than Step-3.5-Flash.

Ling 3.0 Flash

Aug 4, 2026

1 months ago

6mo newer

Step-3.5-Flash

Feb 2, 2026

7 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Ling 3.0 Flash is available from DeepInfra. Step-3.5-Flash is available from StepFun.

Ling 3.0 Flash

Deepinfra

Input Price:Input: $0.06/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.18/1M

Step-3.5-Flash

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 Ling 3.0 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Ling 3.0 Flash

✓ Preferred

Step-3.5-Flash

Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about Ling 3.0 Flash vs Step-3.5-Flash.

Which is better, Ling 3.0 Flash or Step-3.5-Flash?

Ling 3.0 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash are closely matched on the LLM Stats Score at 36.5 and 37.3. Ling 3.0 Flash is made by InclusionAI 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 Ling 3.0 Flash compare to Step-3.5-Flash in benchmarks?

Ling 3.0 Flash scores AIME 2026: 93.2%, Multi-IF: 87.7%, HMMT Feb 26: 87.0%, IMO-AnswerBench: 83.7%, LiveCodeBench v6: 82.8%. 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 Ling 3.0 Flash cheaper than Step-3.5-Flash?

Ling 3.0 Flash is 1.7x cheaper for input tokens. Ling 3.0 Flash costs $0.06/M input and $0.18/M output via deepinfra. Step-3.5-Flash costs $0.10/M input and $0.40/M output via stepfun.

What are the context window sizes for Ling 3.0 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash?

Ling 3.0 Flash supports 131K 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 Ling 3.0 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (36.5 vs 37.3), context window (131K vs 66K), input pricing ($0.06 vs $0.10/M), licensing (Unknown vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Ling 3.0 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash?

Ling 3.0 Flash is developed by InclusionAI and Step-3.5-Flash is developed by StepFun.

Ling 3.0 Flash vs Step-3.5-Flash