Ministral 3 8B 2512 vs Step 3.5 Flash
Step 3.5 Flash leads Ministral 3 8B 2512 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 17.0 to 5.5, and Ministral 3 8B 2512 costs 2.0x less per output token ($0.15 vs $0.30 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 1 benchmarks have a result for both.
Ministral 3 8B 2512 or Step 3.5 Flash: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Ministral 3 8B 2512 for output tokens 2.0x cheaper ($0.15 vs $0.30 per million) and work measured by AA Intelligence Index, where it leads.
- Shared results
- 1
- Ministral 3 8B 2512 only
- 6
- Step 3.5 Flash only
- 34
- Like-for-like categories
- 1 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
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 5.5.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 has a AA Agentic Index result, 0.6.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 has a Design Arena: websites result, 1065.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
No call
Both take 262K tokens.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Ministral 3 8B 2512
Ministral 3 8B 2512 $0.0002, Step 3.5 Flash $0.0003 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Ministral 3 8B 2512 not benchmarked, Step 3.5 Flash not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Intelligence, 11.5 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- AA Intelligence Index: Ministral 3 8B 2512 5.5 against Step 3.5 Flash 17.0, 11.5 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Ministral 3 8B 2512 $0.15 against Step 3.5 Flash $0.30 per million output tokens, 2.0x apart.
- Context window
- Both take 262K 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 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Bars | Step 3.5 Flash | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| All shared boards | 0 | 1 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | 9.7 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 32.6% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | Not measured | 1436 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | Not measured | 1434 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 35 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 5.5 | 17.0 | Step 3.5 Flash |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | 0.6 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | Not measured | 94.4% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 39 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 83.1% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 24.5% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | Not measured | 1411 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | Not measured | 1421 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | Not measured | 1421 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 17 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: math | Not measured | 1408 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | Not measured | 1421 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 11 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: science | Not measured | 1415 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | Not measured | 1408 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | Not measured | 1408 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | Not measured | 1394 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 14 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1065 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 990 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | 1031 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | 1053 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 5 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index19 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | Not measured | 66.5% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | Not measured | 63.0% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text | Not measured | 1403 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | Not measured | 1385 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | Not measured | 1357 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: English | Not measured | 1417 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | Not measured | 1385 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | Not measured | 1446 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: German | Not measured | 1405 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | Not measured | 1353 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: Korean | Not measured | 1351 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: French | Not measured | 1421 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: Spanish | Not measured | 1419 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | Not measured | 1385 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: Polish | Not measured | 1389 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | Not measured | 1404 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | Not measured | 1402 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | Not measured | 1372 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | Not measured | 1360 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 27 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | 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
Ministral 3 8B 2512 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 | Mistral Ministral 3 8B 2512 | StepFun Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Mistral AI | StepFun |
| Weights | Open weights | Open weights |
| Released | December 2, 2025 | January 29, 2026 |
| Context window | 262K | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.15 | $0.10 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.15 | $0.30 |
| 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 Ministral 3 8B 2512 better than Step 3.5 Flash for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Ministral 3 8B 2512 for output tokens 2.0x cheaper ($0.15 vs $0.30 per million) and work measured by AA Intelligence Index, where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Ministral 3 8B 2512 or Step 3.5 Flash?
Ministral 3 8B 2512 costs $0.15 per million input tokens and $0.15 per million output tokens; Step 3.5 Flash costs $0.10 and $0.30. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Ministral 3 8B 2512 or Step 3.5 Flash?
Neither: both take 262K tokens.
How many benchmarks is the Ministral 3 8B 2512 vs Step 3.5 Flash comparison based on?
1 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. Ministral 3 8B 2512'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.