Step 5 Preview vs Macaron V1 Venti vs Hy4 preview
Step 5 Preview comes out ahead, 56 to 44 and 44 on our weighted score, though Macaron V1 Venti is 13% cheaper per token.
- Our pick
StepFunStep 5 Preview
56/100- ECI—
- Price$1.00 / $2.70
- Context1M
Mindlab
Macaron V1 Venti
44/100- ECI—
- Price$0.825 / $2.48
- Context1.05M
TencentHy4 preview
44/100- ECI—
- Price$0.834 / $2.50
- Context1.02M
Step 5 Preview is our pick
Step 5 Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 56/100 against Macaron V1 Venti (44) and Hy4 preview (44). It leads 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 priceMacaron V1 VentiMacaron V1 Venti $1.24 · Hy4 preview $1.25 · Step 5 Preview $1.43 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextMacaron V1 VentiMacaron V1 Venti 1,048,576 · Hy4 preview 1,024,000 · Step 5 Preview 1,000,000 tokens
- Widest inputsStep 5 PreviewStep 5 Preview: Text, Images, Video · Macaron V1 Venti: Text · Hy4 preview: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Step 5 Preview | Macaron V1 Venti | Hy4 preview |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 41 | 44 | 43 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 80 | 35 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 60 | 61 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 56/100 | 44/100 | 44/100 |
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 | Macaron V1 VentiMindlab | Hy4 previewTencent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $1.00 | $0.825 (best) | $0.834 |
| Output | $2.70 | $2.48 (best) | $2.50 |
| Cached input | $0.10 | — | $0.042 (best) |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.43 | $1.24 (best) | $1.25 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official StepFun (Global) API | Median of 1 providers | Official Tencent TokenHub API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens (best) | 1,024,000 tokens |
| Max output | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 131,072 tokens | 64,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | Yes | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yeslow · medium · high | Yes | Yeshigh |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | OpenMIT | Open |
| API model ID | step-5-preview | — | hy4-preview |
| API providers | 18 (best) | 1 | 17 |
| Released | Sep 16, 2026 | Jul 21, 2026 | Aug 28, 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
- Macaron V1 Venti$13.20
- Hy4 preview$13.34
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Step 5 Preview, Macaron V1 Venti or Hy4 preview?
Step 5 Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 56/100 against Macaron V1 Venti (44) and Hy4 preview (44). It leads 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, Macaron V1 Venti or Hy4 preview?
Macaron V1 Venti is cheaper at $0.825 input / $2.48 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). Hy4 preview costs $0.834 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (official Tencent TokenHub API price); 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 $1.24 per million tokens for Macaron V1 Venti versus $1.25 for Hy4 preview (1× as much) and $1.43 for Step 5 Preview (1.2× 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, Macaron V1 Venti has not been scored yet and Hy4 preview has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Step 5 Preview, Macaron V1 Venti and Hy4 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?
Macaron V1 Venti has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 1,024,000 for Hy4 preview and 1,000,000 for Step 5 Preview. Maximum output per response: Step 5 Preview up to 1,000,000, Macaron V1 Venti up to 131,072, Hy4 preview up to 64,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Step 5 Preview accepts text, images and video; Macaron V1 Venti accepts text; Hy4 preview accepts text. Step 5 Preview handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, all three publish their weights (MIT), so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Step 5 Preview is the newest, released Sep 16, 2026. Hy4 preview came out Aug 28, 2026; Macaron V1 Venti came out Jul 21, 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 Nov 2, 2026.
