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Head-to-head comparison

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking vs Step 3.7 Flash

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking (Qwen) and Step 3.7 Flash (StepFun) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 18 August 2026

As of 18 August 2026, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#54 vs #65); Step 3.7 Flash is 3.5× cheaper per output token ($1.15/1M vs $4.00/1M); and Step 3.7 Flash offers the longer context window (262K vs 131K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #54 against #65 (46.3 vs 39.6 points).

Choose Step 3.7 Flash if…

  • API cost matters — $1.15/1M output tokens against $4.00/1M, about 3.5× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.20/1M against $0.40/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 262K tokens against 131K.
  • you want provider choice — 3 listed API providers against 2.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Step 3.7 Flash was listed 28 May 2026, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking 23 September 2025.

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking vs Step 3.7 Flash: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking and Step 3.7 Flash
FieldQwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingQwenStep 3.7 FlashStepFun
ModelCap Index position#54#65
Index score46.339.6
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.40$0.20
Output price / 1M tokens$4.00$1.15
Context window131K tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens33K256K
API providers listed23
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, ImageText, Image, Video
First listed23 September 202528 May 2026
PublisherQwenStepFun

Evidence: 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards · 1 public benchmark observation across 1 board. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking vs Step 3.7 Flash

Public benchmark boards where Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking or Step 3.7 Flash has a published result
BoardQwen3 VL 235B A22B ThinkingStep 3.7 FlashLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14551441–1469—Only one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis—30.9intelligence-indexOnly one result

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking vs Step 3.7 Flash: common questions

Is Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking better than Step 3.7 Flash?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 18 August 2026: #54 against #65. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it.

Is Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking cheaper than Step 3.7 Flash?

Step 3.7 Flash is cheaper on output tokens: $1.15/1M against $4.00/1M. Input tokens are $0.40/1M for Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking and $0.20/1M for Step 3.7 Flash. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking or Step 3.7 Flash?

Step 3.7 Flash has the larger context window: 262K tokens against 131K.

Which is better for coding, Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking or Step 3.7 Flash?

The two models do not share a coding benchmark board on ModelCap yet, so no head-to-head coding score is published; the ModelCap Index position is the closest overall signal.

Are Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking and Step 3.7 Flash open-weight models?

Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking: Open weights. Step 3.7 Flash: Open weights. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking and Step 3.7 Flash?

ModelCap currently lists 2 API providers for Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking and 3 for Step 3.7 Flash, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Qwen3 VL 235B A22B Thinking vs Step 3.7 Flash comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 18 August 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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