Solar Pro 4 vs Step 5 Preview
Which is better for the money: Solar Pro 4 by Upstage 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 17.1 points higher (43.7 vs 26.6) but costs 1.6× as much to run the benchmark ($1190 vs $737; both premium class). Pick Step 5 Preview when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise Solar Pro 4.
| Metric | Solar Pro 4 | Step 5 Preview | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 26.6 | 43.7 | +64.3% Step 5 Preview is 64.3% more intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $736.82 | $1,190.26 | +61.5% Step 5 Preview is 61.5% more expensive |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | Not reported | 12.06s | — not comparable |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.30 / $1.20 | $1.00 / $2.70 | |
| Input modalities | Text | Text, Image |
Step 5 Preview vs Solar Pro 4: 64.3% more intelligence, 61.5% more cost to run the AA benchmark, and end-to-end time not fully reported.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- Solar Pro 4 is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) scores 51.00 for $662.
- Step 5 Preview is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Max) scores 51.80 for $1082.
Solar Pro 4Step 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/solar-pro4/step-5 · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/solar-pro4/step-5?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill