LongCat-2.0 vs Macaron V1 Tall vs Step 3.7 Flash
Step 3.7 Flash comes out ahead, 63 to 55 and 53 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Meituan (LongCat)LongCat-2.0
53/100- ECI—
- Price$0.30 / $1.20
- Context1M
Mindlab
Macaron V1 Tall
55/100- ECI—
- Price$0.247 / $1.43
- Context262K
- Our pick
StepFunStep 3.7 Flash
63/100- ECI—
- Price$0.20 / $1.15
- Context256K
Step 3.7 Flash is our pick
Step 3.7 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 63/100 against Macaron V1 Tall (55) and LongCat-2.0 (53). It leads on price and inputs & features. LongCat-2.0 wins on context window. 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 3.7 FlashStep 3.7 Flash $0.438 · LongCat-2.0 $0.525 · Macaron V1 Tall $0.543 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextLongCat-2.0LongCat-2.0 1,000,000 · Macaron V1 Tall 262,144 · Step 3.7 Flash 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsStep 3.7 FlashLongCat-2.0: Text · Macaron V1 Tall: Text, Images · Step 3.7 Flash: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | LongCat-2.0 | Macaron V1 Tall | Step 3.7 Flash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 60 | 60 | 64 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 60 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 37 | 36 |
| Overall | 100% | 53/100 | 55/100 | 63/100 |
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 | LongCat-2.0Meituan (LongCat) | Macaron V1 TallMindlab | Step 3.7 FlashStepFun |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.30 | $0.247 | $0.20 (best) |
| Output | $1.20 | $1.43 | $1.15 (best) |
| Cached input | $0.006 (best) | — | $0.04 |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.525 | $0.543 | $0.438 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official LongCat API | Median of 1 providers | Official StepFun (Global) API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 262,144 tokens | 256,000 tokens |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens | 32,768 tokens | 256,000 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes | Yeslow · medium · high |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | OpenMIT | Open |
| API model ID | LongCat-2.0 | — | step-3.7-flash |
| API providers | 7 | 1 | 19 (best) |
| Released | Jun 30, 2026 | Jul 21, 2026 | May 29, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — | Mar 1, 2026 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- LongCat-2.0$5.40
- Macaron V1 Tall$5.33
- Step 3.7 Flash$4.30
Which should you choose?
Which is better: LongCat-2.0, Macaron V1 Tall or Step 3.7 Flash?
Step 3.7 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 63/100 against Macaron V1 Tall (55) and LongCat-2.0 (53). It leads on price and inputs & features. LongCat-2.0 wins on context window. 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, LongCat-2.0, Macaron V1 Tall or Step 3.7 Flash?
Step 3.7 Flash is cheaper at $0.20 input / $1.15 output per million tokens (official StepFun (Global) API price). LongCat-2.0 costs $0.30 input / $1.20 output per million tokens (official LongCat API price); Macaron V1 Tall costs $0.247 input / $1.43 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.438 per million tokens for Step 3.7 Flash versus $0.525 for LongCat-2.0 (1.2× as much) and $0.543 for Macaron V1 Tall (1.2× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. LongCat-2.0 has not been scored yet, Macaron V1 Tall has not been scored yet and Step 3.7 Flash has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for LongCat-2.0, Macaron V1 Tall and Step 3.7 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?
LongCat-2.0 has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Macaron V1 Tall and 256,000 for Step 3.7 Flash. Maximum output per response: LongCat-2.0 up to 131,072, Macaron V1 Tall up to 32,768, Step 3.7 Flash up to 256,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
LongCat-2.0 accepts text; Macaron V1 Tall accepts text and images; Step 3.7 Flash accepts text, images and video. Step 3.7 Flash handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, all three publish their weights (MIT), so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Macaron V1 Tall is the newest, released Jul 21, 2026. LongCat-2.0 came out Jun 30, 2026; Step 3.7 Flash came out May 29, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Step 3.7 Flash Mar 1, 2026.
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 Nov 2, 2026.
