Muse Spark Open (Xhigh) vs Step 5 Preview
Which is better for the money: Muse Spark Open (Xhigh) by Meta or Step 5 Preview by StepFun? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-24.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
Step 5 Preview scores 4.8 points higher (43.7 vs 38.9) but costs 1.0× as much to run the benchmark ($1190 vs $1185; both premium class). Pick Step 5 Preview when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise Muse Spark Open (Xhigh).
| Metric | Muse Spark Open (Xhigh) | Step 5 Preview | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 38.9 | 43.7 | +12.3% Step 5 Preview is 12.3% more intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $1,184.90 | $1,190.26 | +0.5% Step 5 Preview is 0.5% more expensive |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 17.34s | 12.06s | −30.4% Step 5 Preview is 30.4% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $1.25 / $4.25 | $1.00 / $2.70 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image, Speech, Video | Text, Image |
Step 5 Preview vs Muse Spark Open (Xhigh): 12.3% more intelligence, 0.5% more cost to run the AA benchmark, and 30.4% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- Muse Spark Open (Xhigh) 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 Open (Xhigh)Step 5 PreviewToday's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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