API cost decision in 10 seconds

Step 3.5 Flash vs Gemma 4 31B (free)

Pick Gemma 4 31B (free) when budget is the priority.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T20:08:05Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Gemma 4 31B (free) when budget is the priority.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 4 31B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.24 for Step 3.5 Flash, saving $0.24 (100% lower).

Cost-first pickGemma 4 31B (free)

Context-first pickBoth models

Sample savings$0.24100%

10x traffic gap$2.4

The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $2.4. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Gemma 4 31B (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Step 3.5 Flash	Gemma 4 31B (free)
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Gemma 4 31B (free)	$0.6	$0
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Gemma 4 31B (free)	$0.39	$0
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Gemma 4 31B (free)	$1.59	$0

Cheaper input Gemma 4 31B (free) $0.09 vs $0 / 1M

Gemma 4 31B (free) is free for input tokens while Step 3.5 Flash costs $0.09 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output Gemma 4 31B (free) $0.3 vs $0 / 1M

Gemma 4 31B (free) is free for output tokens while Step 3.5 Flash costs $0.3 per 1M tokens.

Larger context Tie 262.14K vs 262.14K

Both models report the same context window at 262.14K tokens.

Sample workload Gemma 4 31B (free) $0.24 vs $0

Gemma 4 31B (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.24.

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Step 3.5 Flash Calculating… Estimated API cost

Gemma 4 31B (free) Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

Gemma 4 31B (free) has the lower input price; Gemma 4 31B (free) has the lower output price; both models report the same context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Gemma 4 31B (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.24 for Step 3.5 Flash and $0 for Gemma 4 31B (free).

Best Fit

Choose Step 3.5 Flash when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.

Choose Gemma 4 31B (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 4 31B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.24 for Step 3.5 Flash, saving $0.24 (100% lower).
Gemma 4 31B (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.24.
Gemma 4 31B (free) is free for input tokens while Step 3.5 Flash costs $0.09 per 1M tokens.
Gemma 4 31B (free) is free for output tokens while Step 3.5 Flash costs $0.3 per 1M tokens.
Both models report the same context window at 262.14K tokens.

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Step 3.5 Flash (StepFun)	Gemma 4 31B (free) (Google)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.09	$0
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.3	$0
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.24	$0
Context Window	262.14K	262.14K
Release Date	2026-01-29	2026-04-02
Popularity	#43	#105

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Gemma 4 31B (free)	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 4 31B (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.24 for Step 3.5 Flash, saving $0.24 (100% lower).
High-volume input processing	Gemma 4 31B (free)	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Gemma 4 31B (free)	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Tie	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

No lower-cost same-provider swap is currently tracked for this pair.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
MiMo-V2.5 offers 1.05M context with $0.28 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

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Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

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Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

Open provider hubs

StepFun catalog

Review all tracked StepFun models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

Open StepFun models

Google catalog

Check other Google models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

Open Google models

Step 3.5 Flash

Step 3.5 Flash is StepFun's most capable open-source foundation model. Built on a sparse Mixture of Experts (MoE) architecture, it selectively activates only 11B of its 196B parameters per token....

Gemma 4 31B (free)

Gemma 4 31B Instruct is Google DeepMind's 30.7B dense multimodal model supporting text and image input with text output. Features a 256K token context window, configurable thinking/reasoning mode, native function...