GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) vs Step 5 Preview
Which is better for the money: GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) 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.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) scores 3.3 points higher (47.0 vs 43.7) but costs 2.9× as much to run the benchmark ($3465 vs $1190; flagship vs premium cost classes). Pick GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise Step 5 Preview.
| Metric | GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) | Step 5 Preview | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 47.0 | 43.7 | −7.0% Step 5 Preview is 7.0% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $3,464.84 | $1,190.26 | −65.6% Step 5 Preview is 65.6% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 91.96s | 12.01s | −86.9% Step 5 Preview is 86.9% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $4.00 / $20.0 | $1.00 / $2.70 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
Step 5 Preview vs GPT-5.6 Sol (Max): 7.0% less intelligence, 65.6% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 86.9% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- GPT-5.6 Sol (Max) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, Kimi K3.1 Pro scores 55.10 for $3117.
- Step 5 Preview is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Max) scores 51.80 for $1082.
GPT-5.6 Sol (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/gpt-5-6-sol/step-5 · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/gpt-5-6-sol/step-5?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill