DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) vs Step 5 Preview
Which is better for the money: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) by DeepSeek or Step 5 Preview by StepFun? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-24.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
Step 5 Preview scores 4.2 points higher (43.7 vs 39.5) but costs 1.8× as much to run the benchmark ($1190 vs $672; both premium class). Pick Step 5 Preview when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max).
| Metric | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) | Step 5 Preview | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 39.5 | 43.7 | +10.6% Step 5 Preview is 10.6% more intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $671.96 | $1,190.26 | +77.1% Step 5 Preview is 77.1% more expensive |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 14.92s | 12.06s | −19.2% Step 5 Preview is 19.2% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.29 / $1.20 | $1.00 / $2.70 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
Step 5 Preview vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max): 10.6% more intelligence, 77.1% more cost to run the AA benchmark, and 19.2% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) scores 51.00 for $662.
- Step 5 Preview is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Max) scores 51.80 for $1082.
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (Max)Step 5 PreviewToday's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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Accept: text/markdown or ?format=md returns this page as Markdown. JSON: /api/v1/compare/deepseek-v4-1-flash/step-5 · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/deepseek-v4-1-flash/step-5?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill