Macaron V1 Tall vs Solar Pro 4 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.
Mindlab
Macaron V1 Tall
55/100- ECI—
- Price$0.247 / $1.43
- Context262K
UpstageSolar Pro 4
53/100- ECI—
- Price$0.30 / $1.20
- Context524K
- 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 Solar Pro 4 (53). It leads on price and inputs & features. Solar Pro 4 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 · Solar Pro 4 $0.525 · Macaron V1 Tall $0.543 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextSolar Pro 4Solar Pro 4 524,288 · Macaron V1 Tall 262,144 · Step 3.7 Flash 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsStep 3.7 FlashMacaron V1 Tall: Text, Images · Solar Pro 4: Text · Step 3.7 Flash: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingMacaron V1 Tall and Step 3.7 FlashPublishes downloadable weights (MIT)
| Measure | Weight | Macaron V1 Tall | Solar Pro 4 | Step 3.7 Flash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 60 | 60 | 64 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 60 | 45 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 49 | 36 |
| Overall | 100% | 55/100 | 53/100 | 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 | Macaron V1 TallMindlab | Solar Pro 4Upstage | Step 3.7 FlashStepFun |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.247 | $0.30 | $0.20 (best) |
| Output | $1.43 | $1.20 | $1.15 (best) |
| Cached input | — | $0.06 | $0.04 (best) |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.543 | $0.525 | $0.438 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 1 providers | Official Upstage API | Official StepFun (Global) API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens | 524,288 tokens (best) | 256,000 tokens |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 131,072 tokens | 256,000 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yesminimal · low · medium · high · xhigh · max | Yeslow · medium · high |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | OpenMIT | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | — | solar-pro4 | step-3.7-flash |
| API providers | 1 | 6 | 19 (best) |
| Released | Jul 21, 2026 | Aug 6, 2026 | May 29, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | Feb 2026 | 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.
- Macaron V1 Tall$5.33
- Solar Pro 4$5.40
- Step 3.7 Flash$4.30
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Macaron V1 Tall, Solar Pro 4 or Step 3.7 Flash?
Step 3.7 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 63/100 against Macaron V1 Tall (55) and Solar Pro 4 (53). It leads on price and inputs & features. Solar Pro 4 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, Macaron V1 Tall, Solar Pro 4 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). Solar Pro 4 costs $0.30 input / $1.20 output per million tokens (official Upstage 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 Solar Pro 4 (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. Macaron V1 Tall has not been scored yet, Solar Pro 4 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 Macaron V1 Tall, Solar Pro 4 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?
Solar Pro 4 has the largest context window at 524,288 tokens, against 262,144 for Macaron V1 Tall and 256,000 for Step 3.7 Flash. Maximum output per response: Macaron V1 Tall up to 32,768, Solar Pro 4 up to 131,072, Step 3.7 Flash up to 256,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Macaron V1 Tall accepts text and images; Solar Pro 4 accepts text; 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?
Macaron V1 Tall and Step 3.7 Flash publishes its weights (MIT) and can be self-hosted; Solar Pro 4 is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Solar Pro 4 is the newest, released Aug 6, 2026. Macaron V1 Tall came out Jul 21, 2026; Step 3.7 Flash came out May 29, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Solar Pro 4 Feb 2026, 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.
