Pareto 26.10 is $0.2 cheaper per 1M input tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
New🔥Step 5 Preview vs NewPareto 26.10
Pick Step 5 Preview when budget is the priority.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Step 5 Preview when budget is the priority.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Step 5 Preview is estimated at $2.35 vs $2.4 for Pareto 26.10, saving $0.05 (2.1% lower).
Cost-first pickStep 5 Preview
Context-first pickBoth models
Sample savings$0.052.1%
10x traffic gap$0.5
The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors Pareto 26.10, balanced workload favors Step 5 Preview, and output-heavy chatbot favors Step 5 Preview.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Step 5 Preview | Pareto 26.10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Pareto 26.10 | $6.35 | $5.6 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Step 5 Preview | $3.7 | $4 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Step 5 Preview | $14.5 | $16.8 |
Step 5 Preview is $0.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (15.6% lower; 1.19x difference).
Both models report the same context window at 1.05M tokens.
Step 5 Preview is $0.05 cheaper on the standard workload (2.1% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
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
Pareto 26.10 has the lower input price; Step 5 Preview has the lower output price; both models report the same context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Step 5 Preview is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $2.35 for Step 5 Preview and $2.4 for Pareto 26.10.
Choose Step 5 Preview when you care most about lower output-token price.
Choose Pareto 26.10 when you care most about lower input-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Step 5 Preview is estimated at $2.35 vs $2.4 for Pareto 26.10, saving $0.05 (2.1% lower).
- Step 5 Preview is $0.05 cheaper on the standard workload (2.1% lower).
- Pareto 26.10 is $0.2 cheaper per 1M input tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).
- Step 5 Preview is $0.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (15.6% lower; 1.19x difference).
- Both models report the same context window at 1.05M tokens.
| Feature | New🔥Step 5 Preview (StepFun) | NewPareto 26.10 (unbiased) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $1 | $0.8 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $2.7 | $3.2 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $2.35 | $2.4 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 1.05M |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #2 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Step 5 Preview | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Step 5 Preview is estimated at $2.35 vs $2.4 for Pareto 26.10, saving $0.05 (2.1% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Pareto 26.10 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Step 5 Preview | 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
- Step 3.5 Flash can replace Step 5 Preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.25.
- Step 3.7 Flash can replace Step 5 Preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.77.
- Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 1.31M context with $0.25 sample workload cost.
- MiMo-V2.6-Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.28 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4.1 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- GLM 5.3 Flash · Z.ai · #3
- MiMo-V2.6-Flash · Xiaomi · #4
- Hy4 preview · Tencent · #5
Cheaper alternatives
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Open unbiased modelsStep 5 Preview is StepFun's flagship model for agentic work, built on a sparse Mixture-of-Experts architecture (27B active / 600B total parameters). It performs strongly in software engineering and professional...
Pareto is a multimodal composite model built for research, coding, and agentic workflows, while delivering frontier-level performance across a broad range of general-purpose tasks.