Step 3.5 Flash vs Gemma 4 12B IT vs GLM-4.7-FlashX
Gemma 4 12B IT comes out ahead, 70 to 63 and 59 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
StepFunStep 3.5 Flash
63/100- ECI—
- Price$0.10 / $0.30
- Context256K
- Our pick
GoogleGemma 4 12B IT
70/100- ECI—
- Price$0.075 / $0.275
- Context262K
Z.ai (Zhipu)GLM-4.7-FlashX
59/100- ECI—
- Price$0.07 / $0.40
- Context200K
Gemma 4 12B IT is our pick
Gemma 4 12B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 70/100 against Step 3.5 Flash (63) and GLM-4.7-FlashX (59). It leads on price and inputs & features. 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 priceGemma 4 12B ITGemma 4 12B IT $0.125 · Step 3.5 Flash $0.15 · GLM-4.7-FlashX $0.152 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGemma 4 12B ITGemma 4 12B IT 262,144 · Step 3.5 Flash 256,000 · GLM-4.7-FlashX 200,000 tokens
- Widest inputsGemma 4 12B ITStep 3.5 Flash: Text · Gemma 4 12B IT: Text, Images · GLM-4.7-FlashX: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Step 3.5 Flash | Gemma 4 12B IT | GLM-4.7-FlashX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 85 | 89 | 85 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 45 | 60 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 36 | 37 | 32 |
| Overall | 100% | 63/100 | 70/100 | 59/100 |
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 FlashStepFun | Gemma 4 12B ITGoogle | GLM-4.7-FlashXZ.ai (Zhipu) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.10 | $0.075 | $0.07 (best) |
| Output | $0.30 | $0.275 (best) | $0.40 |
| Cached input | $0.02 | — | $0.01 (best) |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.15 | $0.125 (best) | $0.152 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official StepFun (Global) API | Median of 2 providers | Official Z.AI API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 256,000 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) | 200,000 tokens |
| Max output | 256,000 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens | 131,072 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 | Yeslow · high | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Open | Open |
| API model ID | step-3.5-flash | — | glm-4.7-flashx |
| API providers | 13 (best) | 2 | 10 |
| Released | Jan 29, 2026 | Jun 9, 2026 | Jan 19, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Jan 2025 | — | Apr 2025 |
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$1.60
- Gemma 4 12B IT$1.30
- GLM-4.7-FlashX$1.50
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Step 3.5 Flash, Gemma 4 12B IT or GLM-4.7-FlashX?
Gemma 4 12B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 70/100 against Step 3.5 Flash (63) and GLM-4.7-FlashX (59). It leads on price and inputs & features. 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, Gemma 4 12B IT or GLM-4.7-FlashX?
Gemma 4 12B IT is cheaper at $0.075 input / $0.275 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). Step 3.5 Flash costs $0.10 input / $0.30 output per million tokens (official StepFun (Global) API price); GLM-4.7-FlashX costs $0.07 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official Z.AI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.125 per million tokens for Gemma 4 12B IT versus $0.15 for Step 3.5 Flash (1.2× as much) and $0.152 for GLM-4.7-FlashX (1.2× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Step 3.5 Flash has not been scored yet, Gemma 4 12B IT has not been scored yet and GLM-4.7-FlashX has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Step 3.5 Flash, Gemma 4 12B IT and GLM-4.7-FlashX 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?
Gemma 4 12B IT has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 256,000 for Step 3.5 Flash and 200,000 for GLM-4.7-FlashX. Maximum output per response: Step 3.5 Flash up to 256,000, Gemma 4 12B IT up to 32,768, GLM-4.7-FlashX up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Step 3.5 Flash accepts text; Gemma 4 12B IT accepts text and images; GLM-4.7-FlashX accepts text. Gemma 4 12B IT handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, all three publish their weights, so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Gemma 4 12B IT is the newest, released Jun 9, 2026. Step 3.5 Flash came out Jan 29, 2026; GLM-4.7-FlashX came out Jan 19, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Step 3.5 Flash Jan 2025, GLM-4.7-FlashX Apr 2025.
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.
