Step 3.5 Flash 2603 vs Qwen3.8 Flash vs MiMo-V2.5
Too close to call on our weighted score (MiMo-V2.5 79, Qwen3.8 Flash 76, Step 3.5 Flash 2603 62). The right pick depends on what you value most.
StepFunStep 3.5 Flash 2603
62/100- ECI—
- Price$0.10 / $0.30
- Context256K
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3.8 Flash
76/100- ECI—
- Price$0.15 / $0.47
- Context1M
XiaomiMiMo-V2.5
79/100- ECI—
- Price$0.14 / $0.28
- Context1.05M
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (MiMo-V2.5 79/100, Qwen3.8 Flash 76/100, Step 3.5 Flash 2603 62/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Step 3.5 Flash 2603 on price and MiMo-V2.5 for long inputs. 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 3.5 Flash 2603Step 3.5 Flash 2603 $0.15 · MiMo-V2.5 $0.175 · Qwen3.8 Flash $0.23 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextMiMo-V2.5MiMo-V2.5 1,048,576 · Qwen3.8 Flash 1,000,000 · Step 3.5 Flash 2603 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsMiMo-V2.5Step 3.5 Flash 2603: Text · Qwen3.8 Flash: Text, Images, Video · MiMo-V2.5: Text, Images, Audio, Video
- Self-hostingStep 3.5 Flash 2603 and MiMo-V2.5Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Step 3.5 Flash 2603 | Qwen3.8 Flash | MiMo-V2.5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 89 | 80 | 86 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 80 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 36 | 60 | 61 |
| Overall | 100% | 62/100 | 76/100 | 79/100 |
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 3.5 Flash 2603StepFun | Qwen3.8 FlashAlibaba (Qwen) | MiMo-V2.5Xiaomi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.10 (best) | $0.15 | $0.14 |
| Output | $0.30 | $0.47 | $0.28 (best) |
| Cached input | $0.02 | $0.016 | $0.0028 (best) |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.15 (best) | $0.23 | $0.175 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official StepFun (Global) API | Official Alibaba API | Official Xiaomi API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 256,000 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 256,000 tokens (best) | 131,072 tokens | 131,072 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | Yes |
| Video | No | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yeslow · high | Yeslow · medium · xhigh | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | step-3.5-flash-2603 | qwen3.8-flash | mimo-v2.5 |
| API providers | 3 | 23 (best) | 21 |
| Released | Apr 2, 2026 | Aug 26, 2026 | Apr 22, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Jan 2025 | — | Dec 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 3.5 Flash 2603$1.60
- Qwen3.8 Flash$2.44
- MiMo-V2.5$1.96
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Step 3.5 Flash 2603, Qwen3.8 Flash or MiMo-V2.5?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (MiMo-V2.5 79/100, Qwen3.8 Flash 76/100, Step 3.5 Flash 2603 62/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Step 3.5 Flash 2603 on price and MiMo-V2.5 for long inputs. 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 3.5 Flash 2603, Qwen3.8 Flash or MiMo-V2.5?
Step 3.5 Flash 2603 is cheaper at $0.10 input / $0.30 output per million tokens (official StepFun (Global) API price). MiMo-V2.5 costs $0.14 input / $0.28 output per million tokens (official Xiaomi API price); Qwen3.8 Flash costs $0.15 input / $0.47 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.15 per million tokens for Step 3.5 Flash 2603 versus $0.175 for MiMo-V2.5 (1.2× as much) and $0.23 for Qwen3.8 Flash (1.5× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Step 3.5 Flash 2603 has not been scored yet, Qwen3.8 Flash has not been scored yet and MiMo-V2.5 has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Step 3.5 Flash 2603, Qwen3.8 Flash and MiMo-V2.5 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?
MiMo-V2.5 has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 1,000,000 for Qwen3.8 Flash and 256,000 for Step 3.5 Flash 2603. Maximum output per response: Step 3.5 Flash 2603 up to 256,000, Qwen3.8 Flash up to 131,072, MiMo-V2.5 up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Step 3.5 Flash 2603 accepts text; Qwen3.8 Flash accepts text, images and video; MiMo-V2.5 accepts text, images, audio and video. MiMo-V2.5 handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Step 3.5 Flash 2603 and MiMo-V2.5 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Qwen3.8 Flash is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Qwen3.8 Flash is the newest, released Aug 26, 2026. MiMo-V2.5 came out Apr 22, 2026; Step 3.5 Flash 2603 came out Apr 2, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Step 3.5 Flash 2603 Jan 2025, MiMo-V2.5 Dec 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.
