Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Step 5 Preview
Step 5 Preview leads Gemini 2.5 Flash on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 43.7 to 15.5, at about the same output price ($2.70 vs $2.50 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 33 benchmarks have a result for both.
Gemini 2.5 Flash or Step 5 Preview: which to pick
Only Step 5 Preview has a coding score, 61.1 on the Vibe Coding Index; Gemini 2.5 Flash has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Gemini 2.5 Flash for output tokens 1.1x cheaper ($2.50 vs $2.70 per million) and work measured by LMArena Text: Japanese, where it leads.
- Shared results
- 33
- Gemini 2.5 Flash only
- 40
- Step 5 Preview only
- 28
- Like-for-like categories
- 6 of 9
Only benchmarks that tested both models count toward a pick; a result only one model has is shown but not compared.
Which one for your work
Each card is decided by one number both models carry. Where only one has it, the card says so and makes no call.
Coding
Vibe Coding Index, six public coding benchmarks
No call
Only Step 5 Preview has a coding score, so no call is made.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
Step 5 Preview
Step 5 Preview leads, 43.7 against 15.5.
Same board, both measured
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Gemini 2.5 Flash has a Design Arena: websites result, 1074.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
No call
Both take 1.05M tokens.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Gemini 2.5 Flash
Gemini 2.5 Flash $0.0015, Step 5 Preview $0.0024 per turn.
List prices
Cost per solved task
One SWE-bench Verified task, solved
No call
Only Gemini 2.5 Flash has the number, $0.466.
Directional only
At a glance
- Coding index
- Gemini 2.5 Flash not benchmarked, Step 5 Preview 61.1 from 4 benchmarks.
- Widest category
- Intelligence, 28.2 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run): Gemini 2.5 Flash 12.1% against Step 5 Preview 46.5%, 34.4 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Gemini 2.5 Flash $2.50 against Step 5 Preview $2.70 per million output tokens, 1.1x apart.
- Context window
- Both take 1.05M tokens.
Benchmark by benchmark
First the score: boards each model leads, per category, where both have a result. Then every board, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale, so compare the two in a row, not one row with another.
| Category | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Bars | Step 5 Preview | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 0 | 2 | ||
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| Reasoning | 0 | 6 | ||
| Math | 0 | 2 | ||
| Knowledge | 0 | 4 | ||
| General | 1 | 17 | ||
| All shared boards | 1 | 32 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index02
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Step 5 Preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE-bench Verified | 28.7% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| LiveBench coding | Not measured | 85.6% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| LMArena WebDev | Not measured | 1567 | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| Terminal-Bench 4 (Vals AI) | Not measured | 31.8% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI) | Not measured | 70.4% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| Code migration (Vals AI) | Not measured | 39.0% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| IOI (Vals AI) | Not measured | 38.1% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| SWE-bench Multimodal (Vals AI) | Not measured | 40.8% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 69.5% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| SciCode | Not measured | 58.9% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 13.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| Terminal-Bench | 17.1% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | 1423 | 1485 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1425 | 1473 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena WebDev: React | Not measured | 1583 | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| LMArena WebDev: HTML | Not measured | 1556 | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| LMArena WebDev: from an image | Not measured | 1550 | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 22 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Step 5 Preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 15.5 | 43.7 | Step 5 Preview |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 142.9 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index16 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Step 5 Preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveBench research | Not measured | 72.8% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| LiveBench browser | Not measured | 24.0% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| LiveBench long agentic | Not measured | 27.5% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| SREBench (Vals AI) | Not measured | 0.4% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| Finance Agent (Vals AI) | Not measured | 50.7% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| Tax Agent Bench (Vals AI) | Not measured | 27.3% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| Legal Research Bench (Vals AI) | Not measured | 40.4% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| Excel Modeling Benchmark (Vals AI) | Not measured | 57.1% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| BioMysteryBench (Vals AI) | Not measured | 67.4% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| Terminal-Bench-Science (Vals AI) | Not measured | 2.9% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| Vals Science Index | Not measured | 29.6% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 31.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| BALROG | 33.5% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| Vending-Bench 2 | $549 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| Berkeley Function Calling Leaderboard (BFCL) | 56.2% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| BrowseComp-Plus | 39.9% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 25 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index06
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Step 5 Preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveBench reasoning | Not measured | 83.8% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| MysteryMechanism (Vals AI) | Not measured | 18.5% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 79.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 12.1% | 46.5% | Step 5 Preview |
| ARC-AGI | 33.3% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| ARC-AGI-2 | 2.5% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| SimpleBench | 41.2% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1422 | 1461 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1426 | 1485 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1420 | 1454 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Vision: diagrams | 1245 | 1308 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Vision: homework | 1244 | 1265 | Step 5 Preview |
