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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct vs Step 1 (32K)

Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct comes out ahead, 28 to 18 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct

    Released Apr 2025

    28/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$1.50 / $7.50
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct

  2. StepFun

    Step 1 (32K)

    Released Jan 1, 2025

    18/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$2.05 / $9.59
    • Context33K
    Full specs Remove Step 1 (32K)

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct is our pick

Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 28/100 against Step 1 (32K) (18). It leads on price and 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 priceQwen3-Coder 480B-A35B InstructQwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct $3.00 · Step 1 (32K) $3.94 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextQwen3-Coder 480B-A35B InstructQwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct 262,144 · Step 1 (32K) 32,768 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsQwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct: Text · Step 1 (32K): Text
  • Self-hostingQwen3-Coder 480B-A35B InstructPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3-Coder 480B-A35B InstructStep 1 (32K)
Price50%2722
Inputs & features30%2525
Context window20%370
Overall100%28/10018/100

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.

Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct vs Step 1 (32K) specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3-Coder 480B-A35B InstructAlibaba (Qwen)Step 1 (32K)StepFun
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$1.50 (best)$2.05
Output$7.50 (best)$9.59
Cached input—$0.41
Blended (3:1)$3.00 (best)$3.94
Long-context rateOver 32K: $2.70 / $13.50Same rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIOfficial StepFun (Global) API
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens (best)32,768 tokens
Max output65,536 tokens (best)32,768 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenProprietary
API model IDqwen3-coder-480b-a35b-instructstep-1-32k
API providers7 (best)1
ReleasedApr 2025Jan 1, 2025
Knowledge cutoffApr 2025Jun 2024
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.

  • Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct$30.00
  • Step 1 (32K)$39.68
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct or Step 1 (32K)?

Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 28/100 against Step 1 (32K) (18). It leads on price and 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, Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct or Step 1 (32K)?

Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct is cheaper at $1.50 input / $7.50 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). Step 1 (32K) costs $2.05 input / $9.59 output per million tokens (official StepFun (Global) API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $3.00 per million tokens for Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct versus $3.94 for Step 1 (32K) (1.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct has not been scored yet and Step 1 (32K) has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct and Step 1 (32K) yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 32,768 for Step 1 (32K). Maximum output per response: Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct up to 65,536, Step 1 (32K) up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct accepts text; Step 1 (32K) accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Step 1 (32K) is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct is the newest, released Apr 2025. Step 1 (32K) came out Jan 1, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3-Coder 480B-A35B Instruct Apr 2025, Step 1 (32K) Jun 2024.

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.

05 — Keep comparing

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