Sakana Namazu vs Seed 2.1 Pro vs Step 5 Preview
Step 5 Preview comes out ahead, 57 to 51 and 50 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Sakana AI
Sakana Namazu
51/100- ECI—
- Price$0.95 / $4.00
- Context262K
ByteDance SeedSeed 2.1 Pro
50/100- ECI—
- Price$0.891 / $4.45
- Context256K
- Our pick
StepFunStep 5 Preview
57/100- ECI—
- Price$1.00 / $2.70
- Context1M
Step 5 Preview is our pick
Step 5 Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against Sakana Namazu (51) and Seed 2.1 Pro (50). 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 priceStep 5 PreviewStep 5 Preview $1.43 · Sakana Namazu $1.71 · Seed 2.1 Pro $1.78 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextStep 5 PreviewStep 5 Preview 1,000,000 · Sakana Namazu 262,144 · Seed 2.1 Pro 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsSakana Namazu: Text, Images, PDFs · Seed 2.1 Pro: Text, Images, Video · Step 5 Preview: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingNo open weightsAll three are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Sakana Namazu | Seed 2.1 Pro | Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 39 | 38 | 43 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 80 | 80 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 36 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 51/100 | 50/100 | 57/100 |
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 | Sakana NamazuSakana AI | Seed 2.1 ProByteDance Seed | Step 5 PreviewStepFun |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.95 | $0.891 (best) | $1.00 |
| Output | $4.00 | $4.45 | $2.70 (best) |
| Cached input | $0.15 | $0.178 | $0.05 (best) |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.71 | $1.78 | $1.43 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Sakana AI API | Official Volcengine Ark API | Official StepFun (Global) API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens | 256,000 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 65,536 tokens | 256,000 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | Yes | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yesminimal · low · medium · high · xhigh · max | Yeslow · medium · high |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | sakana-namazu | doubao-seed-2-1-pro-260628 | step-5-preview |
| API providers | 5 | 2 | 7 (best) |
| Released | Aug 3, 2026 | Jun 23, 2026 | Sep 16, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Sakana Namazu$17.50
- Seed 2.1 Pro$17.81
- Step 5 Preview$15.40
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Sakana Namazu, Seed 2.1 Pro or Step 5 Preview?
Step 5 Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against Sakana Namazu (51) and Seed 2.1 Pro (50). 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, Sakana Namazu, Seed 2.1 Pro or Step 5 Preview?
Step 5 Preview is cheaper at $1.00 input / $2.70 output per million tokens (official StepFun (Global) API price). Sakana Namazu costs $0.95 input / $4.00 output per million tokens (official Sakana AI API price); Seed 2.1 Pro costs $0.891 input / $4.45 output per million tokens (official Volcengine Ark API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.43 per million tokens for Step 5 Preview versus $1.71 for Sakana Namazu (1.2× as much) and $1.78 for Seed 2.1 Pro (1.2× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Sakana Namazu has not been scored yet, Seed 2.1 Pro has not been scored yet and Step 5 Preview has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Sakana Namazu, Seed 2.1 Pro and Step 5 Preview 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?
Step 5 Preview has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Sakana Namazu and 256,000 for Seed 2.1 Pro. Maximum output per response: Sakana Namazu up to 65,536, Seed 2.1 Pro up to 256,000, Step 5 Preview up to 1,000,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Sakana Namazu accepts text, images and PDFs; Seed 2.1 Pro accepts text, images and video; Step 5 Preview accepts text, images and video. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
No. Sakana Namazu, Seed 2.1 Pro and Step 5 Preview are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Step 5 Preview is the newest, released Sep 16, 2026. Sakana Namazu came out Aug 3, 2026; Seed 2.1 Pro came out Jun 23, 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 Oct 4, 2026.
