Step 5 Preview vs Ling 3.1 Flash vs LongCat-2.5-Preview
Ling 3.1 Flash comes out ahead, 65 to 57 and 52 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
StepFunStep 5 Preview
57/100- ECI—
- Price$1.00 / $2.70
- Context1M
- Our pick
inclusionAILing 3.1 Flash
65/100- ECI—
- Price$0.075 / $0.22
- Context262K
Meituan (LongCat)LongCat-2.5-Preview
52/100- ECI—
- Price$0.75 / $2.95
- Context1M
Ling 3.1 Flash is our pick
Ling 3.1 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 65/100 against Step 5 Preview (57) and LongCat-2.5-Preview (52). It leads on price. Step 5 Preview wins on 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 priceLing 3.1 FlashLing 3.1 Flash $0.111 · LongCat-2.5-Preview $1.30 · Step 5 Preview $1.43 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextStep 5 Preview and LongCat-2.5-PreviewStep 5 Preview 1,000,000 · LongCat-2.5-Preview 1,000,000 · Ling 3.1 Flash 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsStep 5 PreviewStep 5 Preview: Text, Images, Video · Ling 3.1 Flash: Text · LongCat-2.5-Preview: Text, Images
- Self-hostingNo open weightsAll three are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Step 5 Preview | Ling 3.1 Flash | LongCat-2.5-Preview |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 43 | 95 | 44 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 80 | 35 | 60 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 37 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 57/100 | 65/100 | 52/100 |
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 5 PreviewStepFun | Ling 3.1 FlashinclusionAI | LongCat-2.5-PreviewMeituan (LongCat) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $1.00 | $0.075 (best) | $0.75 |
| Output | $2.70 | $0.22 (best) | $2.95 |
| Cached input | $0.05 | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.43 | $0.111 (best) | $1.30 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official StepFun (Global) API | Median of 1 providers | Median of 1 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 262,144 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens | 131,072 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | Yes | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yeslow · medium · high | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | step-5-preview | — | — |
| API providers | 7 (best) | 3 | 2 |
| Released | Sep 16, 2026 | Sep 29, 2026 | Sep 25, 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.
- Step 5 Preview$15.40
- Ling 3.1 Flash$1.19
- LongCat-2.5-Preview$13.40
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Step 5 Preview, Ling 3.1 Flash or LongCat-2.5-Preview?
Ling 3.1 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 65/100 against Step 5 Preview (57) and LongCat-2.5-Preview (52). It leads on price. Step 5 Preview wins on 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 5 Preview, Ling 3.1 Flash or LongCat-2.5-Preview?
Ling 3.1 Flash is cheaper at $0.075 input / $0.22 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). LongCat-2.5-Preview costs $0.75 input / $2.95 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider); Step 5 Preview costs $1.00 input / $2.70 output per million tokens (official StepFun (Global) API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.111 per million tokens for Ling 3.1 Flash versus $1.30 for LongCat-2.5-Preview (12× as much) and $1.43 for Step 5 Preview (13× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Step 5 Preview has not been scored yet, Ling 3.1 Flash has not been scored yet and LongCat-2.5-Preview has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Step 5 Preview, Ling 3.1 Flash and LongCat-2.5-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 and LongCat-2.5-Preview have the largest context windows (1,000,000 and 1,000,000 tokens), against 262,144 for Ling 3.1 Flash. Maximum output per response: Step 5 Preview up to 1,000,000, Ling 3.1 Flash up to 32,768, LongCat-2.5-Preview up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Step 5 Preview accepts text, images and video; Ling 3.1 Flash accepts text; LongCat-2.5-Preview accepts text and images. Step 5 Preview handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Step 5 Preview, Ling 3.1 Flash and LongCat-2.5-Preview are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Ling 3.1 Flash is the newest, released Sep 29, 2026. LongCat-2.5-Preview came out Sep 25, 2026; Step 5 Preview came out Sep 16, 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.