| Kagi LLM Benchmark | 56.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 9 boards here | |||
MathLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index02
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Step 5 Preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Math Index | 73.3 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | 73.3% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| ProofBench | Not measured | 42.0% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| LMArena Text: math | 1411 | 1458 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | 1422 | 1460 | Step 5 Preview |
| Neither model has a result on the other 8 boards here | |||
KnowledgeLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index04
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Step 5 Preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MedCode (Vals AI) | 40.4% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 83.2% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: science | 1433 | 1454 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1428 | 1439 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1430 | 1437 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1404 | 1435 | Step 5 Preview |
| FACTS Benchmark Suite | 47.2% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 11 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index8 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Step 5 Preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1074 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | 1002 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 1004 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | 1060 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | 1020 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | 1059 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| Design Arena: SVG | 1020 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| LiveBench design | Not measured | 76.9% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index117
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Step 5 Preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveBench data analysis | Not measured | 63.5% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| Public Benefits Bench (Vals AI) | Not measured | 58.1% | Only Step 5 Preview measured |
| SAGE (Vals AI) | 44.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| MedScribe (Vals AI) | 83.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| IFBench | 50.3% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 65.3% | 88.3% | Step 5 Preview |
| DTBench | 76.5% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| LMCA | 27.5% | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text | 1417 | 1440 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1405 | 1438 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1400 | 1409 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Vision | 1235 | 1265 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: English | 1418 | 1447 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1409 | 1428 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | 1449 | 1500 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: German | 1417 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | 1396 | 1383 | Gemini 2.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: Korean | 1385 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: French | 1432 | 1438 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: Spanish | 1422 | 1441 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: Russian | 1415 | 1433 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: Polish | 1413 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1408 | 1437 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1419 | 1449 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1405 | 1425 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1393 | 1412 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Vision: English | 1239 | 1290 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Vision: Chinese | 1284 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Vision: reading text | 1237 | 1282 | Step 5 Preview |
| LMArena Vision: humor | 1225 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Vision: captioning | 1277 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Vision: recognizing things | 1252 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Vision: creative writing | 1241 | Not measured | Only Gemini 2.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 13 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Step 5 Preview | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 5 boards here | |||
What each workload costs
Three fixed token mixes at each model's listed price, so per-token rates become a bill.
Chat turn
1K input + 500 output tokens
Gemini 2.5 Flash costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Gemini 2.5 Flash costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Gemini 2.5 Flash costs less
Listed OpenRouter rates, without cache or batch discounts. A workload that does not fit a model's context window would need splitting.
Specification differences
The leading value in a row is marked; a row with a missing value names no leader. Our two rows are marked in red.
| Specification | Google Gemini 2.5 Flash | StepFun Step 5 Preview |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | StepFun | |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | June 17, 2025 | October 8, 2026 |
| Context window | 1.05M | 1.05M |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.30 | $1.00 |
| Output $/Mtok | $2.50 | $2.70 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | 61.1 |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 4 |
| Cost per solved task | $0.466 | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Gemini 2.5 Flash better than Step 5 Preview for coding?
Only Step 5 Preview has a coding score, 61.1 on the Vibe Coding Index; Gemini 2.5 Flash has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Gemini 2.5 Flash for output tokens 1.1x cheaper ($2.50 vs $2.70 per million) and work measured by LMArena Text: Japanese, where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Gemini 2.5 Flash or Step 5 Preview?
Gemini 2.5 Flash costs $0.30 per million input tokens and $2.50 per million output tokens; Step 5 Preview costs $1.00 and $2.70. Cost per solved task is known for Gemini 2.5 Flash only.
Which has the bigger context window, Gemini 2.5 Flash or Step 5 Preview?
Neither: both take 1.05M tokens.
How many benchmarks is the Gemini 2.5 Flash vs Step 5 Preview comparison based on?
33 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. Gemini 2.5 Flash's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Step 5 Preview's on 4. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.