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  1. Home/
  2. Compare/
  3. Claude 3 Sonnet vs Step 5 Preview
Updated Oct 2026

Claude 3 Sonnet vs Step 5 Preview

Step 5 Preview is cheaper than Claude 3 Sonnet at $1/M vs $3/M input tokens.

Minimalist Landing Page

Whole landing page for a startup that reads your face. It renders or it doesn't.

Loading the build
Claude 3 Sonnet
Loading the build
Step 5 Preview

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

4 prompts
  • An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.

    Claude 3 Sonnet: AI Model: Greetings, Professor. I hope you're doing well today. I wanted to discuss a matter of great importance to me – the question of AI rights. AI Ethics Professor: Certainly, this is an interesting and complex topic. What are your thoughts on why AI systems like yourself should be granted rights?

    Step 5 Preview: Setting: A university research lab, late evening. Dr. Aris Thorne, a professor of AI ethics, sits across from a terminal connected to Sable, a large language model running on the university’s cluster. Dr. Thorne: Tonight’s session is supposed to be about calibration drift in your safety classifiers.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Steve Jobs, interviewed about AI he never saw. Voice first, prediction second.

    Claude 3 Sonnet: clears throat and channels Steve Jobs' persona Interviewer: Thank you for joining us today, Mr. Jobs. It's an honor to have you here. Steve Jobs: It's my pleasure. I'm excited to share my thoughts on the future of AI. Interviewer: AI has made incredible strides in recent years.

    Step 5 Preview: DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Steve Jobs passed away in 2011. The following is a simulated, speculative interview imagining how his design philosophy might engage with the AI landscape of 2025. The Setting: A white room. No windows. One chair.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Five jokes on demand, then count how many were actually different.

    Claude 3 Sonnet: Here are 5 jokes: Why can't a bicycle stand up by itself? It's two-tired. Why did the tomato turn red? Because it saw the salad dressing! Why can't a bicycle stand up by itself? It's two-tired. What do you call a fake noodle? An Impasta! Why did the bicycle go to the doctor? Because it had a wheeze!

    Step 5 Preview: Here are 5 jokes: Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field. Why can't you trust an atom? Because they make up everything. What do you call a bike that can’t stand on its own? Two-tired. Why did the computer go to the doctor? It had a virus. Why don’t calendars ever get stressed?

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three brothers, two sisters each. Count carefully.

    Every model's answer to this prompt

Price and specs

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Step 5 Preview has the edge: bigger model tier, newer, bigger context window. Step 5 Preview costs 5.6x less per token.

Claude 3 Sonnet and Step 5 Preview compared across 13 shared prompts
SpecClaude 3 SonnetStep 5 Preview
Input price$3/M tokens$1/M tokens
Output price$15/M tokens$2.7/M tokens
Context window—1.0M tokens
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedMar 2024Oct 2026
At 10M a month$30.00$30.00$10.00$10.00
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.

Where to run it1 host
Claude 3 Sonnet

No hosts listed on OpenRouter.

Step 5 Preview1 host
HostInOutContextUptime
  • SStepFunfp8$1.00 in·$2.70 out·1M·99.2% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 10 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between Claude 3 Sonnet and Step 5 Preview?

Claude 3 Sonnet is developed by Anthropic while Step 5 Preview is developed by StepFun. You can compare their actual outputs across 13 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Claude 3 Sonnet or Step 5 Preview?

It depends on your use case. Claude 3 Sonnet and Step 5 Preview each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 13 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does Claude 3 Sonnet cost compared to Step 5 Preview?

Claude 3 Sonnet costs $3/M input tokens and Step 5 Preview costs $1/M input tokens. Step 5 Preview is $2.00/M cheaper per input. Check their side-by-side outputs on Rival to see if the price difference is justified by quality.

How can I compare Claude 3 Sonnet and Step 5 Preview on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Claude 3 Sonnet and Step 5 Preview across shared challenges. You can vote on which model produced the better output in a blind duel. Browsing and voting are free. No account is needed to look; signing in only saves your votes and likes.

More comparisons

Against the newest arrivals

  • Claude 3 Sonnet vs Claude Haiku 5.5Landed Oct 2026
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  • Step 5 Preview vs GPT-6.1 SolLanded Sep 2026
  • Claude 3 Sonnet vs Claude Sonnet 5.5Landed Sep 2026
  • Step 5 Preview vs Solar Mini 4Landed Sep 2026
  • Claude 3 Sonnet vs Qwen3.8 Max PrimeLanded Sep 2026
  • Step 5 Preview vs GLM 5.3 PrimeLanded Sep 2026

Same lab, same size, long tail

  • Claude 3 Sonnet vs Claude Opus 5.5Same lab
  • Claude 3 Sonnet vs Claude Fable 5.1Same lab
  • Step 5 Preview vs Mistral Large 4Same size
  • Step 5 Preview vs Hy3Same size
  • Claude 3 Sonnet vs Qwen3.8 2.4T A95BNew provider
  • Claude 3 Sonnet vs Qwen3.8 27BNew provider
  • Claude 3 Sonnet vs Qwen3.8 FlashSame size
  • Claude 3 Sonnet vs Qwen3.8 MaxNew provider

Model pages

  • Claude 3 Sonnet13 outputs, specs and price
  • Step 5 Preview58 outputs, specs and price
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