Step 1 (32K) vs Palmyra X5 vs Qwen-MT Plus
Palmyra X5 comes out ahead, 48 to 18 and 12 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
StepFunStep 1 (32K)
18/100- ECI—
- Price$2.05 / $9.59
- Context33K
- Our pick
Writer
Palmyra X5
48/100- ECI—
- Price$0.60 / $6.00
- Context1M
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen-MT Plus
12/100- ECI—
- Price$2.46 / $7.37
- Context16K
Palmyra X5 is our pick
Palmyra X5 is the better all-round choice, scoring 48/100 against Step 1 (32K) (18) and Qwen-MT Plus (12). It leads on price, inputs & features 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 pricePalmyra X5Palmyra X5 $1.95 · Qwen-MT Plus $3.69 · Step 1 (32K) $3.94 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextPalmyra X5Palmyra X5 1,000,000 · Step 1 (32K) 32,768 · Qwen-MT Plus 16,384 tokens
- Widest inputsPalmyra X5Step 1 (32K): Text · Palmyra X5: Text, Images · Qwen-MT Plus: Text
- Self-hostingNo open weightsAll three are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Step 1 (32K) | Palmyra X5 | Qwen-MT Plus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 22 | 36 | 23 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 60 | 0 |
| Context window | 20% | 0 | 60 | 0 |
| Overall | 100% | 18/100 | 48/100 | 12/100 |
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 | Step 1 (32K)StepFun | Palmyra X5Writer | Qwen-MT PlusAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $2.05 | $0.60 (best) | $2.46 |
| Output | $9.59 | $6.00 (best) | $7.37 |
| Cached input | $0.41 | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $3.94 | $1.95 (best) | $3.69 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official StepFun (Global) API | Median of 1 providers | Official Alibaba API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 32,768 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 16,384 tokens |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens (best) | 8,192 tokens | 8,192 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | No |
| Structured output | No | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | step-1-32k | — | qwen-mt-plus |
| API providers | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Released | Jan 1, 2025 | Apr 28, 2025 | Jan 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Jun 2024 | — | Apr 2024 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Step 1 (32K)$39.68
- Palmyra X5$18.00
- Qwen-MT Plus$39.34
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Step 1 (32K), Palmyra X5 or Qwen-MT Plus?
Palmyra X5 is the better all-round choice, scoring 48/100 against Step 1 (32K) (18) and Qwen-MT Plus (12). It leads on price, inputs & features 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, Step 1 (32K), Palmyra X5 or Qwen-MT Plus?
Palmyra X5 is cheaper at $0.60 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). Qwen-MT Plus costs $2.46 input / $7.37 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 $1.95 per million tokens for Palmyra X5 versus $3.69 for Qwen-MT Plus (1.9× as much) and $3.94 for Step 1 (32K) (2× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Step 1 (32K) has not been scored yet, Palmyra X5 has not been scored yet and Qwen-MT Plus has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Step 1 (32K), Palmyra X5 and Qwen-MT Plus yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Qwen-MT Plus does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.
Which has the bigger context window?
Palmyra X5 has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 32,768 for Step 1 (32K) and 16,384 for Qwen-MT Plus. Maximum output per response: Step 1 (32K) up to 32,768, Palmyra X5 up to 8,192, Qwen-MT Plus up to 8,192 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Step 1 (32K) accepts text; Palmyra X5 accepts text and images; Qwen-MT Plus accepts text. Palmyra X5 handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Step 1 (32K), Palmyra X5 and Qwen-MT Plus are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Palmyra X5 is the newest, released Apr 28, 2025. Step 1 (32K) came out Jan 1, 2025; Qwen-MT Plus came out Jan 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Step 1 (32K) Jun 2024, Qwen-MT Plus Apr 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.
