Hy3 vs Qwen3.8 Flash vs Step 3.5 Flash 2603
Qwen3.8 Flash comes out ahead, 76 to 62 and 58 on our weighted score, though Step 3.5 Flash 2603 is 35% cheaper per token.
TencentHy3
58/100- ECI—
- Price$0.132 / $0.53
- Context256K
- Our pick
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3.8 Flash
76/100- ECI—
- Price$0.15 / $0.47
- Context1M
StepFunStep 3.5 Flash 2603
62/100- ECI—
- Price$0.10 / $0.30
- Context256K
Qwen3.8 Flash is our pick
Qwen3.8 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 76/100 against Step 3.5 Flash 2603 (62) and Hy3 (58). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Step 3.5 Flash 2603 wins on price. 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 Flash 2603Step 3.5 Flash 2603 $0.15 · Qwen3.8 Flash $0.23 · Hy3 $0.232 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextQwen3.8 FlashQwen3.8 Flash 1,000,000 · Hy3 256,000 · Step 3.5 Flash 2603 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsQwen3.8 FlashHy3: Text · Qwen3.8 Flash: Text, Images, Video · Step 3.5 Flash 2603: Text
- Self-hostingHy3 and Step 3.5 Flash 2603Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Hy3 | Qwen3.8 Flash | Step 3.5 Flash 2603 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 80 | 80 | 89 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 80 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 36 | 60 | 36 |
| Overall | 100% | 58/100 | 76/100 | 62/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Hy3Tencent | Qwen3.8 FlashAlibaba (Qwen) | Step 3.5 Flash 2603StepFun |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.132 | $0.15 | $0.10 (best) |
| Output | $0.53 | $0.47 | $0.30 (best) |
| Cached input | — | $0.016 (best) | $0.02 |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.232 | $0.23 | $0.15 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 15 providers | Official Alibaba API | Official StepFun (Global) API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 256,000 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 256,000 tokens |
| Max output | 128,000 tokens | 131,072 tokens | 256,000 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yeshigh | Yeslow · medium · xhigh | Yeslow · high |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | hy3 | qwen3.8-flash | step-3.5-flash-2603 |
| API providers | 18 | 23 (best) | 3 |
| Released | Jul 6, 2026 | Aug 26, 2026 | Apr 2, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — | Jan 2025 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Hy3$2.38
- Qwen3.8 Flash$2.44
- Step 3.5 Flash 2603$1.60
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Hy3, Qwen3.8 Flash or Step 3.5 Flash 2603?
Qwen3.8 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 76/100 against Step 3.5 Flash 2603 (62) and Hy3 (58). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Step 3.5 Flash 2603 wins on price. 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, Hy3, Qwen3.8 Flash or Step 3.5 Flash 2603?
Step 3.5 Flash 2603 is cheaper at $0.10 input / $0.30 output per million tokens (official StepFun (Global) API price). Qwen3.8 Flash costs $0.15 input / $0.47 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price); Hy3 costs $0.132 input / $0.53 output per million tokens (median across 15 API providers; free on Tencent TokenHub). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.15 per million tokens for Step 3.5 Flash 2603 versus $0.23 for Qwen3.8 Flash (1.5× as much) and $0.232 for Hy3 (1.5× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Hy3 has not been scored yet, Qwen3.8 Flash has not been scored yet and Step 3.5 Flash 2603 has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Hy3, Qwen3.8 Flash and Step 3.5 Flash 2603 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?
Qwen3.8 Flash has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 256,000 for Hy3 and 256,000 for Step 3.5 Flash 2603. Maximum output per response: Hy3 up to 128,000, Qwen3.8 Flash up to 131,072, Step 3.5 Flash 2603 up to 256,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Hy3 accepts text; Qwen3.8 Flash accepts text, images and video; Step 3.5 Flash 2603 accepts text. Qwen3.8 Flash handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Hy3 and Step 3.5 Flash 2603 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Qwen3.8 Flash is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Qwen3.8 Flash is the newest, released Aug 26, 2026. Hy3 came out Jul 6, 2026; Step 3.5 Flash 2603 came out Apr 2, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Step 3.5 Flash 2603 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.
