Muse Spark 1.3 (Max) vs Step 5 Preview
Which is better for the money: Muse Spark 1.3 (Max) by Meta 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
Muse Spark 1.3 (Max) scores 4.4 points higher (48.1 vs 43.7) but costs 1.7× as much to run the benchmark ($2000 vs $1190; flagship vs premium cost classes). Pick Muse Spark 1.3 (Max) when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise Step 5 Preview.
| Metric | Muse Spark 1.3 (Max) | Step 5 Preview | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 48.1 | 43.7 | −9.1% Step 5 Preview is 9.1% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $2,000.35 | $1,190.26 | −40.5% Step 5 Preview is 40.5% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 72.17s | 12.01s | −83.4% Step 5 Preview is 83.4% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $1.25 / $4.25 | $1.00 / $2.70 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image, Video | Text, Image |
Step 5 Preview vs Muse Spark 1.3 (Max): 9.1% less intelligence, 40.5% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 83.4% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- Muse Spark 1.3 (Max) 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.
Muse Spark 1.3 (Max)Step 5 PreviewToday's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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