Llama 4 Maverick vs Step 3.5 Flash
Updated October 21, 2026. 35 benchmarks have a result for both. Coding is ranked on the Vibe Coding Index; every other board is shown as published.
Decision reading
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Llama 4 Maverick has the edge where the context window is larger, 524K against 262K tokens, and where what matters is Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) or LMArena Text: coding, where it leads.
- Shared results
- 35
- Llama 4 Maverick only
- 49
- Step 3.5 Flash only
- 0
- Like-for-like categories
- 7 of 9
Shared results can support a head-to-head reading. Results only one model has describe coverage, not superiority.
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
Step 3.5 Flash
Step 3.5 Flash leads, 17.0 against 9.3.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Llama 4 Maverick has a AA Agentic Index result, 0.6.
Directional only
Reasoning
GPQA Diamond
No call
Only Llama 4 Maverick has a GPQA Diamond result, 69.4%.
Directional only
Math
AIME
No call
Only Llama 4 Maverick has a AIME result, 25.2%.
Directional only
Knowledge
MMLU Pro
No call
Only Llama 4 Maverick has a MMLU Pro result, 79.4%.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Llama 4 Maverick has a Design Arena: websites result, 871.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Llama 4 Maverick
Llama 4 Maverick takes 524K tokens against 262K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Step 3.5 Flash
Llama 4 Maverick $0.0008, Step 3.5 Flash $0.0003 per turn.
List prices
Cost per solved task
One SWE-bench Verified task, solved
No call
Only Llama 4 Maverick has the number, $1.491.
Directional only
At a glance
- Coding index
- Llama 4 Maverick not benchmarked, Step 3.5 Flash not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Agentic work, 76.6 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- τ²-Bench Telecom: Llama 4 Maverick 17.8% against Step 3.5 Flash 94.4%, 76.6 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Llama 4 Maverick $1.00 against Step 3.5 Flash $0.30 per million output tokens, 3.3x apart.
- Context window
- Llama 4 Maverick takes 524K tokens, Step 3.5 Flash 262K.
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 | Llama 4 Maverick | Bars | Step 3.5 Flash | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 0 | 3 | ||
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| Agentic work | 0 | 1 | ||
| Reasoning | 0 | 5 | ||
| Math | 0 | 2 | ||
| Knowledge | 0 | 4 | ||
| General | 0 | 19 | ||
| All shared boards | 0 | 35 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index03
| Benchmark | Llama 4 Maverick | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aider polyglot | 15.6% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| SWE-bench Verified | 21.0% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| AA Coding Index | 16.3 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Vals AI) | 47.3% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 39.7% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| SciCode | 31.7% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 6.8% | 32.6% | Step 3.5 Flash |
| WeirdML | 24.5% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| ALE-Bench | 173.0 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | 1301 | 1436 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1299 | 1434 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| Neither model has a result on the other 27 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Llama 4 Maverick | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 9.3 | 17.0 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 132.2 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
Agentic workLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Llama 4 Maverick | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | 0.6 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 17.8% | 94.4% | Step 3.5 Flash |
| Neither model has a result on the other 37 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index05
| Benchmark | Llama 4 Maverick | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond | 69.4% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| MMMU Pro (Vals AI) | 71.7% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 67.1% | 83.1% | Step 3.5 Flash |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 4.9% | 24.5% | Step 3.5 Flash |
| ARC-AGI | 4.4% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| ARC-AGI-2 | 0.0% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| SimpleBench | 27.7% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1281 | 1411 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1259 | 1421 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1295 | 1421 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Vision: diagrams | 1134 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| LMArena Vision: homework | 1164 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick 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 | Llama 4 Maverick | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIME | 25.2% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| MATH 500 (Vals AI) | 85.2% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| MGSM (Vals AI) | 92.4% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| AA Math Index | 19.3 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | 19.3% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| LMArena Text: math | 1299 | 1408 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | 1295 | 1421 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| Neither model has a result on the other 6 boards here | |||
KnowledgeLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index04
| Benchmark | Llama 4 Maverick | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro | 79.4% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| LegalBench (Vals AI) | 77.8% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| CorpFin (Vals AI) | 49.7% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| TaxEval (Vals AI) | 66.6% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| MortgageTax (Vals AI) | 58.5% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| MedQA (Vals AI) | 43.3% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| MedCode (Vals AI) | 36.5% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 80.9% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| GeoBench | 52.0% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| LMArena Text: science | 1288 | 1415 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1275 | 1408 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1286 | 1408 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1260 | 1394 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| Neither model has a result on the other 4 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index6 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Llama 4 Maverick | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 871 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | 899 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 838 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | 882 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | 901 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | 880 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 3 boards here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index019
| Benchmark | Llama 4 Maverick | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAGE (Vals AI) | 35.7% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| MedScribe (Vals AI) | 54.2% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| IFBench | 43.0% | 66.5% | Step 3.5 Flash |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 50.0% | 63.0% | Step 3.5 Flash |
| DTBench | 61.9% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| LMCA | 15.9% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| Fiction.LiveBench | 46.2% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| Creative writing (Lech Mazur) | 62.0% | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| LMArena Text | 1287 | 1403 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1267 | 1385 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1266 | 1357 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Vision | 1142 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| LMArena Text: English | 1303 | 1417 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1269 | 1385 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | 1277 | 1446 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: German | 1291 | 1405 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | 1206 | 1353 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: Korean | 1203 | 1351 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: French | 1259 | 1421 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: Spanish | 1293 | 1419 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: Russian | 1286 | 1385 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: Polish | 1275 | 1389 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1289 | 1404 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1280 | 1402 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1277 | 1372 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1250 | 1360 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| LMArena Vision: English | 1150 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| LMArena Vision: Chinese | 1141 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| LMArena Vision: reading text | 1143 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| LMArena Vision: humor | 1100 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| LMArena Vision: creative writing | 1099 | Not measured | Only Llama 4 Maverick measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 15 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Llama 4 Maverick | Step 3.5 Flash | 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
Step 3.5 Flash costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Step 3.5 Flash costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Step 3.5 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 | Meta Llama 4 Maverick | StepFun Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Meta Llama | StepFun |
| Weights | Open weights | Open weights |
| Released | April 5, 2025 | January 29, 2026 |
| Context window | 524K | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.35 | $0.10 |
| Output $/Mtok | $1.00 | $0.30 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | $1.491 | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Llama 4 Maverick better than Step 3.5 Flash for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Llama 4 Maverick has the edge where the context window is larger, 524K against 262K tokens, and where what matters is Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) or LMArena Text: coding, where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Llama 4 Maverick or Step 3.5 Flash?
Llama 4 Maverick costs $0.35 per million input tokens and $1.00 per million output tokens; Step 3.5 Flash costs $0.10 and $0.30. Cost per solved task is known for Llama 4 Maverick only.
Which has the bigger context window, Llama 4 Maverick or Step 3.5 Flash?
Llama 4 Maverick, with 524K tokens against 262K.
How many benchmarks is the Llama 4 Maverick vs Step 3.5 Flash comparison based on?
35 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. Llama 4 Maverick's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Step 3.5 Flash's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.