GPT-5.5 (Medium) vs Step 5 Preview
Which is better for the money: GPT-5.5 (Medium) by OpenAI or Step 5 Preview by StepFun? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-25.
Clear winner
Verdict
Pick Step 5 Preview
Step 5 Preview vs GPT-5.5 (Medium): 29.3% more intelligence, 43.2% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 20.5% slower end-to-end.
| Metric | GPT-5.5 (Medium) | Step 5 Preview | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 33.8 | 43.7 | +29.3% Step 5 Preview is 29.3% more intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $2,095.12 | $1,190.26 | −43.2% Step 5 Preview is 43.2% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 9.97s | 12.01s | +20.5% Step 5 Preview is 20.5% slower |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $5.00 / $30.0 | $1.00 / $2.70 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GPT-5.5 (Medium) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Max) scores 51.80 for $1082.
- Step 5 Preview is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Max) scores 51.80 for $1082.
GPT-5.5 (Medium)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/gpt-5-5-medium/step-5 · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/gpt-5-5-medium/step-5?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill