Qwen3 Coder Next vs Step 3.7 Flash
Which is better for the money: Qwen3 Coder Next by Alibaba or Step 3.7 Flash by StepFun? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-08-31.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
Step 3.7 Flash scores 9.6 points higher (30.9 vs 21.3) but costs 1.3× as much to run the benchmark ($320 vs $250; both mid-range class). Pick Step 3.7 Flash when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise Qwen3 Coder Next.
| Metric | Qwen3 Coder Next | Step 3.7 Flash | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 21.3 | 30.9 | +45.1% Step 3.7 Flash is 45.1% more intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $250.18 | $319.97 | +27.9% Step 3.7 Flash is 27.9% more expensive |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 4.80s | 31.57s | +557.7% Step 3.7 Flash is 557.7% slower |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.35 / $1.20 | $0.20 / $1.15 | |
| Input modalities | Not reported | Not reported |
Step 3.7 Flash vs Qwen3 Coder Next: 45.1% more intelligence, 27.9% more cost to run the AA benchmark, and 557.7% slower end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- Qwen3 Coder Next is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GLM-5.3-Flash scores 57.50 for $138.
- Step 3.7 Flash is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GLM-5.3-Flash scores 57.50 for $138.
Qwen3 Coder NextStep 3.7 FlashToday's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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