GPT-5.5 (Xhigh) vs Step 5 Preview
Which is better for the money: GPT-5.5 (Xhigh) by OpenAI or Step 5 Preview by StepFun? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-24.
Clear winner
Verdict
Pick Step 5 Preview
Step 5 Preview vs GPT-5.5 (Xhigh): 13.8% more intelligence, 77.5% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 73.2% faster end-to-end.
| Metric | GPT-5.5 (Xhigh) | Step 5 Preview | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 38.4 | 43.7 | +13.8% Step 5 Preview is 13.8% more intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $5,294.36 | $1,190.26 | −77.5% Step 5 Preview is 77.5% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 44.96s | 12.06s | −73.2% Step 5 Preview is 73.2% faster |
| 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 (Xhigh) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, Claude Opus 5.5 (Xhigh, Default Fallback) scores 56.00 for $4057.
- 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 (Xhigh)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/step-5 · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/gpt-5-5/step-5?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill