AI model comparison
Muse Spark Open vs Step 5 Preview
Side by side comparison of Muse Spark Open and Step 5 Preview on pricing, benchmark scores, context window, and more.
Muse Spark Open is a coding-optimized open-weight model.
- Input / 1M
- $1.25
- Output / 1M
- $4.25
- Context
- 1.05M
Step 5 Preview is StepFun's flagship model for agentic work, built on a sparse Mixture-of-Experts architecture (27B active / 600B total parameters).
- Input / 1M
- $1
- Output / 1M
- $2.70
- Context
- 1.05M
Comparing image generators? Compare image models
At a glance
Quick verdict
How the two models stack up on the things people ask about most.
Lower price
Step 5 Preview
1.4x cheaper for a typical chat
Higher intelligence score
Step 5 Preview
28.5 vs 24.7 on Artificial Analysis
Larger context window
Tie
1.05M vs 1.05M tokens
Newer release
Muse Spark Open
Released October 15, 2026
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores
Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.
Intelligence index
Coding index
Agentic index
Pricing
Muse Spark Open vs Step 5 Preview API pricing
Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Input tokensPer 1M tokens | $1.25 | $1 |
| Output tokensPer 1M tokens | $4.25 | $2.70 |
| Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens | $0.15 | $0.10 |
| Cache writePer 1M tokens | Not available | Not available |
What it costs in practice
Estimated cost per 1,000 requests at standard rates. Coding and long-document figures also show the cost when the input is already cached.
Chat message
2K in, 500 out
Coding task
30K in, 4K out
Long document summary
150K in, 2K out
Specs
Context window and capabilities
How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 1.05M tokens | 1.05M tokens |
| Max output | 944K tokens | 64K tokens |
| Input types | Audio, File, Image, Text, Video | Image, Text, Video |
| Output types | Text | Text |
| Reasoning effort levels | Extra high, High, Medium, Low | High, Medium, Low |
| Default reasoning effort | Medium | Medium |
| Release date | October 15, 2026 | October 8, 2026 |
Features
Supported features
API features available for each model.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tool calling | Supported | Supported |
| Structured outputs | Supported | Supported |
| JSON mode | Supported | Supported |
| Reasoning | Supported | Supported |
| Temperature | Supported | Supported |
| Stop sequences | Supported | Supported |
| Deterministic seed | Supported | Supported |
| Verbosity control | Not supported | Not supported |
Keep exploring
More on these models
Other head-to-heads, the full model page, and the alternatives list for each model.
- Step 5 Preview vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017
- Step 5 Preview vs GLM 5.3 Flash
- Step 5 Preview vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
- Step 5 Preview vs Hy4 preview
- Step 5 Preview vs GPT-6 Luna
- Step 5 Preview vs Claude Opus 5.5
- Step 5 Preview vs MiniMax M3.1 Flash
- Step 5 Preview vs GPT-5.6 Luna
- Step 5 Preview vs GPT-6.1 Sol
- Step 5 Preview vs DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731
- Step 5 Preview vs GLM 5.3
- Step 5 Preview vs MiMo-V2.6-Flash
- Step 5 Preview vs Kimi K3
- Step 5 Preview vs Muse Spark 1.3
- Step 5 Preview vs Gemini 3.8 Flash
- Step 5 Preview vs Grok 4.7
- Step 5 Preview vs MiMo-V2.6-Pro
- Step 5 Preview vs Qwen3.8 Max (0902)
- Step 5 Preview vs GLM 5.2
- Step 5 Preview vs DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813
- Step 5 Preview vs Solar Pro 4
- Step 5 Preview vs Qwen3.8 27B
- Step 5 Preview vs Gemini 3 Flash Preview
- Step 5 Preview vs Mistral Large 4
- Step 5 Preview vs Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite
- Step 5 Preview vs DeepSeek V4 Pro 0423
- Step 5 Preview vs Step 3.7 Flash
- Step 5 Preview vs Gemini 3.7 Flash
- Step 5 Preview vs Gemini 2.5 Flash
- Step 5 Preview vs Claude Haiku 4.5
- Step 5 Preview vs GLM 5.3 FlashX
- Step 5 Preview vs GPT-5.6 Luna Pro
- Step 5 Preview vs Grok 4.6
- Step 5 Preview vs MiMo-V2.5
- Step 5 Preview vs MiMo-V2.5-Pro
Our take
Step 5 Preview is 1.4x cheaper for a typical chat. Step 5 Preview scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (28.5 vs 24.7). The right pick depends on your workload, so the quickest way to settle it is to send the same prompt to both and compare.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Muse Spark Open or Step 5 Preview cheaper?
Step 5 Preview is cheaper for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). Step 5 Preview costs $1 per 1M input tokens and $2.70 per 1M output tokens, while Muse Spark Open costs $1.25 per 1M input tokens and $4.25 per 1M output tokens.
Which has a bigger context window, Muse Spark Open or Step 5 Preview?
Muse Spark Open supports up to 1.05M tokens of context, compared with 1.05M for Step 5 Preview.
Is Muse Spark Open smarter than Step 5 Preview?
On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, Muse Spark Open scores 24.7 and Step 5 Preview scores 28.5, putting Step 5 Preview ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.
Can I use Muse Spark Open and Step 5 Preview at the same time?
Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see Muse Spark Open and Step 5 Preview answer side by side and keep the better response.
Why choose? Ask both.
Send one prompt to Muse Spark Open and Step 5 Preview at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.