GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct vs Step 3.7 Flash
Step 3.7 Flash costs 1.7x less per output token than GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct ($1.15 vs $2.00 per million). Updated October 21, 2026; no benchmark has tested both models yet.
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $2.00
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $1.15
GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct or Step 3.7 Flash: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Compare them on price, context and the boards below.
No benchmark has tested both yet. GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct has results on METR time horizons; Step 3.7 Flash on AA Coding Index, SciCode and Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run). Compare them on price and context instead.
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
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
No call
Only Step 3.7 Flash has a AA Intelligence Index result, 19.5.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Step 3.7 Flash has a Design Arena: websites result, 1196.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Step 3.7 Flash
Step 3.7 Flash takes 262K tokens against 4K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Step 3.7 Flash
GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct $0.0025, Step 3.7 Flash $0.0008 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct not benchmarked, Step 3.7 Flash not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- None yet: no category has been tested on both models.
- Widest single gap
- None yet: no benchmark has tested both models.
- Output price
- GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct $2.00 against Step 3.7 Flash $1.15 per million output tokens, 1.7x apart.
- Context window
- GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct takes 4K tokens, Step 3.7 Flash 262K.
Benchmark by benchmark
Every board either model has a result on, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale. Only one model is measured on each, so no row names a leader.
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index4 boards measured
| Benchmark | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct | Step 3.7 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | Not measured | 39.6 | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| SciCode | Not measured | 43.9% | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 35.6% | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| ALE-Bench | Not measured | 694.1 | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 35 boards here | |||
IntelligenceDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured
| Benchmark | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct | Step 3.7 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | Not measured | 19.5 | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards measured
| Benchmark | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct | Step 3.7 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-Bench Telecom | Not measured | 98.5% | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| METR time horizons | 21.5% | Not measured | Only GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 39 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards measured
| Benchmark | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct | Step 3.7 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 80.9% | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 21.4% | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 20 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index8 boards measured
| Benchmark | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct | Step 3.7 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | Not measured | 1196 | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | Not measured | 1179 | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | Not measured | 1158 | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | Not measured | 1172 | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | Not measured | 1129 | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | Not measured | 1182 | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| Design Arena: SVG | Not measured | 1085 | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| Design Arena: ASCII art | Not measured | 1152 | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards measured
| Benchmark | GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct | Step 3.7 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | Not measured | 67.3% | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | Not measured | 73.7% | Only Step 3.7 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 44 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
Step 3.7 Flash costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Step 3.7 Flash costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Step 3.7 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 | OpenAI GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct | StepFun Step 3.7 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | OpenAI | StepFun |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | September 28, 2023 | May 28, 2026 |
| Context window | 4K | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $1.50 | $0.20 |
| Output $/Mtok | $2.00 | $1.15 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct better than Step 3.7 Flash for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Compare them on price, context and the boards below.
Which is cheaper, GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct or Step 3.7 Flash?
GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct costs $1.50 per million input tokens and $2.00 per million output tokens; Step 3.7 Flash costs $0.20 and $1.15. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct or Step 3.7 Flash?
Step 3.7 Flash, with 262K tokens against 4K.
Has any benchmark tested both GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct and Step 3.7 Flash?
No benchmark has tested both yet. GPT-3.5 Turbo Instruct has results on METR time horizons; Step 3.7 Flash on AA Coding Index, SciCode and Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run). Compare them on price and context instead. Data as of October 21, 2026.