ZMIME
Comparison · 3 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

GLM-4.7-FlashX vs Seed 2.0 Lite vs Step 3.5 Flash

Seed 2.0 Lite comes out ahead, 73 to 62 and 61 on our weighted score, though Step 3.5 Flash is 25% cheaper per token.

  1. Z.ai (Zhipu)

    GLM-4.7-FlashX

    Released Jan 19, 2026

    61/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.07 / $0.40
    • Context200K
  2. Our pick

    ByteDance Seed

    Seed 2.0 Lite

    Released Feb 14, 2026

    73/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.089 / $0.534
    • Context256K
  3. StepFun

    Step 3.5 Flash

    Released Jan 29, 2026

    62/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.10 / $0.30
    • Context256K
01 — Verdict

Seed 2.0 Lite is our pick

Seed 2.0 Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against Step 3.5 Flash (62) and GLM-4.7-FlashX (61). It leads on inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceStep 3.5 FlashStep 3.5 Flash $0.15 · GLM-4.7-FlashX $0.152 · Seed 2.0 Lite $0.20 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextSeed 2.0 Lite and Step 3.5 FlashSeed 2.0 Lite 256,000 · Step 3.5 Flash 256,000 · GLM-4.7-FlashX 200,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSeed 2.0 LiteGLM-4.7-FlashX: Text · Seed 2.0 Lite: Text, Images, Video · Step 3.5 Flash: Text
  • Self-hostingGLM-4.7-FlashX and Step 3.5 FlashPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGLM-4.7-FlashXSeed 2.0 LiteStep 3.5 Flash
Price50%898389
Inputs & features30%358035
Context window20%323636
Overall100%61/10073/10062/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

GLM-4.7-FlashX vs Seed 2.0 Lite vs Step 3.5 Flash specifications side by side
SpecificationGLM-4.7-FlashXZ.ai (Zhipu)Seed 2.0 LiteByteDance SeedStep 3.5 FlashStepFun
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)———
ECI rank———
Price per million tokens
Input$0.07 (best)$0.089$0.10
Output$0.40$0.534$0.30 (best)
Cached input$0.01 (best)$0.018$0.02
Blended (3:1)$0.152$0.20$0.15 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateOver 32K: $0.134 / $0.802Same rate
Price sourceOfficial Z.AI APIOfficial Volcengine Ark APIOfficial StepFun (Global) API
Limits
Context window200,000 tokens256,000 tokens (best)256,000 tokens (best)
Max output131,072 tokens32,000 tokens256,000 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYesYes
ImagesNoYesNo
PDFsNoNoNo
AudioNoNoNo
VideoNoYesNo
ReasoningYesYesminimal · low · medium · high · xhigh · maxYeslow · high
Tool callingYesYesYes
Structured outputNoYesNo
Availability
WeightsOpenProprietaryOpen
API model IDglm-4.7-flashxdoubao-seed-2-0-lite-260428step-3.5-flash
API providers8 (best)68 (best)
ReleasedJan 19, 2026Feb 14, 2026Jan 29, 2026
Knowledge cutoffApr 2025—Jan 2025
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • GLM-4.7-FlashX$1.50
  • Seed 2.0 Lite$1.96
  • Step 3.5 Flash$1.60
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: GLM-4.7-FlashX, Seed 2.0 Lite or Step 3.5 Flash?

Seed 2.0 Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 73/100 against Step 3.5 Flash (62) and GLM-4.7-FlashX (61). It leads on inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, GLM-4.7-FlashX, Seed 2.0 Lite or Step 3.5 Flash?

Step 3.5 Flash is cheaper at $0.10 input / $0.30 output per million tokens (official StepFun (Global) API price). GLM-4.7-FlashX costs $0.07 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official Z.AI API price); Seed 2.0 Lite costs $0.089 input / $0.534 output per million tokens (official Volcengine Ark API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.15 per million tokens for Step 3.5 Flash versus $0.152 for GLM-4.7-FlashX (1× as much) and $0.20 for Seed 2.0 Lite (1.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. GLM-4.7-FlashX has not been scored yet, Seed 2.0 Lite has not been scored yet and Step 3.5 Flash has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GLM-4.7-FlashX, Seed 2.0 Lite and Step 3.5 Flash yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Seed 2.0 Lite and Step 3.5 Flash have the largest context windows (256,000 and 256,000 tokens), against 200,000 for GLM-4.7-FlashX. Maximum output per response: GLM-4.7-FlashX up to 131,072, Seed 2.0 Lite up to 32,000, Step 3.5 Flash up to 256,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

GLM-4.7-FlashX accepts text; Seed 2.0 Lite accepts text, images and video; Step 3.5 Flash accepts text. Seed 2.0 Lite handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

GLM-4.7-FlashX and Step 3.5 Flash publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Seed 2.0 Lite is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Seed 2.0 Lite is the newest, released Feb 14, 2026. Step 3.5 Flash came out Jan 29, 2026; GLM-4.7-FlashX came out Jan 19, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: GLM-4.7-FlashX Apr 2025, Step 3.5 Flash Jan 2025.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.